World Explorers 2011: Arising from the mist

When we booked our cruise, Salalah wasn’t on the itinerary. However, due to the engine troubles, the itinerary was changed - Muscat was removed and Salalah, located in the southern, more remote part of Oman was the substitute port.

Apparently, they only get two cruise ships each year, so are not as organised to cope with a large influx of tourists as other ports have been. When the change was announced, Joanne contacted the company who were going to provide our trip in Muscat, and they came up with an alternative in Salalah.

The ship was delayed in arriving, and our arrival was heralded by a great deal of ‘horn blowing’ as other ships were revealed from the sandstorm mist and eventually we were able to make out the port of Salalah and the desert landscape ahead. A bustling commercial port awaited us - rapid movement of containers as local produce of coconut, banana, guava and papaya was destined for export markets. There was also a Chinese Military ship, which is stationed here by their government to escort Chinese ships through the Gulf of Aden. Australia also has a warship stationed in this gulf to maintain safety in this area.

Due to Joanne’s quick negotiations with the pursers desk, we were the first to disembark the ship, and were soon on our way with our group of 20. Our guide, Said, wore traditional Omani dress and told us that he had two wives and eight children, and was thinking about getting another wife.

I started to laugh when he looked at Arnold with a quizzical look and asked “Is one wife enough for you?” ........ to which Arnold replied that he had enough trouble with one, and couldn’t afford another!!!!! hahaha

Unlike most Arabic states, Oman gets monsoonal rain from India between June and August, so we were told that in a few weeks, everything will be very green and lush. The city alternates between very lush green grass, around the mosques and palaces, and barren desert landscape - water comes from underground bores. We were under the impression that Oman was a country that was also rich because of its oil deposits, but the real wealth has come from the frankincense trade.

It is once again a city of contrasts - we visited the compound of the Sultan’s palace, the Al Husn Palace - as well as the Sultan’s Summer Palace there are kilometres of modern houses inside a high, barb wire topped fence - apparently these house the local VIP’s, government officials and family members of the Sultan. The blue minaret of the Sultan’s private mosque was visible above the fence line, and the streetscape was very modern and opulent.

We also visited the old city of Salalah, which had been affected by an earthquake according to Said, and people still lived in tumbledown stone buildings - although some of them had satellite dishes on the rooftops!!

Oman was an autonomous state and had very little contact with the outside world under the reclusive rule of Sultan Said bin Timur, until a bloodless coup in 1970, when his 30 year old son Qaboos, educated in the west, took control of the country. He has undertaken a programme of modernisation, education, communication and economic development, while still adhering to the old values. The government of Oman passed a law legislating a strict dress code in the country - men and women must cover the shoulders and knees at all times, and smoking and drinking in public are forbidden.

We went inside a restaurant for a bathroom stop, and it was comprised of lots of small private rooms lining the walls, with tables for four or six diners - a bit like booths in closed off rooms - I wonder if maybe they can drink away from public view in these areas????

Unfortunately, everything closes down between one and four in the afternoon, so we rushed to the Souk (markets) before 1 o’clock to have a look around with limited shopping time - the most popular purchases were the traditional headwear for the men (komas), frankincense burners, toy camels, and perfume bottles. We had a coffee at a local restaurant, where the food is cooked in an outside coal fire. The chef had an electric fan rigged up to blow across the coals and heat the coals - check out the photo of the way the fan was wired into the power point on the street - OHS in Australia would have hysterics!!!

Our guide, Said, was proud to take us to a local farm where we were given coconut water straight from the coconut, lady finger bananas and taken to see baby camels. We found out later that the farm belonged to the owner of the tour company, Ali.

When we walked up to the enclosure, the baby camels walked away to the furtherest point of the fencing. Now, Arnold does have a way with horses and other animals so he tried his ‘animal whisperer’ techniques on the baby camels. Much to everyone’s surprise, the baby camels came right up to him - and one even got so close that it looked like it was going to kiss him... no spitting!!! .....great photos. He can now add ‘Camel Whisperer’ to his list of titles!! We also saw a scarecrow in the garden, complete with traditional Omani dress!!

Our last stop was at the Al-Baleed Archeological Park, located on the outskirts of Salalah, which contains the ruins of a palace that was once lived in by the Queen of Sheba, in very large grounds close to the beachfront. The site is only partly excavated, and was very interesting - also on the grounds was the Museum of Frankincense Land, with great exhibits of the history of Salalah and Oman. We only had limited time here, I would have like to have been able to spend more time wandering around the ruins.

Frankincense - Who would believe that this desert bush would be the key to the country's wealth?

On the way back to the ship, we were trying to remember all the songs that have ‘sha-la-la-la-la’ in the lyrics as we farewelled Salalah!!! Seems like all the great sixties songs, and Tom Jones was fond of a little chorus of ‘sa-la-la-la-la’!! Back on board, we once again congregated for our sailaway drinks, before dinner and a Tom Jones impersonator.