OMAN: Ever Been To Oman? Listen To This

The former capital of Oman offers cooler weather, architectural sites to die for and a valley that's surprisingly green

THE CAPITAL of the Sultanate of Oman between 1932 and 1970, the coastal city of Salalah is a popular holiday destination during the khareef season, when the normally arid mountain ranges and pastureland take on a refreshing green hue.

The sky is brushed with grey and blue streaks by the Indian Ocean monsoon from June until September, making the summer here considerably cooler than in other parts of the Arabian Gulf.

The average mean temperature in Oman in summer is 44 degrees Celsius but in Salalah, it’s a balmy 35 degrees. While we don’t get a lot of rain, we are blessed with the monsoon from June to September, and the cooler climate draws tourists from Yemen, the Emirates and India, the local guide says.

Spread over the southern Omani coast, Salalah is the country’s second largest city after Muscat and the capital of Dhofar Governorate, where Sultan Qaboos bin Said was born and grew up.

Located 925 kilometres from Muscat, Oman Air’s flight takes just one hour and 15 minutes to arrive in Salalah and I take full advantage of my luxury business class seat and in-flight facilities to make the most of my journey.

Rich in nature and cultural interest, Salalah has a backdrop of lush mountains, white beaches, and a charming old town to explore.

It is also famous for high-quality Arabian frankincense used for creating essential oils for massage treatments, incense and wedding products representing fortune and the beginning of good life.

Salalah was the leading dried sardine exporter but now people tend to prefer king fish. Today, we export frankincense, frankincense oil and other merchandise to India.

I join a city tour the next morning and a local guide leads us to the well-preserved Taqah Castle in the heart of old town.

Built in the 19th century, it originally served as a private stronghold for Sheikh Ali bi Timman Al-Ma’s ashani and in 1984 was converted into the official residence and administrative centre for local governors (Walis).

The walls are fashioned from solid blocks of Taqah stone, a local limestone composed of fossilised shells and corals was used widely in ancient constructions.

Inside the complex the atmosphere is intimate, just like a real home and the principal rooms are furnished with refined handicrafts.

The food store on the ground floor displays large quantities of dried fish, grain, dates and other vital supplies and offers an interesting reflection of how people lived in bygone days.

A well in the courtyard ensured an abundant supply of fresh water for drinking and an outdoor oven provided for the well-ventilated roasting of meat and daily cooking.

The living room in the well-preserved Taqah Castle is decorated with beautiful hand-embroidered cushions and draperies

The luxury family suite on the upper floor is designed as a living room, where family members enjoyed light meals and shared news during the day.

Adjoining the living room is a reception area, where the wali would hold private discussions with special guests.

Colourful and elegant, each room is adorned with locally made cotta pottery, porcelain plates and bowls obtained through trade with China, India, Europe and Zanzibar, as well as beautiful hand-embroidered cushions and draperies.

Leaving the castle, we head to the Wadi Darbat valley, passing camels and donkeys making the most of the pastureland.

Reaching the top of hill, visitors are spoiled with a picturesque panorama of a turquoise crystal lake. Boat rides on the lake are offered with prices starting at OMR 3 (Bt260) for a 30-minute paddleboat for two and OMR 5 (Bt442) on a motorboat.

People living outside the area have 10 to 20 camels and let them graze on the land.

They will come to see their camels once or twice a week and feed them with sardines. Most villagers raise camels for meat. Camel meat has low fat and people always give it to the guests as a gift.

We use camel milk to make cheese too. During the Khareef season, the mountain is very green and potatoes taste sweeter. You will see plenty of healthy looking cows because they can feed on the grass to eat.

The government also has a project to provide water and electricity for houses on the mountains at no charge.

We return to the old town and continue for another 20 minutes to Marneef Cave and Al Mugsayl Beach, a much-loved picnic spot for local folks and tourists.

The cave is formed from eroded limestone and the beach entertains travellers with three stunning blowholes, from which the water shoots up as high as 28 metres.

Back in town we visit the Al Baleed Archaeological Park, the Unesco World Heritage Site, which is home to the ruins of the ancient city on the Indian Ocean and the Museum of Frankincense.

The complex has several rooms in different sizes and a water basin linked to a range of drainage channels that date back to 750-950 AD.

The Al Baleed Castle occupies 5,000 square meters and is built with large stones showcasing the craftsmanship in the Iron Age. Another impressive building is the Al Balled Mosque. B

uilt in 850 AD, it boasted 144 columns parallel to the qibia wall, mostly octagonal or cylindrical, with square bases and crowns decorated with floral ornaments.

OMAN: Village Attracts Tourists

Wilayat of Taqah is the second largest city in Dhofar Governorate and is located on south western part of the Sultanate. The place offers varied tourist attractions, either on its outspread plains, grasslands or wide wadis.

Wadi Darbat in the wilayat embraces one of the spectacular scenes in the governorate. The wadi is distinguished by its virgin nature and thick botanical cover, besides natural springs and number of caves, especially Teeq Cave. Wadi Darbat is another scenic spot in Salalah, especially for the mountain and spring lovers.

Taqah has witnessed many development projects in education, health, electricity, water, telecommunications and roads. The yet to be opened Taqah’s fisheries harbour offers much economic significance. Taqah includes many attractions that connect between the past’s legacy and the present’s prosperity.

Among the historic landmarks that exist in the wilayat is the Taqah castle.

Located about 33 kilometres east of Salalah, the castle is regarded as the most popular castle to visit in the governorate. The castle became the property of the government during the time of Sultan Said bin Taimur, the father of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.

During the 1960s the castle was expanded by adding the outer wall and its four towers. The castle was recently renovated and reopened as a museum in 1994.

The Sultanate of Oman should tap its tremendous tourism potential and vast mineral resources towards achieving economic diversification, which is the need of the time to attain further development of the nation, said Dr Tun Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia, while delivering a lecture on “Strategic Planning: the Malaysian Perspective” at the Grand Hall of Sultan Qaboos University’s Cultural Centre on Tuesday.

Dr Mahathir said that strategic planning is equally important for governments and business organisations to achieve their targets and future goals.

In Malaysia, politicians, the cabinet, civil servants, experts and consultants are involved in the process of economic planning. Malaysia implemented 5 year plans to make it a fully developed nation.

The vision was to make Malaysia fully developed by 2020.

Mahathir said that there are some difficulties in governing a multiracial country like Malaysia. The population of the country is multiracial and multi-religious, a factor that poses some difficulties for governance and sustainable development.

Despite the differences, Malaysians live together peacefully by means of benefitting from its national resources, sharing power and fulfilling their responsibilities towards the nation.

Dr Mahathir said that as Prime Minister, his first priority was to correct the imbalances and determine the goals.

For this, we identified areas where we can develop and sustain the economy. Initially, we focused on agriculture and plantation.

This was one way to develop the nation. We have fertile soil and availability of rain in all parts of Malaysia. We brought rubber and palm trees from Brazil and West Africa.

Through science and research, we improved the yield of the rubber and palm tree plantations cultivated in Malaysia. We could achieve more than 10 times yield than their native varieties. Efficient use of land for agriculture and plantation was a priority.

When market conditions changed for rubber and palm oil exports, our focus turned towards manufacturing and industry. In fact, Malaysia did not have prior experience in rapid industrialisation.

That is why we decided to invite foreign investment to the country by making it a business friendly nation.

This move helped to reduce unemployment in the country as a large number of people was employed in the industry. To meet the requirements, we even had to bring workers from foreign countries to work in the industry in Malaysia.

As time changed, we focused on sophisticated products such as microchips and other electronic devices that have huge demand in the global market at present. To start manufacturing such sophisticated products, we had to depend on foreign investment and expertise, he said.

Dr Mahathir further said that Malaysia was always keen to limit its budget spending within its means. For making proper planning for infrastructure development, we analyse and prepare a blue print of future needs of the country. To attract foreign investment in the country, we make sure that Malaysia has a strong infrastructure for power generation and distribution.

As industrialisation progressed, a large number of people from the rural areas of the country started migrating to the cities.

Subsequently, the government focused on creative a strong human resources potential by imparting quality education to our children and the young generation. We established many schools and several universities to provide good education to our people.

Before, Malaysia used to send its citizens to foreign countries for higher studies. Those who came back to the country with quality education from abroad also contributed to building human resources and workforce in the country.

According to Dr Mahathir, Malaysia has always been keen to add value to its resources whether they are agricultural products or industrial products. The Economic Planning Unit of the country (EPU) constantly do research on products and come up with new ideas to implement in the business and agricultural sectors.

Building proper foundation in the form of assets is important for nation’s development. If you have strong assets, you could think about diversification of assets for enhanced development and sustainability. Mahathir believes in the role of the private sector in driving the engine of growth and development.

He added that proper utilisation of natural resources is key to attain economic development. Malaysia has set a good example of income diversification by making the country, a leisure tourism destination. Today leisure tourism and medical tourism contribute substantially to the country’s exchequer.

The government in Malaysia has always been keen to control the prices of essential commodities such as rice, sugar, flour, pulses, etc to maintain price hike and inflation. At one time, when currency traders started selling Malaysian currency exorbitantly, we had to devalue our currency to maintain stability and promote economic growth.

Malaysia is a favourite tourism destination for Omanis. More than 30000 Omanis visit Malaysia every year for medical and leisure tourism.