Salalah Hot

Salalah (Arabic: صلالة‎), is the capital and seat of the governor or Wali of the southern Omani province of Dhofar. The population of Salalah is 197,169 as of 2009. Salalah is located at 17°2′6″N 54°9′5″E / 17.035°N 54.15139°E / 17.035; 54.15139

Salalah is the second largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city in the Dhofar Provence. The coastal city of Salalah is a traditional stronghold and birthplace of the Sultan, Qaboos bin Said. The Sultan traditionally lives in Salalah rather than in Muscat, the capital and largest city in Oman; Qaboos has bucked this trend, and has lived in Muscat since he ascended to the throne in 1970. He does however visit Salalah fairly regularly to meet with influential tribal and local leaders; his last visit was in 2006 and before that he visited in 2002. In mid-2009 the massive Sultan Qaboos Mosque was opened in Salalah, 39 years after he had taken the throne.

Geography

Salalah, despite lying close to the Arabian desert, enjoys a tropical climate through most of the year. The town is subjected to the south-west monsoons. This period (late June to early September) is known as the Khareef season. Visitors from across the Arabian Gulf States, mostly from the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia flock to Salalah to enjoy the monsoon and avoid the harsh heat faced by the rest of the region during the same period. Many residents of Muscat also make the journey to Salalah to enjoy their summer break. In this period, the city's population doubles with the tourist population in the 2007 Khareef season reaching 176,975. Upon the arrival of Khareef, various fairs are organized, such as the Khareef Festival near Ittin.

Transport in Salalah

Salalah has an airport, mainly catering to domestic flights from Muscat and some regional cities such as Kuwait, Dubai and Doha. Seasonal flights, some from as far away as Sweden, operate during the Khareef, which is the peak tourism season. Salalah Airport (IATA:SLL, ICAO:OOSA) is the Sultanate of Oman's second gateway.It is located on the Salalah coastal plain, 5.5 kilometers northeast of Salalah's city centre. Oman Air operates five flights daily to Salalah Airport from Muscat. Air India Express operates three flights a week to Kerala, India: to Kozhikode via Kochi on Wednesdays and Sundays and to Thiruvananthapuram via Kochi on Fridays. Felix Airways operates flights to Aden, Al Ghaydah, Al Mukalla. Jazeera Airways operates seasonal flights to Salalah from Dubai and Kuwait.

Salalah does not have a public transportation system within the city limits. However long distance air-conditioned luxury coaches are operated daily from Salalah to Haima, Muscat, Nizwa, Buraimi, Dubai, Al Ain, Al Ghaydah, Al Mukalla, Seiyun and PDO locations like Marmul.

Other forms of other public transport popular in Salalah like taxis and micro buses. They are locally called as "Baiza" buses, so named for the lower denomination of the Omani Rial, the baiza (an adaptation of the Indian and Pakistani lower denomination paisa). These are relatively inexpensive and service all major roadways, as well as a wide and loose network of smaller byways connecting smaller towns in Dhofar Governorate with Salalah city. These are mostly Toyota Hiace or Nissan Urvan. They operate from City Centre, locally called Chowk to places like Dhalkut, Rakhyut, Shahb As'eeb, Sarfait, Shaleem, Shuwamiyah, Sharbithat, Marmul, Al Mazyounah, Mirbat, Taqah,Sadah,Tawi Ateer, Hasik, Hadbin , Thumrait etc.

Taxis, also colour-coded orange and white, provide semi-personal transportation in the form of both individual hire and the same opportunistic roadway service as Baiza buses. Baiza buses and colour-coded orange-and-white taxis are unmetered, after several government initiatives to introduce meters were rejected. The fare is set by way of negotiation, although taxi drivers usually adhere to certain unwritten rules for fares within the city. One should always find out the normally accepted fare for one's journey from one's hotel or host before looking for a taxi.

Demographics

The city, like many other other Arabian Gulf States' cities has a relatively large expatriate community, mainly from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as a Pakistani and an Indian community school in the Dahariz district.

99.9% of the Omani population in Salalah is Muslim. Like most of the Middle East, most people in Salalah follow the Sunni sect of Islam, unlike the Omanis in Muscat, which mostly follow the Ibadhi sect. There is also a significant amount of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs practiced by the Indian and Sri Lankian community.

The unofficial, unwritten, second most spoken language in Salalah, is Shehri, also known as Jeballi. As of 1993 there were 25,000 speakers of Shehri, and the numbers have more than doubled ever since. In Salalah it is very typical to see people speak Shehri to each other whether it be in the market place or the restaurant. In fact, Sultan Qaboos's mother, Mazoon Al-Maashani, was a native speaker of the Shehri language.

Economy

APM Terminals, part of the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group of Denmark, manages the Port of Salalah; one of the largest ports on the Arabian Peninsula which is an important transshipment hub for container shipping in the area. The Salalah Port is also one of the most vital ports on the peninsula connecting together Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It is also the largest private employer in the Dhofar region. The Salalah Free Zone, situated right beside the port, is emerging as a new center for heavy industries in the Middle East.

Tourism
The Beauty of Salalah
Beautiful Salalah in the Khareef.

The city of Salalah is known as the "perfume capital of Arabia". The city is a popular destination for tourism due to the natural attractions of the nearby mountains and abundant stands of frankincense trees lining mountain wadi courses. Around the city and into the mountains the countryside is lush and green during the monsoon period with the vegetation supporting herds of cattle. The climate supports wildlife often more commonly associated with East Africa, such as leopards and hyenas. Also plants associated with Africa, such as the Baobab tree, are common. Salalah and its surroundings is one of the few ancient areas on the Arabian peninsula that have extensive coconut cultivation. In ancient times coir from the thick husk of the fruit of the local tall variety was used to stitch the planking of the traditional sewn boat of the Western Indian Ocean. Today, the immature fruit are mostly sold as tender coconut for drinking.

The beautiful beaches and coastline are also major attractions for scuba diving and bird watching.

Salalah is a city of antiquity, boasting both the ruins of the fortified town Sumharam, an important port from 100 BC – AD 400, and the alleged resting place of Job (Arabic "Ayoub") in nearby Jabal Gadu. It is also the alleged resting place of Nabi Imran, father of Hazrat Maryam. Modern Oman is also represented by the Port of Salalah, located approximately 15 km to the southwest of the city. The strategic location of this port has made it one of the major entry points to India, the Middle East, and Africa.