Salalah, Oman

Salalah, the third largest city in the Sultanate of Oman has a population of 448,000. The climate of this region and along with monsoon season allow for the growth of vegetables and fruits like coconut and bananas. There are many beaches and waterfalls to see here during the Khareef (monsoon) season.

As the capital of Dhofar, it became a wealthy nation beginning in the 13th century due to trade. Between 1932-1970 it was the residence of Said bin Taimur, the Sultan of Sultanate of Oman (where the palace still remains). When acceded to his father’s throne, Sultan Qaboos, moved the capital to Muscat, where he was for the 50 years until he died in 2020. Haitham bin Tariq Al Said his cousin has been in power since 2020. The government has no national taxes due to the its vast mineral resources. It has been 12 years since the original Arab spring, and its follow-up Arab Spring 2.0 in the past few years. This nation, that was always an “Oasis of Peace” has gone through some change due to these uprisings. Rising unemployment and the need for economic reform has pushed the government for recent changes. With that, there have been many positive improvements.

We went to the end of the port and followed the long pipelines of gas. When we got there we decided not to go into the main part of town where the Mosque, Palace and shopping is. We were here in 2015 and had a very interesting time learning about the Westernization of this Country and the young people’s outlook toward the future (not very different from the U.S but very different from past generations here). We noted that everything, including the Mosque and most shopping were closed today since Ramadan ended yesterday. Similar to our Thanksgiving, the day after Ramadan, Eid-al-Fitr is celebrated totally at home as a day off to spend with family and enjoy. Eid al-Fitr is a festival of the breaking of the fast, I hear the feast is bigger than can be imagined … even by Oceania Chefs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-FitrRead more