Salahlah, Oman is one of the best kept secrets of the middle East. We were expecting a dreary excursion today after Dubai, with not really too much to see and a boring day visiting local markets and villages.
Besides the weather being superb, 80-85%, little clouds or humidity, the city was beautiful. The people are friendly and polite, even in the markets. No one crowds you and there are not a lot of people trying to sell you junk every time you stop. They are curious and open. Our tour started out going East from Salahlah olong the coast of the Arabian Sea to a small village called Taqah and we stopped for pictures on the cliffs overlooking the town and ocean. Then we traveled to the Tomb of Bin Ali who was a scholar in the 15th century. From there we were taken to an Archeological site of a town on the sea used in the 5th century BC as the port to ship frankincense and other goods to the rest of the world.
After touring that site we were taken to a fishing village and stopped to see some of the sharks that were caught and the old part of town. We wnet from there to a souk (market) for a half hour of shopping and then to a beautiful museum that had artifacts found in the area some of them dating back to the bronze age and then artifacts found in the archeological site we came from. We went for a buffet lunch at a very nice hotel that was by the sea and had not only a pool and beautiful beach but a golf driving range.
After lunch we were taken up into the mountains and visited Job’s Tomb (yes the same one from the old testament). He’s considered a prophet by muslims. Overall you had to be impressed by the beauty of the area and how proud the people are of their country. Their rich because of oil but they are keeping their heritage and working to have all their population benefit and get educated. The tour guide told us that for Omani’s not only are there no income taxes, but their education and health care is completely free and based on the job level they get housing benefits that range from interest free loans to gifts of homes.
Now you do have to watch out for camels on the roads. They have the right of way during the day time and if you hit one with your car it’s your responsibility to compensate the owner. If you hit one at night it’s the owners fault. In any event the camels are not a nuisance and the numbers are controlled.
Besides the weather being superb, 80-85%, little clouds or humidity, the city was beautiful. The people are friendly and polite, even in the markets. No one crowds you and there are not a lot of people trying to sell you junk every time you stop. They are curious and open. Our tour started out going East from Salahlah olong the coast of the Arabian Sea to a small village called Taqah and we stopped for pictures on the cliffs overlooking the town and ocean. Then we traveled to the Tomb of Bin Ali who was a scholar in the 15th century. From there we were taken to an Archeological site of a town on the sea used in the 5th century BC as the port to ship frankincense and other goods to the rest of the world.
After touring that site we were taken to a fishing village and stopped to see some of the sharks that were caught and the old part of town. We wnet from there to a souk (market) for a half hour of shopping and then to a beautiful museum that had artifacts found in the area some of them dating back to the bronze age and then artifacts found in the archeological site we came from. We went for a buffet lunch at a very nice hotel that was by the sea and had not only a pool and beautiful beach but a golf driving range.
After lunch we were taken up into the mountains and visited Job’s Tomb (yes the same one from the old testament). He’s considered a prophet by muslims. Overall you had to be impressed by the beauty of the area and how proud the people are of their country. Their rich because of oil but they are keeping their heritage and working to have all their population benefit and get educated. The tour guide told us that for Omani’s not only are there no income taxes, but their education and health care is completely free and based on the job level they get housing benefits that range from interest free loans to gifts of homes.
Now you do have to watch out for camels on the roads. They have the right of way during the day time and if you hit one with your car it’s your responsibility to compensate the owner. If you hit one at night it’s the owners fault. In any event the camels are not a nuisance and the numbers are controlled.
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