Global Arab Network | Oman - Salalah Tourism Festival wraps up

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Oman - Salalah Tourism Festival wraps up

Global Arab Network - - Mohamed Tamer

Thursday, 03 September 2009 09:30

Curtains were closed on Salalah Tourism Festival 2009 after 48 days of exciting events which attracted large numbers of citizens, residents and tourists. As many as 500 different activities were carried out during this year’s extravaganza. The events, which appealed to all age groups, covered a wide range of entertainment, sports, social, economic, cultural and religious activities.

The festival venues were also abuzz with a variety of other events, including specialised exhibitions, marketing and consumer fairs, and cultural and musical performances in which troupes from GCC and other Arab countries participated. The Municipality Recreation Centre hosted the Wilayats Popular Heritage and Traditional Industries Competition in which 14 wilayats competed. The Wilayat of Sadah took first place in the competition, followed by Wilayat of Mirbat and Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi.

Salalah, the capital of Dhofar, encapsulates the governorate's glorious past and present day splendor.

The ruins of the city of al Balid bear witness to Salalah's past prosperity, while every street and district of modern Salalah reflects the progress and achievements of Oman's Renaissance.

The Wilayat of Salalah is on the Sultanate's southern coast 1,040 Kilometers from the Governorate of Muscat. It has several residential quarters including al Hisn, al Baz, Salalah al Jadidah, al Hafah, al Dahareez, al Sadah, al Awqadain, al Qardh and Raysut.

The wilayat also has a number of niyabats and villages. The mountain Niyabat of Teetam is 30 Kilometers from the city. Ghaduw and Qeiroon Hairiti - also 30 Kilometres from Salalah - are attractive picnic spots with shady trees. Zaik, around 38 Kilometres from Salalah, is on a plateau and becomes a mass of green trees and shrubs during the rainy season. Alsan is 36 Kilometres away in the north-east of the wilayat.

There are also several niyabats that are not connected geographically with the Wilayat of Salalah but come under its administration, including Harweeb (184 Kilometres from the Salalah), Tawsnat (240 Kilometres away).

The Baleed district is prominent among the archaeological sites testifying to the historical standing of this region which was demolished by the action of sudden calamities and of which today the remains of the port quays, mosques, buildings, and tombs lie spread over a large area.

The vestiges of past ages multiply in a striking way when we get to Salalah city. There are three archaeological sites in Al Mughsil and traces of an ancient wall, as well as pre-Islamic tombs in Razzat and the remains of Old Rabat city. At Ain Hamran are the ruins of an ancient fort and more pre-Islamic tombs; at Hasila, where the Prophet Saleh's camel was slaughtered, a wall, irrigation channels and a well at the entrance to Wadi Nahiz. There are also three mosques, one of which, at Dahariz, is dedicated to Abdelaziz bin Ahmed. Another, the Aqil Mosque, is at East Salalah and the third is the Mosque of Abdullah Al Yamani in Awqad.

There are five religious mausoleums erected for, respectively: the Prophet Ayoub at Ghadwa; Salem bin Ahmed bin Arabia at Raysut; Hud bin Amer at Qairun Hirti; the Prophet Umran at Al Quf; and Junayd at Al Hosn.

Salalah has more than picturesque ruins to offer by way of enchantment. The city is set against a land and seascape of great natural beauty. Especially striking are the coast of Raysut and Dahariz and Maghsil and Salalah; the scenery of Mughsil and Awqad and Belid and Salalah and Qurum; the springs of Razzat, Hamran, Jarziz, Aishint and Sahnout; the wadis: Razzat, Nahiz, Arbut, Jarziz, Adwanb and Ashuq; and the uplands beyond Wadi Nahiz, as well as Mount Hamrir and Mount Atin.

The splendour of this setting is complemented by the many landscaped gardens and parks which enhance the city itself.Salalah Public Park, Saada Public Park, Daharis, Ain Razzat and the New Salalah, Quf and Moatazza Gardens are examples of these.

These natural attractions, in combination with the accommodating climate of the Dhofar region, have caused Salalah to become a favoured resort for tourists from within the country and from abroad.

Global Arab Network

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