Salalah

Salalah صلالة
city
Salalah
Burj Al-Nahda, iconic image of Salalah. Burj Al-Nahda, iconic image of Salalah.
Coat of arms of Salalah Coat of arms
Wilayat	Dhofar
Population  (2009)
• Metro	197,169
Time zone	UTC+4 (Oman standard time)
Website	http://www.omanet.om

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

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 Gulf nations, 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

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. Oman Air operates several flights daily to Salalah Airport from Muscat. Air India Express operates three flights a week to Kerala, India: to Kozhikode via Kochi on Wednesday and Sunday and to Thiruvananthapuram via Kochi on Friday. Jazeera Airways operates seasonal flights to Salalah from Dubai via Kuwait.

Demographics

The city, like many other other Gulf 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

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 are common. These include the Baobab tree and others. Salalah and surrounding areas is one of the few ancient areas on the Arabian peninsula that have extensive coconut cultivation since ancient times. The coconut cultivars grown are usually of the tall varieties and its nuts 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.

Sports in Salalah

Dhofar and Al-Nasr have both been very successful in the history of Omani football.

Salalah has been known for having the best football clubs in Oman. In total, Salalah has 4 sport clubs based in the city: Al-Ittihad, Dhofar, Al-Nasr, and finally Al-Hilal.

Dhofar F.C. have been nicknamed as "Al-Zaeem", or "The Leaders", due to their enormous success in both the Omani League, and in the Sultan Qaboos Cup. Their most recent success was reaching the final in the 2009/2010 Sultan Qaboos Cup, facing much lower level club, Saham tying in a thrilling 2-2 match forcing a penalty shootout, then losing 6-7. Dhofar have also have an adequate amount of trophies in sports like volleyball, and handball. Al-Nasr Salalah have also been known for their great success in football, winning the Omani League 5 times, and the Sultan Qaboos Cup 4 times. Al-Nasr, like Dhofar, have also been successful in other sports such as hockey, basketball, volleyball, and handball.

Salalah currently has 2 stadiums, the Salalah Sports Complex (also known as the "Youth Sports Complex"), which is the only Multi-purpose stadium in Salalah. The newer, Al-Saadah Stadium is the newly built stadium in Al-Saadah district of Salalah, solely devoted to football. Al-Saadah stadium is the venue where Saudi national football team, and the Omani national team first met in Salalah on August 12, 2009.

The most popular sport played among the youth is by far football. It is very normal to see a group of boys and young men from around the area playing in make-shift fields in parking lots, or in a large open area. Beach football is also a common site to see along the beach in the Al-Haffa district. Another popular sport in Salalah is volleyball. Although not as popular as football the game is frequently played.

Gallery

• 
  Sattelite view Salalah, and surrounding areas
• Salalah during the Khareef
  Salalah during the Khareef
• 
  Ruins of Al-Baleed
• 
• The Sultan Qaboos Mosque
  The Sultan Qaboos Mosque
• File:Qaboos Mosque--Salalah2.jpg
• 
  The Al-Saada Stadium

External links

• Port of Salalah
• Salalah Free photos
• Salalah Free Zone
• Salalah’s Summer Monsoon
• Salalah - City of the Prophets
• FallingRain Map - elevation = 18m