Beyond Muscat

Beyond Muscat
with David Wickers

Oman is a large country, perfect for those who’ve got the time to explore. Most visitors base themselves in Muscat but the rest of the country is now opening up to tourism too.

In the far north for example there’s the Musandam Peninsula. 370 miles of dramatic coastline with rugged cliffs and fjords. Its especially popular for diving

I’ve earmarked Musandam for my next visit but this time I headed in the opposite direction to the Dhofar region in the south.

The south of the country in and around the town of Salalah, is very different to the arid north, its very very lush as you can see, especially after the rainy season in the summer, June July August, the monsoon comes and creates all this garden of Eden, its very beautiful…

You can not only see lots of wonderful fruits growing in this area, but you can buy some in these roadside stalls, there are several along here, I’m just going to buy some of these bananas…

Another famous attraction in the south is the harvesting of Frankincense. Known to all as one the gifts of the three Kings of the Orient but what exactly is it? My guide Abdullah explains…

Abdullah: Frankincense actually is a resin coming from the trees. We use it for burning in our houses, as well as religious services and for medicine.
David: I heard that it was as valuable as gold in the old days, why was that, why was it so expensive
Abdullah: It was expensive because of the transportation charges. From here to Egypt they used a caravan of camels
David: And how long did that take?
Abdullah: It took as long as 18 months maybe more
David: So Abdullah can you show me how they actually harvest the resin form the tree
Abdullah: First they have to cut the bark. Immediately the resin will come out. When they come back after one or two weeks they collect the resin and dry it in the sun and then it will be ready for burning.

And the place to come and buy your Frankincense is in the Salalah souk. The souk is at the heart of every community in Oman and a great place to come and mingle with locals. As well as incense of all kinds there are other souks specialising in everyday goods and of special interest to tourists, the Silver souk.

Salalah and the Dhofar region is growing fast. There are already some big name hotels in the area and many more are popping up along the coastline as it reputation develops as an add on to Muscat.

Being cooler and greener than the north, its especially popular with locals during the wet summer months. You can visit at any time of year but the surrounding area with its waterfalls and wadis is particularly beautiful once the rains have finished in the Autumn.