At sea, November 30 and December 1, 2 and 3, 2013,
Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
The Nautica
came down through the Gulf of Aqaba, sailed the length of the Red Sea, which is
the length of the Arabian Peninsula, and turned east past Djibouti with Somalia
to the south through the Gulf of Aden.
We were thankful that this entire passage was safe and tranquil.
Salalah, Oman, December 4, 2013, Wednesday
The city of
Salalah - the accent is on the second syllable - if it can be called a city,
promised to be a mystery. We decided
that a do-it-yourself tour would not be advisable, and so we signed up for our
first Oceania excursion, labeled with all seriousness as the “Arabian Heritage”
tour. We boarded a bus with about 25 of
our fellow passengers and started off among flat stretches of sand and low-lying
buildings that were too spread out to be urban.
Soon we were out of sight of any habitations, but a few miles later we
came to a very small town called Taqa (Taqah on Google Maps). The brochure advertised that “Upon arrival in Taqa, you will visit
an interesting fort and view typical houses belonging to the local fishermen.
The elegant white stones used in the construction of Taqaʹs homes are
heat-resistant,
and can be found nearby.” As a matter of
fact, we were told we would see an interesting public building, but it was
closed, and no fishermen were to be found.
There appeared to be a deserted fort, rebuilt and shiny new, on a hill
just above but too high to walk up. There
was something strange and both fascinating and forbidding about the public
spaces near where the bus parked. There
were both old and new structures but almost no people. The effect was a bit
eerie, as were the two men walking by.
Next we drove on to Khor Rori Creek,
an archaeological site where we walked through the extensive ruins of Samhuram,
in the words of the brochure “the ancient capital of Arabiaʹs exotic
frankincense trade.” The settlement in
its heyday was doubtlessly on the sea, but with silting it is now several
hundred yards from the sea. The Omani
Ministry of Information tells us:
“The Khor Rori sites are adjacent to
the lagoon on the coastal strip in the Taqa region, 40 kms east of Salalah. Historical sources and archaeological exploration
by an Italian university indicate that the history of this city spans several
eras – some dating back as far as the lst century BC to the 3rd century AD and others date from the 4th
century BC. Inscriptions in the South
Arabian alphabet give clues
which indicate the city was built to reinforce its people’s control over the
frankincense trade. Coins also found
indicate it was the site referred to as Sumharam and the port of Moscha in two
Greek texts dating from the period between the lst and 2nd centuries AD. The great gate of the
town indicates that the citadel had an outer wall with towers and three gates
and that its main entrance was protected by square towers. It contained an inner structure which may have
been a temple or castle consisting of large frankincense stores.” Did Sumharam finance one of the Wise Men?
A
small, new and elegantly appointed museum stands near the ruins, and from there
one enjoys a sweeping view down to the barren, stone shoreline.
The
entire site is quite pleasant, but even though the rocky and sandy locale is
studded with dry and shrub-like frankincense trees, it is impossible to invoke the
atmosphere of Samhuram when it was a bustling commercial hub exporting a
commodity in high demand around the known world, even in Bethlehem.
Next came a photo stop at the tomb
of Prophet Mohammed Bin Ali, who died in 1135 AD and whose revered status stems
from his arrival in the area to preach the true essence of Islam and save the
locals from damning heresy. Both the
twin-domed structure and tomb a the sure are deemed fine examples of medieval architecture,
but I found them strange and bewildering.
Far more fascinating was the extensive surrounding cemetery, which I
would guess contained graves more than two centuries old, because it was strewn
among a flat field covered with small brown boulders so that the gravestones,
some quite elaborate, had to compete with the rocks found on the ground.
The last stop was at a roadside
stand where we were treated to large slices of cut-up coconut and a small
banana. Coconut is an important crop,
and the meat and milk were tasty.
Back on the ship I found that other
passengers had taken a competing tour which showed them more of the city of
Salalah itself, Mughsail Beach, Jobʹs Tomb (revered by Jews, Muslims and
Christians alike), the Al Husn Souq (bazaar) and the Grand Mosque. Grand Mosques appear to be everywhere, but
unfortunately we could not be.
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