The Frankincense Trade and End of the Road

Our local guide Salim.

The Sultan's palace in Salalah (one of several in the country)

The current Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq, and the late beloved Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

His coat of arms.

Salim explains the technique of burning frankincense.

Dozens of shops selling insense and tourist souvenirs.

Flamingos

The view of the Salalah Beach.

Camels up close and personal.

Fording a small lake to have a picnic.

Relaxing and eating in the shade.

 

Alexandra and Andrea enjoying the down time.

The guides couldn't eat as they are fasting.

An interesting bird that I need to identify.

The ruins of Al Baleed, a major trading town back in the day.

A frankincense tree...

and its flowers.

The frankincense museum.

We drove past many small fresh fruit and produce shops.

The last supper.

Thank you George!

This was the scene on the beach the next morning... the morning after that Pam and Dave saw a US destroyer off this beach.

Thursday, February 26th.

Today was the last official day of the trip. We had a laid back morning. We visited the local beach where we saw a large number of flamingos feeding in the shallows. A little further along the coast we saw a beautiful lookout where we could see the beach and the buildings along the shore. I figure in about 5 to 10 years, judging by the amount of construction going on here, that it will look like Miami Beach.

We had lunch up in the mountains (which are only about 600m) at an African Lion Safari type place without the lions and replaced by camels, goats, and donkeys. The drivers put out some blankets and pillows and we ate our lunch while they lounged in the shade and they continued their fasting. I watched as the six of them performed their prayers in unison on the grass. Next we went to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Al Baleed. This is the remains of a coastal trading town that existed here about 2000 years ago when trading for frankincense was a big thing.

We visited a small museum about the frankincense trading route that flourished here in BC until about 300 AD. They burn frankincense, which is the sap of the tree. For some reason the religious people of the time deemed it valuable as they thought it had healing powers. The trees only grow in this region of the Arabian peninsula and when it was harvested it was traded to the Roman Empire, India and up and down the east African coast. Then we headed back to the hotel where we bid goodbye to Salim and our drivers. I immediately headed to the pool to cool off. No one else came down, so after being in the pool for a half hour I lay on a lounger and did Sudoku listening to the raucous call of the crows.

Later we had our farewell dinner at the Palm Grove Restaurant in the Hilton Hotel we were staying in. The food was good and everyone was up beat and having a good time while also a bit sad that the trip was coming to an end. Yesterday I had asked the group about someone making a thank you speech to George so that he didn’t miss out like Yannis did in Saudi, and they asked me to do it. So I said a few kind and appropriate words to George on behalf of the group. He was a very well organized, patient and fun loving young man and we all benefited from his leadership. When we broke up a few of us went to the bar and had a couple of drinks as a celebration. Sad or interesting to say, that the lack of opportunity to hang out at a bar after our day’s adventures and enjoy a beverage, didn’t help this group to bond a little bit. When we headed off to bed little did we know about the imminent series of events about to unfold…