Tony Walsh – author & tours through Arabia
Dhofar in southern Oman is a different take on Oman, its monsoon climate, population and history are distinct
Alila Hinu Bay Oman is now taking bookings from 1 May 2021.
The property is a 10km drive from Mirbat, a small town east of Salalah International Airport.
With an Continue reading “Alila Hinu Bay Oman Mirbat Dhofar“
Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla – the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio (diplomat) to Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Qatar (strangely he doesn’t look after Oman) – and Dr. Ahmed Khamis Masood Al Bahri, director in Oman’s Ministry of Religious Endowments and Religious Affairs of Oman inaugurated St. Francis Xavier Church in Salalah, Oman.
The event was celebrated Continue reading “St. Francis Xavier Church – Salalah Oman”
Transport yourself from Dhofar into Thailand as Anantara Al Baleed Resort Salalah celebrates the Songkran festival at the Mekong restaurant on April 13th.
The Songkran festival is Thailand’s Continue reading “Anantara Salalah April festival at the Mekong restaurant“
Anantara Al Baleed Resort Salalah celebrates New Year in Oman’s sub-tropical south of Dhofar with cocktails under starry skys.
A fabulous live-band leads up Continue reading “Anantara Al Baleed Resort Salalah New Year 2019“
‘THE LAND OF FRANKINCENSE’ (full colour version in UK), MY NEW BOOK, explores key locations associated with Frankincense in Dhofar, including the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Locations such as Wadi Andhur, Continue reading “LAND OF FRANKINCENSE is my Guide Book to historic places in Dhofar Oman associated with Frankincense – “
In the far south of Oman is the location of one of Britain’s Special Air Service’s (SAS) more publicly known battles ‘The Battle of Mirbat’. On 25th October 2018, Prince Harry unveiled a memorial in Nadi, western Fiji, to one of the key participants, the Fijian Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba, of SAS.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) were fighting against Continue reading “BATTLE OF MIRBAT a key event in the Dhofar war “
Work has started for the Harweel 50MW project for Wind Power in Oman.
General Electric (GE) Renewable Energy who are supplying the turbines for the site said “road works, civil works and foundation works are currently ongoing”.
The turbines components should arrive Continue reading “Wind Power in Oman”
Oman’s Frankincense would have been the original cash crop if cash had been invented 3,500 years ago; but in those days it was a crop of barter, royal gift or the spoil of war.
The most famous use of Frankincense is Continue reading “Oman’s Frankincense”
Cyclone Mekunu brought what is probably Dhofar’s most intense rainfall ever, which in turn brought some deaths (6 reported and perhaps a few more will be found), caused destroyed roads and spectacular waterfalls.
The effect can be seen by the closure announcment, by the National Committee for Civil Defense, of major road links – shown in a diagram issued after Cyclone Mekunu. As the diagram Continue reading “Cyclone Mekunu aftermath”
One of the most astounding events during the Cyclone Mekunu in Dhofar Oman has been the complete filling of the vast Tayq Cave sinkhole.
This sinkhole is about 3million cubic meters and its now full.
Tayq Cave is in an area of Karst Limestone, whose fractures provide the original ingress to water for the formation of a cave below the surface. Over time the cave enlarges as Limestone can eventually dissolve in water, the reverse happens when Limescale is deposited on water pipes. Over many hundreds of thousands of years if not more, the roof of the cave collapses giving rise in this case to the enormous Tayq Cave sinkhole 1.25km across.
Tayq Cave lies where two wadis meet, Wadi Sharaa to the east and Wadi Thirrat and these are the main sources of water into the sinkhole. The base of Tayq Cave contains a ‘drain’ that is believed to empty via the base of Tawi Atayr, also a sinkhole (8.5kms away), into the Arabian Sea at Qashrawb about 12kms east of Khawr Rawi and 16kms from Tayq Cave. The enormous quantity of water that will exit the cave over an extended period should enable geologists to determine the exit point into the sea.
Updated 1st June - Ahmed Al Toqi has taken an image of the sinkhole a few days after it filled - and it is now completely empty - emptying over about 5days.
The draining system (below centre left in shadow) down to the sea must be exceptionally efficient, or is there a second, even larger chamber under the visible sinkhole?
My rewrite of the Bradt Guide to Oman includes Tayq Cave – sinkhole on page 308 Tawi Atayr which is the location of the famous eponymous ‘well of birds’ sinkhole from page 307. The guide is available in eBook here and paperback through Amazon worldwide here.
Tayq Cave is located in the region where the Frankincense Tree grows and the trade in its resin developed. Explore The Land of Frankincense with my book which is available as an eBook here, and paperback through Amazon worldwide.
Over 170kms by road north of Salalah is Shisr, an unremarkable settlement on the edge of the Empty Quarter Rub’ Al Khali in southern Oman. It, however, gained fame as the site of Ubar Oman – (the Oman Government prefers the term Wabar which appears to be the name used locally).
The archaeological re-discovery achieved a front page Continue reading “SHISR THE LOCATION OF UBAR OMAN”
June though its mid-summer is often not as searing as May, that’s often because the rise in humidity also drops the temperature; so Oman’s Top 5 things to do June takes that into account. This year the start of June is part of the month of Ramadhan, and probably the 4-6 June will be Eid, so do take that into account when making plans.
So here are the top 5 things to do in June in Oman.
Indoor bowling included in Oman’s Top 5 to do June as its a great activity during Ramadhan as Continue reading “Oman’s Top 5 things to do June”
Travco, the Egyptian conglomerate which seems to operate under an integrated system looks as if it is focusing on Oman. The company has operated as a low profile tour operated company in Oman for a number of years with much of its business fed in from Dubai.
As an integrated operator it probably will try to operate in the entire field a client requires and certainly in Egypt as 50% partner in Air Arabia Egypt, various hotel brands Sol Y Mar, Jaz, Nile Cruise ships & ground operator the model worked well, until the down turn in tourism.
The focus in Oman should be a surefooted one, having operated as a tour company in the country since 2006. They intend to open a new ‘InterCity’ Hotel in Salalah. The hotel will be a town based hotel in the main commercial office area which will give it good access to much of the town and region. This will be the first intercity hotel outside Europe, where Travco also own a number of other chains, and suggests that they feel Oman will offer a good alternative to Egypt, as do Orascom who set up Muriya in Oman a few years ago.
possibly the oldest wreck ever found from Europe’s initial period of colonization in Asia
The Esmeralda shipwreck is one of the earliest shipwrecks from the start of Portugal’s entry into the Arabia Sea.
There can have been few countries whose population exploded around the world as quickly or indeed violently as the Portuguese. From a small insignificant land on the edge of Europe, they swept into East Asia. Leading the charge in many respects was Vasco de Gama who crossed the Arabian Sea in 1498 with four small ships, landing into the Indian port of Calicut. In 1502 he also led the 4th Portuguese fleet into the region, this time with the clear intention to subjugate the coastal populations. This was largely to monopolise trade destined for Europe, rather than it flowing through Ottoman and Venetian ships, and additionally in retaliation for military defeats in the Arabian Sea during the previous years.
His fleet was of 20 ships, indicative of the value of the potential trade, as well as the numbers of ships lost during the previous annual sailings from Portugal that made larger numbers of ships essential to achieve success. Vasco de Gama returned Continue reading “Vasco da Gama Esmeralda shipwreck”
Within the slopes and valleys of the southern mountains of Oman are an extraordinary variety of flora. The plants in Dhofar inhabit an environment that can change from wet cloud soaked biome to bone-dry desert in the period of a few days or meters. Grass dominates the mountain upper plateau while the sea-facing slopes are have Anogeissus dhofarica as their dominant plant.
Though many plants catch a visitors interest, four are Continue reading “Oman’s famed plants in Dhofar”
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