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Salalah
Arabic: salāla
City in southern Oman with 170,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate), the historic centre of Dhofar. It is the capital of Dhofar governorate with an area of 99,300 km² and 260,000 inhabitants.
Agriculture remains among Salalah's main source of income, but cement is also being produced. Salalah's port is known as Raysut, 15 km southwest.
The architecture of Salalah is rather ordinary, but the surrounding areas are of great beauty, hilly and green.
Salalah is the only major Arabian settlement that catches the monsoon, lasting from June to September. This has become a period of tourism and fairs.
Salalah has a considerable foreign population, principally from India.
Salalah is set in legends, and they tell that the Queen of Sheba had a palace here, and biblical figures like Job and the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, are supposed to have been buried here.
History
Salalah's history is traced through its importance in the trade of frankincense, making it a prosperous city.
19th century: Salalah comes under control of the Omani sultans.
1932: Salalah becomes the effective capital of the country which then was known as Muscat and Oman, as Sultan Said establishes himself there.
1970: The Omani sultan is deposed, and the capital is transferred to Musqat. The new sultan, Qaboos, continues to keep ties with tribal leaders of the region.
1975: End of a regional insurrection, and Salalah sees much governmental development, including upgrading the airport to international standards and the construction of a road to the north of the country.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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