Salalah, Oman

During our April spring break, Gavin and I went to Salalah, Oman ALONE!  No kids allowed on this trip.

 We were a little nervous leaving the kids, but wanted to go see and explore the area where it is believed Nephi built his ship to sail across to the Americas.  We knew that it probably wouldn't be the best trip with kids so we left them behind to enjoy some time with just the two of us.

We left Dammam airport late at night and flew to Muscat, Oman where we then took another flight to Salalah.  We arrived in the morning and started our four days of exploring.

Coree at the Salalah airport - Already looks greener

Plantation

  After renting a car and checking into our hotel, we set out to see what we could find and first discovered these lush plantations where they grew bananas, papayas, coconuts, dates, and all kinds of fruits.  This definitely looked like the place called "bountiful" that was described by Nephi.

All along the road were these fruit stands.  We stopped to see what they had and decided to get us some real coconut milk and fresh coconut.

Preparing our coconut drink

Two coconut drinks to go.

There were some amazing beaches right in Salalah but they were pretty much empty.  No swimming allowed.  We saw a few people walking along the beach but it was pretty much just Gavin and I.  It felt like being at a real beach in California with real waves, minus all the people.

The PCH of Salalah.

There were several groups of men at the beach.  Looks like this was the place to hang out for men.  They had tables set up along the sidewalk where they would all just sit and talk.

Salalah is know for being a huge shipping port during the Frankincense Trail period.  We visited the Frankincense museum and learned about these stone anchors that were used and found in the port here.  Stone anchors were used dated back to 2500 BC.   

Stone Anchors found in the harbor.

At the museum they had some replicas of the types of boats that were made and used here during the Frankincense period.

They used palm tree fibers to create rope to bind the ships together during this period.  Proof that there were the resources needed to build ships in this area.

Ruins of the ancient city that was here at this port.

Our first day in Salalah ended with a beautiful sunset as we walked through the park at the Frankincense Museum.

Our second day started with an adventure to Khor Rhori harbor where some believe Nephi and his family built the ship.  There are three places that people believe are the ports and this one seems like the most likely because of the location and resources.  We weren't quite sure where exactly to go.  We had a map and just drove to where we believed it to be.  As we were driving along the highway we pulled off and went a little off roading to where we believe the harbor was and found this great little spot.

Part of the Khor Rhori Harbor

This river runs into the Khor Rhori harbor and at certain times of the year it is flowing rather rapidly.  In the background of the picture above are cliffs that during the rainy season becomes a massive waterfall.  At the top of the waterfall is the Wadi Dhabat where we planned to drive up to later in the day hoping to find trees for lumber that could have been used for building ships.

We drove a little more off road to the actual harbor.  We noticed off in the distance that there were some buildings and what looked like an old ruins.  We discovered later that it was the ruins of the ancient city built here at Khor Rhori during the Frankincense period and dated back to about 300 BC.

At the opening of the harbor from the ocean, a natural sand bar has since closed the harbor off.  This sand bar wasn't here back during when Nephi was here and the Frankincense period.  The opening of the harbor is surrounded on both sides by cliffs that would have been the perfect place where Lamen and Lemuel could have taken Nephi to throw him to the depths of the sea.

Cliffs around Khor Rhori

This is a small bay right next to the harbor with tall cliffs.  During the monsoon season, the waters here are rather dangerous with strong currents and riptides.  There were signs posted warning about the currents in this area.  If Nephi was thrown into these waters during the stormy time of the year, he would have not survived.

Very close to Khor Rhori, within just a few minutes walking distance. we discovered this small cove surrounded by high cliffs.  If Nephi was thrown in here it would have been impossible to climb out, especially if the currents and riptides were strong.

Gavin actually contemplating whether to jump until I put my foot down and said I did not want to have to figure out how to export his body out of Oman.

We discovered that the ancient ruins that we saw were an actual historical site that you could drive to and visit.  We found the road and went to see what it was.  Along the way we stopped to play with some friendly camels.

Posing for the picture.

We drove down towards the water in Khor Rhori harbor where they had some old ships docked.  This was the area where they built ships because of the easy launch into the water and then direct access to the ocean.

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This was part of an old ship that was on shore during the Tsunami in 2004 and was broken apart.  It was interesting to see the inside of the hull but what caught our eye were the many holes in the wood created by sea worms.  This was one reason why it would have been important for Nephi to build his ship where there were resources and knowledge.  Without treating the wood properly, the sea worms would eat through the wood and the ship would probably not have made it across the ocean.

We walked around the ancient ruins on the hill and there was a sign pointing out to an old ruin that they said was a temple.  You can see the ruins of the foundation in the distance.

Looking out from the ancient city towards the ocean.  This harbor was once open to the ocean but the sand bar has since closed it off.

This whole area started with that one tree in the distance, the Frankincense tree.

What a great view from a doorway in the city.

After spending a few hours at Khor Rhori we headed up to Wadi Dharbat but first had to stop for a Dew.

Gave in for some Dew, Arabic style.

Couldn't resist pictures of these adorable camels.

Wadi Dharbat was like a whole different world compared to the desert below.  We were here during the dry season and it still was green.  I'm sure the hillsides are greener during the rainy season.  They were covered with trees but they were brown and dry right now but there are trees.  That's just more convincing proof that there were resources to build ships, although most of the wood was imported from India for the ship building during the time that Nephi would have been here.

We decided to change our form of transportation from a car and walking to a paddle boat.  We paddled up to a point where we couldn't go any further and then walked around.  We were hoping to find some wild honey bees but didn't have any luck.  We did find lots of flowers though for the bees.

We had a little bit of difficulty paddling back and had to resource to using a long log to help push us along.  Notice Gavin is doing all the work and I'm just taking pictures.

We drove down to Mirbat which is another ancient port near Salalah.  While driving around the town we saw this group of kids trying set up what looked like a volleyball net.  We parked and watched for several minutes because wanted to see if they would actually play volleyball.  We didn't see a ball so we tried to find a place where we could buy one to give to them but only found a small local market.  We bought three soccer balls instead and drove back.  We parked and watched again for a while not knowing if we should get out and give them the balls or what.  After a few minutes one boy noticed us because I was taking pictures and came over to us.  He didn't speak very good English but I asked if they were playing volleyball and made motions of spiking the ball.  He nodded and smiled.  I then showed him the soccer balls but he said, "no those too hard"  which of course I know that they weren't volleyballs.  I asked if I could take pictures and he said yes.

He walked back to his friends and then they all came running back saying "ball, ball" so we threw the three balls out to them.  It was so fun to watch how excited they were.  After a few minutes, another kid brought out a volleyball so we sat and watched them play.  I was surprised that they actually knew how to play and even did some bump, set, spikes.

Kids running after the soccer balls we threw out to them.

The volleyball game began.

The next day we woke up and drove north out towards the empty quarter along part of the frankincense trail.  There was a Frankincense reserve where they planted some trees.  It was very desolate and dry out in this area.  No wonder Nephi and his family were grateful to be in what they called Bountiful after being in this terrain for months.

The Frankincense Tree

We stopped out in the middle of no where to get a shot of what Nephi and is family had to cross to get to Bountiful.  Not a soul in sight.

Leaving the desolate desert towards Salalah, it slowly gets greener and greener.  We were here during the dry season so it's not as green as it can be but you can definitely tell that shrubs and trees do grow here.

The Wadi above Salalah.

Back down in Salalah they have planted lots of green belts along the highway.  Quite the difference from the desert north of here.

One of the round a bouts.  Not much purpose for it but for show.

 A Mosque in Salalah.

The men in Salalah where these awesome hats.  They wear the traditional Thobe but accessorize with these hats.  They have hundreds of different patterns and colors.  Not sure this is the look Gavin should go for though.

As we were driving along the "PCH" of Salalah, the highway along the coast in town, we noticed all these abandoned buildings that looked like they were flooded.  They looked like they once were really nice houses or hotels.  We learned later that this area was hit by a Tsunami in 2004 and all these buildings were destroyed and haven't been renovated.  They were some amazing beach front properties that were only a few hundred meters from the beach.  Sad.

Tsunami destroyed these buildings

Woman on the beach

We saw very few women walking on the beach.  They all wear the traditional Abaya and head dress.  I was a little uncomfortable at first because I was the only one not wearing an Abaya because there weren't any other foreigners out.

As we walked along the beach we saw lots of these holes in the sand and every once in awhile, a little sand crab would poke its' head out and run into the water.  I tried getting a good picture of the crab, but they were too fast.

Beach in Salalah

In the evenings they set these plastic tables and chairs out all along the sidewalk.  This is their "strand".  Only the men would sit at the tables.  They would just sit and talk.  Quite the men's club.

My little friend the crab.

Not sure what this says, but it was cute.

They had a game of soccer on the beach that we watched for a few minutes.

Night shot from our window.

Our hotel was above a mall in Salalah.  The three top floors were all rooms and residences with shops and restaurants on the first floor.  This was a shot from our room window looking down into the garden area.  It was a very nice, new hotel but the mall really didn't have much.

Day shot from our window.

Mughsayl Beach

The next morning, which was our last day, we decided to drive towards the Yemen border to see if we could locate the other site that some believe is the harbor where Nephi and his family ended up.  The harbor is very close to the Yemen border is very remote.  We weren't quite sure how we were going to get there, but we knew about where it was.  On our way we saw some amazing scenery that made the trip well worth it.

We stopped at Mughsayl Beach on the way.  It was beautiful but again, not a soul in site.  They had gazebos built right on the beach so we are assuming people do come out here, but not when we were here.  We were surprised to see such a beautiful place.

As we drove West from Mughsayl Beach we had to go down this crazy winding road.  In the picture you can see how the road winds back and forth.  We had to go down on one side and then back up on the other side of this valley.

The road just kept going up and up and we came to a turn off that had a little sign saying "Sea View"  we didn't know what to expect but it was amazing.  We were literally above the clouds with cliffs going straight down into the water.  It was about 2500 ft above the sea level.

Looking down on Khor Kharfot.

We drove and drove trying to find how to get down to the spot that is known as Khor Kharfot which is another possible site where people believe Nephi and is family may have ended up.  There aren't any roads to this natural harbor and the terrain is very difficult.  The closest we could get was a view from a mountain looking down on it.  You have to hire a boat to get there, but even then it can be difficult.  Even though this seems to be a good spot, we were more convinced that Khor Rhori was the place.  Khor Kharfot is very far from where the harbors were that ships were being built at that time.  This location would have made it very difficult to get the expertise to learn how to build and ship, as well as, the resources needed.  Khor Rhori was a working harbor where resources would have easily been available.  How could Nephi had gotten the sails needed to for his ship in this remote location?  There are treachorous mountains that they would have had to travel over and it would have taken them days to do so.  Although this location is very green and has all the things described in the Book of Mormon, it is too far away from civilization where they would have needed to get supplies.

Mughsayl Beach

It took us quite a bit longer then we expected to find Khor Kharfot.  We had to go through several police check stations and were a little worried about our gas supply.  We couldn't find any gas stations out there, so we had to head back.  Our flight was leaving at 9:30 that night so we had time to make one last stop at Mughsayl Beach to visit the blow holes.

Blow hole at Mughsayl Beach

We had an amazing trip and learned quite a bit about Nephi and their journey through this area.  Oman has some amazing scenery and beaches that we had no idea existed.