Camping in Dhofar

Camping. Here are a few off-the-beaten-track coastal camping spots: Dhalkut, Rakhyut, Mughsayl [1], Khor Rori [2], Hinu area (beyond Mirbat); Mahallah and Gangri (both near Sadh); Hadbeen and Hasik. In most of these places, drive a couple of kilometres away from the town or village and you will find good camp sites. There are many other (inland) sites, although their suitability for camping depends on the time of year and weather conditions, especially temperature, humidity and wind.

It's advisable to camp in groups of more than 3 or 4 people. Probably the only place where you can leave your gear unattended for the day is at Mughsayl. However, take your valuables with you. There are very few places that have facilities (toilets, running water) so be prepared!

Beaches near Salalah for picnics. Following are some popular and usually safe beaches [3]: Mughsayl, Al-Awqad, Al-Haffa, Dahariz, Taqa, Ajoont, Mirbat, Hinu.

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[1] This is an ideal place to camp as there are about 20 pergolas along the beach which can be used to camp in. However, on holiday weekends like Eid, you need to be early otherwise others will occupy them for the whole weekend.

[2] Not suitable for swimming at any time of the year.

[3] During the Khareef season (May - October), swimming is not permitted in any of the beaches of Dhofar, not that you would want to, as it is generally very dangerous with unpredictable rips and undertows.

Nawal Said Atiq

Nawal Said Atiq is a very talented Dhofari artist who has won many local and international awards. Here are some examples of her paintings.

Ain Razat

Ain Razat is the most important source of spring water in Dhofar. It used to be one of the main sources of water for Salalah. Its water as well as several smaller springs flow into a long pool on the northern side of the carpark at the foot of the jebel. Water flows along a falaj (watercourse) throughout the year, although flow is highest during the khareef. This water flows 7 km to Al-Mamurah Palace, the Sultan's residence when in Salalah. A further 3 km further on the watercourse reaches Razat Farm.

Near the spring is a beautiful fenced garden, which belongs to the Diwan of the Royal Court and is constantly guarded. However, it is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays and every day during the khareef. The garden is a very popular place for picnics, as is the area under the trees near the pool near the spring.

There are several shallow caves in the limestone hills along the northern side of the spring and pool. Unlike the hills on the jebel side of the Razat Valley, the hills on the southern side of the pool and carpark are much more accessible, and relatively easy to climb. There are numerous animal tracks which zigzag the hillside so there are no problems in finding your way to the top. At the summit there is an uninterrupted panorama of the plain from Salalah to Taqah.

During and immediately after the khareef the whole area comes alive. Fresh growth is seen everywhere: fresh grass, trees with new leaves, and many plants and trees covered in colourful blossom. The new growth and easy availability of water attracts insects and birds - for example, the African Paradise Flycatcher, the White-Breasted White Eye, African Silverbills and Wheatears - which thrive under these conditions.

A generation or two ago, waters from Ain Razat and nearby Ain Hamran, were channelled into cultivated fields. Evidence of the irrigation systems are still visible on the plains in some areas around Wadis Razat and Hamran. There are also the remains of an occasional tower or two which were used by farmers to guard their land. Friends have told me that in the late 1930s the plains between Ain Razat and Khor Soli (near Taqa) were, in season, green with crops of millet, corn and other grains.

Flying snakes still in southern Arabia?

From ancient times stories about flying snakes in southern Arabia have abounded, especially those which supposedly protected frankincense trees.

However, it is interesting to note that even today there are people in the Dhofar area of southern Oman who believe in flying snakes (although these accounts are not connected with frankincense trees).

In ancient days it was believed that flying snakes inhabited the groves of frankincense trees, protecting them from intruders but also making it much more difficult for the owners of the trees to harvest the precious resin. Recorded stories have come down to us from Greek historians like Herodotus (430 BC), Strabo (1), and others, although it is interesting to note that Pliny the Elder considered such stories to be fantasy.

Oral traditions (like those about flying snakes) that have survived to today, are largely independent of written sources, thus strengthening the argument that perhaps there is, or once was, a basis for the existence of such creatures.

In fact, the author has spoken to local people in Dhofar who have personally known people who as late as 1987 saw creatures which they identified as flying snakes.

For example, just after the monsoon in 1987, a Dhofari man was walking at night to his village near Tawi Attair and was using a torch, when he spotted what he thought was a flying snake.

In 1985, another local man believed he saw six or seven flying snakes in a wadi 20 km east of Salalah. He said they were about 20 cm long and jumped 3 metres from tree to tree. He did not see any wings on them but he saw them jumping and making a noise similar to the buzz of a bee. One of this man's friends had reportedly killed one of these animals a year earlier.

Some of the characteristics which are commonly believed about flying snakes are: they are about 30 cm long and live in trees; their head is a similar shape to a snake's; they can fly or jump up to 10 metres from tree to tree; they are very dangerous; they sometimes jump onto the heads of unsuspecting passers-by. If they do they almost always inflict a fatal injury on the victim.

Local people do have other explanations. For example, there say that there are lizards which can jump several metres. However, these are not considered to be dangerous so this rules out them being confused with “flying snakes”.

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(1) "The frankincense they procure by means of the gum styrax, which the Greeks obtain from the Phoenicians; this they burn, and thereby obtain the spice. For the trees which bear the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size, and of varied colours, whereof vast numbers hang about every tree. They are of the same kind as the serpents that invade Egypt; and there is nothing but the smoke of the styrax which will drive them from the trees. The Arabians say that the whole world would swarm with these serpents, if they were not kept in check... Such, then, is the way in which the Arabians obtain their frankincense". (Strabo)