Salalah Part 3 - Nephi's Land of Bountiful

"The Book of Mormon tells of a land of "Bountiful," a fertile place on the Arabian Peninsula where Nephi built the ship that carried Lehi's group to the New World. In Joseph Smith's day, and for more than a century after, it seemed impossible that such a place could exist in seemingly barren Arabia. However, a beautiful, wooded valley that fits Nephi's description of the place in detail has recently been identified on the remote southern coast of the country of Oman."  (http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=7&num=1&id=165)

Researchers have proposed at least 4 different sites within the Dhofar region of Oman as possible matches for the land of Bountiful:

1.  Al Baleed (archaeological site within the city of Salalah)

 

 This picture reminds me of David's days as an aspiring Indiana Jones.

2.  Khor Rori (Sumhuram)

 

3. Wadi Sayq (it can only be reached by boat, but our Mazda 3 got us 

reasonably close here in Dalkut, right on the Yemen border)

 

The far cliffs are part of Yemen.

 

4.  Mughsayl (my favorite area in all of Salalah)

 

The blowholes--awesome!  

We returned here another day because it was so fun.

David sizes up his next climb.

He can't resist a big chunk of rock.

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We watched the blowholes until the cows came home.

(Um, what?  Where did these guys come from?)

 Mughsayl Beach

Here are a few more fun sights:

Driving the steep roads of Wadi Aful.  

Twiggy Frankincense trees dotted the mountainside.

 

Travertine Curtain

 

Wadi Darbat - Popular picnic spot.  This felt more like Georgia than Arabia.

 

The lush, green plateau reminded us of Scotland (except for the mosque)

Tawi Atayr - "Well of Birds" - one of the world's largest sinkholes.

 

Tomb of Muhammad Bin Ali

 

We stopped in the village Mirbat for a "car polish."

Left: Our brave Mazda 3 never broke down once!

 

Traditional sight of Job's tomb.

Driving in the highlands, looking down into the valley of Salalah.  

Notice the goats and herder.

 

3-yr-old Ethan on cliffs overlooking Salalah

My sentiments exactly!!!

Salalah Part 2 - In Town

We stayed 5 nights in Salalah's Arabian Sea Villas.  

Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast, dates, local papaya or bananas and mango juice. 

Mosque surrounded by fruit tree plantations.

 

Fruit stands selling bananas, papayas, and coconuts.

Old house and doorway.  Many Omanis still live in small village houses.

 

Modern meets traditional - love the goats!

The Dhofar region of Oman borders Yemen.  Here we are eating chicken, fish and lamb with rice at a traditional-style Yemeni restaurant.  There is an open seating area for men, and then there are curtained rooms like these where families can eat in privacy (helpful if you are a woman who wears a veil).

David ate with his hands.  I was glad I'd packed some plastic spoons in the diaper bag.

 

Shopping for frankincense at the souq.  Frankincense is placed on a piece of hot charcoal and the smoke fills the air with its scent. 

 

Frankincense (back row and front left) is typically burned, but can also be used in perfumes or as medicine.  

The larger, more opaque pieces are more highly valued.  

 

Traditional incense burner

Leather shops selling shoes and... bandoliers?

I've never seen an Omani wearing one of these, but we are quite close to Yemen...

 

Ethan snacking on corn, surrounded by Omani kids.  

Vendors often sell cups of hot corn, seasoned with lemon or chili powder. 

 

We had to stop for camels at this roundabout more than once.  

There must have been 60 of them with a young camel herder leading them across the street.

 

Nice park and playground -- more green grass than we'd seen in awhile.

Ethan and Claire played with these kids while David chatted with their dad on a nearby park bench (just what his father would have been doing, I'm sure).

 

TYPICAL RESTAURANT SCENE

Indian cooks and waiters are luring 1-yr-old Claire with ketchup packets.  

She was pretty much adored wherever we went.

Salalah Part 1 - Crossing the desert

I've put off writing this post for nearly a year, because the task of sorting through 260 fascinating photos was a bit overwhelming!  Last September, Oman delayed the start of the school year nationwide due to swine flu concerns.  David had an extra week of summer vacation, and we used our extra time to make a trip to Salalah in the southern Dhofar region of Oman.

The Dhofar region is a tropical paradise, completely unlike the desert that comprises most of the Arabian Peninsula.  Historically, this area was known as the "Land of Frankincense" and even today the world's best frankincense comes from Dhofar.  LDS scholars have identified Dhofar as the land of Bountiful (600BC) that Nephi describes in the Book of Mormon.  Dhofar is also a very popular vacation spot among Arabians seeking relief from the oppressive summer heat.

As we planned this trip, our Western friends warned us that the desert highway was a perilous one, with frequent fatalities and poor access to emergency services (There are daily flights from Muscat to Salalah, and that is how most prefer to travel).  Our Omani acquaintances insisted that the road was fine, and that "a good driver could do it in 11 hours."  We wanted to experience the real deal, including the vast expanses of "nothing" and "gravel" that we'd heard about, and so we packed our Mazda 3 with food and water and said a prayer before we departed on what turned out to be a 13 hour drive.  (We have to drive slower than most, because our car made an annoying beeping sound when we went over 120km/hr.)

  The kids had no idea what they'd gotten themselves into!  

Luckily, we bought a portable DVD player just before this trip. 

 After 3 hours of interesting mountain landscape and small towns, we filled the gas tank 

and  prepared for the 8 hours of "nothing" we'd heard so much about. 

Completely surrounded by desert.

Occasionally there were signs of civilization.

 

The town of Haimra marks the 1/2 way point.  This is one of those bathroom stops when you're glad there's no toilet to sit on, just a hole in the floor.  BYOTP.

 

I'd feel really sorry for anyone who turned the wrong way out of the gas station.

We did come across one accident, but fortunately no one was hurt.  David helped to clear debris off the road.  Our friends who made the trip last year came across a fatal accident involving a tour bus, and spent 4 hours diverting traffic in the fog.  We felt very blessed to make this trip safely. 

 Ever seen this sign before?

 

We were excited to see mountains again after 8 hours of gravel...

And then suddenly we came over a hill into this amazingly green valley!  

(we arrived at night, but took this photo on the way back out)

 

Happy Anniversary

David and I celebrate 9 years of marriage today.  We watched our wedding video with the kids yesterday, and realized that we aren't as young as we used to be!  I can't believe they let kids like us get married.  :)

July 5th, 2001 - Mount Timpanogos Temple 

We counted 10 different places that we've lived: 

1.  Provo, UT apt #1

2.  Provo, UT apt #2

3.  Richland, WA

4.  Cambridge, England

5.  Olympia, WA

6.  Kent, WA

7.  Alpine, UT

8.  Salt Lake City, UT

9.  Winterville, GA

10.  Muscat, Oman

Considering that we met in Jerusalem, it's no surprise that we've continued to be travelers.

August 1998 - Mount of Olives, Jerusalem - The day we met!

 

For our anniversary this year, we went to The Grit, a hip vegetarian restaurant in Athens.  I gave David a gold ring, one exactly like the one I put on his finger 9 years ago!  (Hopefully a poor worker will find David's original wedding ring at the beach in Muscat).

July 2010 - Athens, Georgia