Salalah (Arabic: صَلَالَة, romanized: Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.[1]
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city in the Dhofar Province. Salalah is the birthplace of the former sultan, Qaboos bin Said. Salalah attracts many people from other parts of Oman and the Persian Gulf region during the monsoon/khareef season, which spans from June to September. Tourists visit Salalah during this season. The climate of the region and the monsoon allows the city to grow some vegetables and fruits like coconut and bananas. There are many gardens within the city where these vegetables and fruits grow.
City districts and suburbs
Al-Dahariz
Al-Haffa
AL-Qouf
Al-Mughsail
Al-Mutaaza
Al-Saada
Al-Wadi
Auqad
City Center
Eastern Salalah
Ittin
New Salalah
Western Salalah (also known as Al-Gharbia, and Al-Qantra)
Language
Arabic is the official language. The unofficial, unwritten language known as Jeballi is the second most spoken language and the mother tongue of many in Salalah and its surrounding areas, with 25,000 estimated speakers as of 1993.[5]
English is the official foreign language and the most spoken language of the expats. Malayalam is another popular language and together with Tamil, Telugu, along with Hindi and Somali are widely spoken language among expatriates.
Tourist attractions[edit]
Wadi Darbat
Salalah has an international tourist economy with many Middle Eastern tourists during the Khareef season from June to September. In this season the mountains turn green, and there are many waterfalls to visit, such as at Wadi Darbat, Ain Athum, Ain Tubrook, and Ain Khor.[6] There are four reputed tombs of Islamic prophets: Nabi Imran, possibly the Virgin Mary’s father but more likely a local prophet; Nabi Ayoob, the biblical Job; Nabi Houd; and Nabi Salih.[7] The city received more than 600,000 tourists during the khareef season in 2017.[8] Amongst the Dhofar Governorate’s cultural attractions is the Salalah carnival, which includes the usual rides, family activities, concerts, cultural events and vendors.
Air transport
See also: Salalah International Airport
Salalah International Airport mainly caters to domestic flights from Muscat and some International flights from India and regional Arab countries such as Qatar, U.A.E, and Saudi Arabia. Oman Air, the national airline operates five flights daily from Salalah to Muscat, the capital city and also two flights to Dubai weekly. Oman Air introduced Oman Air Pass for regular travelers between Salalah and Muscat.[10] Qatar Airways has daily flights from Salalah to Doha connecting to over 130 destinations worldwide. Very convenient connections are available to destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. There is also a direct weekly flight from and to Kochi, Kozhikode (Calicut), and Thiruvananthapuram operated by Air India Express for the Malayalee expatriates. During the Khareef Season (Monsoons) there are weekly flights to other international destinations including Sweden and Turkey. There are also transit flights to almost all countries. The new International airport opened on 15 June 2015[11] and the old Airport has since then been converted into a Domestic and emergency Airport.
