SALALAH: There has been huge surge in tourist flow in Salalah. Though khareef is moderate as of now, still the visitors are finding this place much better and big respite from the sweltering heat they are facing at their places of residence. The weather here is far more comfortable at 20-25 degrees Celsius compared to the temperatures ranging between 40 and 48 in other Gulf countries. Among the visitors this time are a large number of those arriving from Muscat and other cities of Oman. "It was like a magic when we entered the gate of Salalah at Qairun Hariti. It was raining heavily and all of us were feeling cold. Everyone was blaming each other for not allowing to take warm clothes... I am calling it a magic because just 50-70 km back the temperature was 43 degrees and here it was just 19," said Sanjeev who was travelling from Sur to Salalah along with his brother and families of both.
"The visibility at the check point was so low due to rain and mist that we felt like stopping for a while. A friend of mine in Salalah, however, suggested to come slowly as Salalah was having nice weather sans rain," he said. For Sanjeev and his brother it was great respite from the heat in Sur and Muscat. They had come here for two days but decided to spend whole Eid holiday to enjoy Salalah weather. Officially, the khareef season starts on June 21 and continues till early September.
The arrival of the season was late this year, but as a matter of great relief to the visitors and all the stakeholders of tourism sector, the weather started changing on the first day of the Eid and becoming better with each passing day.
Those who happened to visit the mountain areas of Salalah, witnessed the real charm of khareef, as they could see the drizzling and the transformation of brown mountains turning into green.
It gave them a clear indication that it is not too far when the plants on the mountains would turn green and nothing but long queues of cars and greenery would be visible in Salalah and its adjoining areas.
From July till September the annual summer monsoon touches the mountain slopes and the coastal area with its delicate drizzling fog.
The plateaus and flanks of Jebel Qara give an impression of the mountains covered with tender green carpet of grass decorated with flowers. For three months the dry wadis fill up with fresh flowing water.
Tourists from all over the Gulf region start their annual visit to Salalah. They enjoy the mild foggy weather while picnicking on dew-covered fresh grass -- happy to escape the heat of their home countries.
Roadside fruit vendors have already decorated their hut shops with tropical fruits like coconut, papaya, banana, almond and many other varieties of local fruits.
All tourist points like, Wadi Darbat, Nabi Ayoub's Tomb, Ain Homran, Frankincense Museum, Tomb of Nabi Umran, Mughsail and Ain Rajaat are full of tourists for the last two days. At Ain Rajaat and Wadi Darbat the parking spaces fell short of accommodating vehicles, as many vehicles were seen waiting for parking spaces. The tourist flow is likely to grow in coming days with the spread of word that the khareef has arrived in Salalah and another spell of holiday starting from July 23 making Oman's Renaissance Day.
The much-awaited Salalah Tourism Festival is also opening on the same day.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
