Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border with Saudi Arabia's Easter ...

. It has a population close to 331,949. Salalah is the third-largest city in the

Sultanate of Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, and the largest city in the Dhofar province. Salalah is the birthplace of former Omani

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Qaboos bin Said Qaboos bin Said Al Said (, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Said dynasty, he was the longest-serving leader in t ...

. Salalah attracts many tourists from other parts of Oman and from abroad during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

/''

khareef ''Khareef'' () is a colloquial Arabic term used in Oman, southeastern Yemen, southwestern Saudi Arabia and Sudan for the southeastern monsoon. The monsoon affects Dhofar and Al Mahrah Governorates from about June to early September. During th ...

'' season, from June to September. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

of the region and the

allow 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.

History

Salalah currently is and was the traditional capital of

, which reached the peak of prosperity in the 13th century thanks to the

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

trade. Later it decayed, and in the 19th century it was absorbed by the Sultanate of

Muscat and Oman The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day Sultanate of Oman and parts of present-day United Arab Emir ...

. Between 1932 and 1970, Salalah was the residence of Sultan

Said bin Taimur Said bin Taimur (; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by his son Qaboos bin Said. He was a member of the Al Bu Said dynasty who in 1932 became ...

. His son, Qaboos, who acceded to his father's throne in 1970, decided to move his

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

to Muscat, the largest city in Oman, where he lived until he quietly left for treatment in Germany. Sultan Qaboos's absence was much regretted in Salalah, where his palace was always kept ready to receive him. His last visits were in 2006 to meet influential

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

and local leaders, and in 2010 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his accession with a massive parade watched for several hours by an estimated 100,000 spectators. Despite the Sultan's generally benevolent government running Oman without national taxation, thanks to its vast mineral resources, and with all menial work done by Asian labourers, Salalah saw peaceful protests for a few months in 2011 in the

domino effect A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events ...

of the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

. Some Omani protesters demanded the dismissal of current ministers, better job opportunities, salary increases, a solution to the increasing cost of living, or the establishment of

Islamic banks Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

Demographics

Religion

The city, like many other in Arab states of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, has a relatively large

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

community, mainly from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The majority of the Omani population (98.9%) in Salalah is

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Unlike Omanis on the eastern coast of Oman in and around

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

, most of whom are

Ibadis Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...

, most Muslims in Salalah follow the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

sect of Islam. There is also a considerable population of

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

, and

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

in the expatriate community.

Language

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

is the official language. The unofficial, unwritten non-Arabic language known as Shehri is the second most spoken language and the

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

of many in Salalah and its surrounding areas, with 25,000 estimated speakers as of 1993.

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

is the official foreign language and the most spoken language of the

expats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

is another popular language and together with

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

, along with

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

European Spanish Peninsular Spanish (), also known as the Spanish of Spain (), European Spanish (), or Iberian Spanish (), is the set of varieties of the Spanish language spoken in Peninsular Spain. This construct is often framed in opposition to varieties from ...

, Catalan,

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Somali are widely spoken language among expatriates.

Economy

APM Terminals APM Terminals is a Port operator, port operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. A unit of Denmark, Danish Freight transport, shipping company Maersk's Transport and Logistics division. It manages container terminals and provides ...

, part of the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group of Denmark, manages the

Port of Salalah The Port of Salalah is the largest port in Oman and has been in operation since 1998. Situated in the Dhofar Governorate, on the Arabian Sea which is on the northern part of the Indian Ocean, it is centrally located at the crossroads of trade betw ...

; one of the largest ports on the

which is an important transshipment hub for container shipping in the area. The

is also one of the most vital ports on the peninsula connecting together

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. But the port is outside the city, to the south. It is also the largest private employer in the

region. The Salalah Free Zone, situated right beside the port, is emerging as a new center for heavy industries in the Middle East.

Tourism

Salalah has an international tourist economy with many

ern tourists during the Khareef season from June to September. In this season the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

turn green, and there are many waterfalls to visit, such as at

Wadi Darbat Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portions of alluvial fans and ext ...

, Ain Athum, Ain Tubrook, and Ain Khor. 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 Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

; Nabi Houd; and Nabi Salih. The city received more than 600,000 tourists during the khareef season in 2017. Amongst the Dhofar Governorate's cultural attractions is the Salalah carnival, which includes the usual rides, family activities, concerts, cultural events and vendors. One of

Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...

's or

Al Imran Al Imran (, ; The Family of Imran) is the List of chapters in the Quran, third chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with two hundred verses (''āyāt''). This chapter is named after the family of Imran (Joachim), which includes Joachim, Imran, Saint ...

's believed graves is in Salalah; which is claimed to be the "longest grave in the world" (12 metres).

Climate

The city has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''), although summers are cooler than in more northern or inland parts of Oman. Salalah is very cloudy and foggy during the

months of July and August, even though it receives relatively little rainfall. Khareef, خريف means "autumn" in Arabic, but it refers to monsoon when describing the region around Salalah. During this time, the brown landscape of Salalah and its surroundings are completely transformed to beautiful and lush green scenes. This provides picturesque scenes for photos. Cyclone Mekunu, which originated over the Arabian Sea, became an extremely severe cyclone before hitting the Salalah city on 25 May 2018. 200 km/h was the recorded windspeed, and the city of Salalah was pounded with over of rainfall, which is almost 5 years of Oman's average rainfall.

Sports

Oman vs KSA Al Saada Stadium August142009 Salalah4life

Salalah is known as the home of some of the best football clubs in Oman. In total, Salalah has four

sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

s based in the city: Salalah Club,

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

Al-Nasr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

, and

(the most successful club in the League with 11 trophies). Dhofar F.C. have been nicknamed as "''Al-Zaeem''", or "The Leader(s)", due to their enormous success in both the

Omani League The Oman Professional League (; known as the ''Omantel Professional League'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Omantel Elite League, is the top division of the Oman Football Association, and was officially created in 1976. Curren ...

, and in the

Sultan Qaboos Cup The Sultan Qaboos Cup (), also known as the HM's Cup, is Oman's premier knockout tournament for men's football. It was officially founded in 1972 and the champions of that first edition were Al-Ahli. It was briefly known as Oman Cup. Currently, t ...

. Dhofar have also have an adequate number of trophies in sports like

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

have also been known for their great success in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, winning the Omani League five times, and the Sultan Qaboos Cup 4 times. Al-Nasr, like Dhofar, have also been successful in other sports such as

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, volleyball, and handball. Salalah currently has two stadiums, the

Salalah Sports Complex Salalah Sports Complex (), also known as The Youth Complex (), is a government-owned multi-purpose stadium in the ''Auwqad'' district of Salalah, in southern Oman. It is currently used mainly for football Football is a family of team sports ...

(also known as the "Youth Sports Complex"), which is the only

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

in Salalah. The newer, Al-Saadah Stadium is the newly built stadium in Al-Saada district of Salalah devoted to football. Incorporated in the walls of the sports complex apart from the football stadium is a hockey field,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

Olympic swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Championsh ...

, and indoor volleyball/basketball court. Al-Saada Stadium is the venue where

Saudi national football team The Saudi Arabia national football team (SAFF) () represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as ''Al-Suqour Al-Arabiyyah'' (Arabian Falcons) and sometimes ''Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur'' (The Green Falcons), a reference to ...

, and the Omani national team first met in Salalah on August 12, 2009. The most popular sport played among the youth is by far football. It is very normal to see a group of boys and young men from around the area playing in makeshift fields in parking lots, or in a large open area. Beach football is also a common sight to see along the beach in the Al-Haffa district. Another popular sport in Salalah is volleyball. Although not as popular as football the game is frequently played, special in the beach of Salalah. In December 2026, Salalah will host the finish of the Budapest–Baghdad–Salalah Rally, a transcontinental endurance rally spanning over 10,000 kilometers. The route starts in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and passes through numerous countries across Europe and the Middle East – including

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

– before reaching its final destination in southern Oman. The event is a unique blend of adventure travel and motorsport, where participants compete or tour in various vehicle categories such as motorcycles, cars, quads, and side-by-sides. Designed in the spirit of minimalist assistance, the rally combines challenging navigation with cultural interaction, aiming to showcase the natural beauty and hospitality of the regions along the route. Salalah, as the endpoint, plays a symbolic and celebratory role, highlighting its geographical and cultural significance.

Education

Currently Salalah has two colleges, the Salalah College of Technology and Salalah College of Applied Science, both of which are government owned and sponsored. The Salalah College of Applied Sciences incorporates an English Department. Its aim is to offer students a solid grasp of the English language so that they may go on to complete further studies in important sectors such as I.T. and Communication and Design. Salalah is also home to a private university, Dhofar University which is one of the largest in the region. It has significant shares owned by Mustahil Al-Mashani, uncle of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Recently the university has constructed a new campus worth 25 million OR. British School Salalah was founded in 1970. The school follows the National Curriculum of England and Wales, and offers schooling to children from Reception to Year 10 (Year 11 from August 2021). It is also situated in Dahariz next to the Indian School and Pakistani School. The Indian School Salalah, established in 1981, is an Indian-run, self-financing, co-educational institution, primarily established to meet the academic needs of children of Indian expatriates working in Salalah.

Transportation

Air transport

Salalah International Airport Salalah International Airport is the Sultanate of Oman's secondary international airport after Muscat International Airport. It is located on the Salalah coastal plain in the Dhofar Governorate, northeast of Salalah's city centre. The airport ...

mainly caters to domestic flights from Muscat and some International flights from

and regional Arab countries such as

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, U.A.E, and

Oman Air Oman Air () is the flag carrier of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. History Background Oman was one of the four s ...

, the national airline operates five flights daily from Salalah to

, the capital city and also two flights to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

weekly. Oman Air introduced Oman Air Pass for regular travelers between Salalah and Muscat.

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...

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 Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

(Calicut) for the

Malayalee The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

expatriates. During the Khareef Season (Monsoons) there are weekly flights to other international destinations including

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. There are also transit flights to almost all countries. The new International airport opened on 15 June 2015 and the old Airport has since then been converted into a Domestic and emergency Airport.

Bus

There is a daily bus service from

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

to Salalah at 3pm. There is daily bus service between

and Salalah from many bus service providers.

Public transport

Salalah did not have a public transportation system within the city limits until 2018, but in 2019 Sultan Qaboos announced a bus service within the city from Salalah airport to city center and city center to Salalah port. Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) has started daily public bus service in Salalah from December 2018. Long-distance air-conditioned buses are operated daily from Salalah to Haima, Muscat,

Nizwa Nizwa () is the largest city in Ad Dakhiliyah Region in Oman and was the capital of Imamate of Oman, Oman proper. Nizwa is about (1.5 hour drive) from the Omani capital Muscat. The population is estimated at around 83,544 people. Nizwa is o ...

Al-Buraimi Al Buraimi () is an oasis city and a ''wilayah'' (province) in northern Oman, on the border with the U.A.E. It is the capital of Al Buraimi Governorate and is located approximately from the national capital Muscat. It is bordered by the U.A.E. ...

Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...

, Al-Ghaydah,

Mukalla Mukalla, officially the Mukalla City District, is a seaport and the capital city district of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut Governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the South Arabia, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of A ...

, and

Seiyun Seiyun (also transliterated as ''Saywun'', ''Sayoun'' or ''Say'un''; Hadhrami pronunciation: , Literary Arabic: ) is a city in the region and Governorate of Hadhramaut in Yemen. It is located in the middle of the Hadhramaut Valley, abo ...

, as well as PDO locations such as Marmul. Other forms of public transport popular in Salalah are taxis. Generally fares vary from half a Rial to 2 Rials depending on the distance to destination. Taxis are color-coded orange and white and provide semi-personal transportation in the form of both individual hire and the same opportunistic roadway service as Baisa buses, which are not as popular in the city. Minibuses, colour-coded orange and white, are unmetered like taxis, after several government initiatives to introduce meters were rejected. The fare is set by way of negotiation, although drivers usually adhere to certain unwritten rules for fares within the city. One should always find out the normally accepted fare for one's journey from one's hotel or host before looking for a taxi.

Water transport

The

is one of the deepwater ports in Oman and also eleventh-busiest transshipment port in the world, second-busiest port in the Middle East, which is located at Port Raysut (Salalah). It can accommodate large vessels up to 18m draft. It is the main container tran-shipment terminal of the region. This port is operated and managed by Salalah Port Services Company (S.A.O.G.). The port also welcomes cruise liners and luxury ships.

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 (Salalah Al-Jadidah) *Western Salalah (also known as ''Al-Gharbia'', and ''Al-Qantra'')

Media

The English-language radio stations are virgin Hi FM and Merge, which are the only English-language stations in Oman. There are also a number of Arabic radio channels. In Salalah almost all TV channels are available.

Gallery

File:Salalah.jpg, Satellite view of Salalah File:Al_hafa_corniche.jpg, Al Hafa Corniche, near Salalah File:Frankinsence-oman-dhofar.JPG, Frankincense sold in Salalah

References

External links

Beautiful Salalah

Salalah - City of the Prophets

Port of Salalah
{{Dhofar Governorate Port cities in the Arabian Peninsula Indian Ocean Populated places in the Dhofar Governorate Port cities and towns of the Arabian Sea

History

Demographics

Religion

Language

Economy

Tourism

Climate

Sports

Education

Transportation

Air transport

Bus

Public transport

Water transport

City districts and suburbs

Media

Gallery

See also

References

External links