Keeping aside all his engagements and personal work Hashiem has been beside me all the time the last two days. This day we left for Khor Rori to explore and understand the significance of the ancient city of Sumhuram, which lay a half hour drive away from Salalah. The weather was a bit more benign.
At the entrance to the World Heritage site we paid 2 OMR as entrance fee for the car and drove straight to the Sumhuram archaeological gallery. We were met by a young member of the staff who explained the difference between Dhofar and Salalah and told us that it would be more appropriate to refer to these places as the Dhofar region. He explained the various important landmarks we could visit in the area like the beach, lagoon and the fortifications. There is also a short video one can watch in the media room to appreciate the significance of the pre Islamic city of Sumhuram.
Sumhuram was an important seaport within a vast network of international trade between 3 century BC and 5 century AD. Throughout its history Sumhuram was linked to the Mediterranean, Gulf, India and its own hinterland. The fortified settlements rose from the lagoon of Khor Rori on the banks of the Indian Ocean. The naturally protected harbour, with limestone mountain outcrops, was close to the best quality frankincense produced. It is said that frankincense used to be stored even in the open near the lagoon with no fear of theft because they believed that it was protected by God. The significant architectural and archaeological ruins of the ancient city speak of the immense wealth of the city. The remains include fortifications, multi storeyed residences, temple, storage rooms for frankincense and private buildings. The views from the fortifications is glorious and a walkthrough of the ruins almost bring to life the everyday chores of the people of the once wealthy city.
If it was such a wealthy city, then what led to its decline and eventual abandonment? The evidence of that can be seen to this date. The lagoon that was a protected haven for sail boats became insulated from the outer sea, the Indian Ocean, due to the formation of sandbars. This prevented sailboats from entering the lagoon for trade. The modern technique of dredging to provide access to sail boats was not known then.
After the informative visit to Khor Rori Hashiem took me to Ayn Razat which is one of the main fresh water sources of Salalah city and is an important source of water for farming using the traditional falaj irrigation system. At the entrance to Ain Razat is a small fenced ornamental garden. There are a variety of flower trees and shrubs in the garden. The major attraction of Ain Razat is its cave, which is accessible via stone staircase. The steps are barricaded on both sides. From the cave one can get amazing views of Ain Razat’s surroundings including the pond, water channel and the garden.
The tomb of Prophet Hud is situated in the Dhofar Mountain north of Salalah. He is an important figure in Islamic history who was vested with the responsibility of preaching to the Aad people to mend their ways and abandon idolatory. Not having paid heed to his preachings the entire city and its people were destroyed by God. The ruins of Ubar may stand testimony to this event. The tomb of Hud is within a building and is 3 meters by 1.5 meters in dimension.
Lunch was at the immensely popular Al Qadri restaurant. The restaurant can seat over 400 people and is bustling with eager customers. Service is quick and we soon had our order of fried rice, chicken 65 and kadai mutton in front of us. The portions were so large that we had to pack up the leftover food. Thus sated, I was ready for the short interview by MediaOne, a popular Malayalam channel. The interviewer Salahuddin has been in the Gulf for over two and half decades.
It was time to leave Salalah for Muscat. Hashiem had booked me a 7 pm bus and fetched me large quantities of halwa, kunafe, frankincense and even the burner. I have no words to describe his hospitality and kinship as also those of Siby, Rajiv and Alex, the souls that are my companions through time and space.
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