Fragrant memories

SINBAD the sailor was here. Or at least the Omanis I meet swear this is

true. The famed teller of tall tales was born in the port of Sohar, or so the story goes. Perhaps he was, but some historians suggest Sinbad hailed from ancient Persia or Mesopotamia. Others cruelly contend he didn't exist and was a composite based on adventurers who took to sailing ships to spread Islam. Omanis ranged far and wide: hunger for prized spices meant the isle of Zanzibar, off Tanzania's coast, was Oman-ruled for almost two centuries until 1856.

Marco Polo visited Oman in 1285, extolling a frankincense port called al-Baleed, where contemporary archeologists now sweat in roped-off surrounds on the outskirts of Salalah, Oman's second city. Even more revered is Ibn Battuta, a renowned 14th-century wanderer who, as a Moroccan, is accurately described as the Arab world's, as well as Africa's, most intrepid traveller. The Arabian Peninsula, I'm frequently reminded, is a bridge between Africa and Asia.

From al-Baleed's brown walls of stone, their remains seldom more than waist-high, I head into the adjoining Museum of the Frankincense Land. It encapsulates Omani history and the pivotal role of frankincense trading as well as showcasing contemporary Oman, the petrochemical industry and the initiatives of head of state Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said.

Then there's the queen of Sheba. Many Omanis believe one of her palaces was within another frankincense port, Samhuram, at Khor Rori, a half hour's drive from Salalah; it can take longer if wandering camels linger while crossing the asphalt highway. An ostentatiously wealthy monarch, the queen reputedly showered King Solomon, builder of the first temple in Jerusalem, with lavish gifts of frankincense.

Some authorities pooh-pooh this, insisting the queen of Sheba -- whose kingdom reputedly encompassed parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen -- was unfamiliar with Samhuram.

Whatever the truth, there's no disputing this Dhofar governorate oozes colourful stories in a complex intertwining of history and legend. Archeological digs continue at various locations, unearthing the past and exposing the fanciful.

Tourists come increasingly to Salalah, rambling amid ruins and lazing at beach resorts; they are attracted because Salalah is an Omani oddity where monsoonal rains, absent elsewhere in Arabia, allow bananas and other tropical fruits to be cultivated, sometimes surrounded by extreme aridity. Other pursuits include wadi-bashing (in four-wheel-drive vehicles on dry riverbeds), dune-bashing (plunging from dune cliffs in 4WDs, with soft sand slowing downward speed), sea trips to view dolphin pods and trudges along remote beaches where turtles hatch.

A common thread through Oman's past is the frankincense trade. Capitalising on this, Oman terms itself "the frankincense land". It is as much a symbol of the sultanate as distinctive headgear and khanjars (curved daggers). Omanis boast of their history and their preservation of the old, in stark contrast to the neighbouring emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where the emphasis is firmly on the new.

Dried resin from frankincense trees is still placed in pebble-sized pieces in burners in homes and workplaces, emitting a pleasing aroma, much like musky incense. The smell is in the smoke.

Some of Oman's most eye-catching monuments are shaped like giant frankincense burners. Frankincense is harvested mainly for perfume-making. It's an ingredient, too, at Amouage, an Omani venture supported by Sultan Qaboos that produces expensive fragrances sold at duty-free shops and perfumeries worldwide.

Britain's T.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia, suspected that land near an oasis named Shisr in Oman's Empty Quarter -- a forbidding but enticing zone of shifting sands -- concealed the legendary lost city of Ubar. Subsequent archeological research, using space-age sensing equipment, has confirmed this. Researchers believe references to a place called Irem in the Koran relate to Ubar, a hub of the frankincense business. Trade routes led to and from it before the city disappeared under drifting dunes. Digs have so far unearthed a fort, towers, city walls and artefacts.

Shisr is part of a World Heritage-listed frankincense trail but because it is 200km from Salalah it is less visited than easily accessible al-Baleed, Khor Rori and Wadi Dawkah Frankincense Park. Friends in Muscat, Oman's capital, are unanimous: Samhuram at Khor Rori is the most impressive set of ruins. They're right, though al-Baleed, handily at Salalah's edge, better suits the exceedingly time-poor.

Historical daydreams envelop me as, with a driver named Ali, I negotiate hairpin bends on a one-hour climb into the Dhofar Mountains. Ali, though friendly, is less loquacious than most Omanis I meet. Conversations are usually one of the joys of Oman. Fortunately, Ali isn't a frustrated rally driver so I have plenty of time to think on the road to Wadi Dawkah. We sit behind trucks piled high with bananas on their 1000km journey from Salalah to Muscat. They struggle, sometimes slowing to less than walking pace.

When our descent begins, the pace quickens. We turn from highway to dirt track; a sign announces Wadi Dawkah Frankincense Park. Frankincense comes from an arid-zone tree of the same name, not among the world's prettiest. Occasionally emerging from seemingly solid rock where roots penetrate the narrowest of crevices, these trees often grow near wadis supplying access to subterranean moisture.

Ali scoops seeping resin from one of many trunks and holds it beneath my nose. The gorgeous fragrance is unmistakably frankincense. Khor Rori's pathways take me through the ruins of 4th-century Samhuram: residential areas, shops and frankincense storage areas (but no visible remnants as yet of the queen of Sheba's purported palace). The area, about 200m by 50m, offers splendid views of the sea and countryside. I pause at one of several look-outs to gaze across calm sea towards the horizon, imagining sailing ships laden with fragrant cargoes heading to distant destinations. Between me and the sea is the bluest of lagoons, a safe haven for sailing ships. Khors are lagoons with openings to the sea, a common feature of the local landscape. Frankincense, Ali reminds me, was transported to this port on camels' backs along desert trade routes. I turn from the sea. The Dhofar Mountains rise in the distance. From these ranges to the coast is a rocky plain with little vegetation. It reminds me of travelling from Western Australia to South Australia across the Nullarbor Plain. Then, far away, I spot camels, 18 in all and moving in a line across this harsh vista.

Not all the ruins in the Salalah area are frankincense related. At Beit Zarbij, 27km from Salalah, is Job's Tomb, burial place of a prophet featured in the Old Testament and the Koran. A nearby spring called Sharsate is said to have gushed wildly in response to one of Job's prayers; it's another reminder that Oman is a meeting place of history and legend.

Chris Pritchard was a guest of Oman Air.

Checklist
Fly to Oman via Abu Dhabi with Etihad, via Dubai with Emirates or via Bangkok with Thai Airways. Oman Air flies from Muscat to Salalah. Thai Airways has economy-class return fares to Muscat from $1702 and Bangkok stopovers from $9 a person. More: www.thaiairways.com.au; www.omanair.aero.

Creative Tours has an eight-day Classical Oman tour from $2711 a person twin-share that includes Muscat and Salalah; the cost covers return flights from Muscat to Salalah, seven nights in four-star accommodation, some meals, transfers, entrance fees and guided sightseeing with English-speaking driver. More: www.creativeholidays.com.au.

Muscat's top accommodation ranges from the beachside Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa and the Grand Hyatt Muscat, to the luxury low-rise Chedi Muscat. More: www.shangri-la.com; www.hyatt.com; www.ghmhotels.com.

www.omantourism.gov.om

Source: The Australian