Gym's Ramblings: Salalah and the Gulf of Aden

Salalah is the second largest city in Oman having a population of about 300,000 people. It is not up to the standards of Muscat but the Sultan is definitely not ignoring it. Signs of capital improvements are everywhere in Salalah. New roads featuring antique street lighting and large roundabouts are being built everywhere. The roads include lush green, tree-lined boulevards and the centers of the roundabouts are beautified with colorful gardens and coconut palms. There is a nice Hilton Hotel on the beach to the south of town and that beach stretches out to the north running along the east side of town. If the growth and renewal are well managed this city could become as alluring as the capital.

We signed up for a 4-hour bus tour of some of the sights in the area. We had a nice tour guide named Ali. Ali’s English was excellent! He spoke with almost no accent and understood and answered every question that we had. He informed us that he spoke two local languages as well as Arabic and that it only took him 6 months to learn English. I guess once you are fluent in 3 languages, a fourth is no big deal. He admitted that because guiding a tour was a very rare pleasure for him, he enjoyed it because it was his only chance to practice his English. We have come to appreciate guides with a good grasp of our language because we have had some guides that were very hard to understand on this trip. I am not trying to be hard on the individuals that we could not understand but when you pay good money to visit a place that you may only come to once in your life, having a good guide is a real important consideration.

The first stop on the agenda was a Frankincense tree. Now there are small trees around Salalah that have been planted by growers but the tour company wanted to take us to a wild tree. The area they chose for the tour, was one that was close to the Yemeni border where these trees were traditionally found. So we headed off in a southerly direction past a few camel herds and a beautiful beach into a rugged mountainous pass where we found a specimen that looked a little past its prime. Ali assured us though that we were looking at a healthy specimen and that these trees can live as long as three hundred years. So what is Frankincense? It is of course the sap of the tree that has hardened in the sun. Ali showed us how you nick the tree with a knife and then the white sap flows out onto the bark and hardens. He further explained that you then come back to the tree a day or two later to harvest the hard pellets. Later on at the souk in town there was Frankincense for sale everywhere. It all smelled the same to me but I was told there were several grades of the stuff. They are big into perfumes and incenses over here.

The next stop was the Tomb of Job. Now this kind of interested me because it was something that I knew about from Religion class in elementary school. Some of you that are reading this did not think I was ever awake in this class but I retained some of the data. I remembered that Job is a figure from the Old Testament. Now I didn’t know what to expect when we got to the Tomb but as we wound up the hill Ali re-iterated the story of Job and how it was believed that he migrated to the Salalah area from Palestine towards the end of his life. Ali’s story matches the one I remember except for the part about the migration, which was new to me. It is interesting to note that the Book of Job is shared by Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. The tomb though is tended to by Omani Muslims and Muslim rules prevail, so off came our shoes before we were allowed to enter the shrine. There is not really much there but central tomb is surrounded by a very nice garden and the view from up there is amazing. We had climbed somewhere between 800 and 1000 meters above sea level to get there and you could see for miles in every direction. Job had picked a good place for his final resting spot.

Finally, we went into town to check out the local souk and as I said we toured about 1001 Frankincense stalls. The Linda wasn’t so keen on the smelly stuff but was drawn in by a vendor that was hawking hand-sewn cotton tops. She battered the guy down to 3 rials (about 8 bucks) for a nice one and that was our only purchase. On the way past the last few stalls though we saw something truly amazing that we had to relate to you. There on a shirt rack featured prominently in the front of one of the stalls was a Calgary Flames t-shirt. There were no other NHL logos evident and in fact no other sports franchises represented anywhere. I think it was a sign. Next year will be the Flames big year!

We are in the Gulf of Aden now. It is nice out but the sea is choppy. The Linda is seemingly unfazed though sitting in her lounger, reading a book. We have a long stretch at sea now as we dodge pirates and make the long right-hand turn into the Red Sea.

Yes, I said the P-word. Just so you all know and perhaps to set you at ease, I should inform you of Oceania’s precautions in this regard. They are not relying on chance to sail through these waters unmolested. Here is what I have learned:

1. For many days now we have been sailing with several young Israeli Nationals who don’t talk but are very noticeable especially on Deck 5 when they are on duty and the fitness room when they are off-duty. These guys are private contractors hired by Oceania and are all former Israeli military veterans. I have been doing a little reading on these guys and they are the best in the business. I think we are in good hands.

2. On leaving port last night we entered a heavily patrolled international shipping lane. We have already seen two warships and naval patrol aircraft this morning and as long as we stay in the lane the international fleet, which includes a Canadian destroyer, monitors our progress and has aircraft available if an emergency develops.

3. In addition, Oceania has their best guy looking after us! I did not know this when we boarded the Nautica, but our Captain has experience with Somalian pirates. He received international acclaim for his actions in 2008 when he successfully avoided a group of these bad guys. Here is the press release from 2008:

"On November 30, 2008, at approximately 0928 local time, 0528 GMT, M/S NAUTICA was transiting through the Gulf of Aden within the prescribed Maritime Safety Protection Area which is patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces. As the vessel sailed past several groups of non-hostile fishing vessels, two small skiffs were sighted by the Officer on Duty and deemed potentially hostile. The skiffs, approaching from a range of approximately 1000 meters, attempted to intercept the vessel's course.

"Captain Jurica Brajcic and his officers immediately began evasive maneuvers and took all prescribed precautions. NAUTICA was immediately brought to flank speed and was able to out run the two skiffs. One of the skiffs did manage to close the range to approximately 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots in the direction of the vessel before trailing off. No one aboard NAUTICA was harmed and no damage was sustained.

"All guests and crew onboard are safe and there were no injuries. All requisite international authorities have been notified and all anti-piracy precautions were in place prior to the event and all necessary measures were taken during the event."

Be assured that between the International Fleet, our Captain, his crew and the Israeli guys we are in good hands and will safely reach our next stop in Aqaba, Jordan later this week. As an added defensive precaution, I have been honing my most lethal duck-hook shot into the driving nets on Deck 10. If we have any trouble I will be up there firing away.