Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Corner View 5 Salalah


The theme of this week's Corner View is the great outdoors. The Salalah region is almost unique in the Arabian Peninsula for its lush greenery. In summer it is affected by the Indian monsoon, which brings cool weather, cloud, mist and rain. At this time, the Dhofar mountains, with their winding country lanes, woodlands and rolling fields full of wild flowers, remind me of the European countryside.

This region is known as the Land of Frankincense, and frankincense trees dot the landscape. Like rubber trees, they are periodically bled for their resin, which is the source of the incense. Myrrh treees are also common here.

Right now, this is a remote, unspoilt part of the world, but because of its dozens of beautiful deserted beaches it is beginnning to catch the eye of the European tour companies. There is rich marine life here and whales, dolphins and turtles can all be seen close to shore. Before I took the third photo I was swimming with six dolphins just in front of that headland.

Please visit the other Corner View bloggers:
caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virginia, april, rebecca, b


48 comments:

  1. Mountain and sea--what else could you ask for?

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  2. Ooh, I love all that green and am imagining myself frolicking on that beach of yours. I can imagine that is a great spot for a good vacation. Thanks for sharing such a fantastic corner view today.

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  3. That just sounds like paradise to me.....I would love to swim with dolphins.Are there any sharks?
    That would definitely keep me on the beach!
    Thanks for this beautiful corner view (as always).
    Have a great day, Jeannette

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  4. Frankincinse, Myrrh and ..... there must be gold there too then?
    Didn't imagine the Arabian Peninsula to be very green. Nice pictures.
    Oh and how wonderful to be swimming with dolphins - awesome. I would love to have that experience one day.

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  5. You swam with dolphins? Oh, please, do say more about that.

    I had the time of my life in 2007 swimming with sea lions near the Midriff Islands in the Sea of Cortez.

    Playful little buggers. The guide had to coax me out of the 60-degree F water after 40 minutes. I was semi-hypothermic, which may explain why I screamed: "I love the wilderness!!!" at the top of my lungs as soon as I was back on deck.

    Tell us what games you played? Tag?

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  6. Ian,

    My heart skipped a beat with the view. This was not only beautiful but very educational. The frankincense trees are an art of nature the way they curve and blend. Thanks for sharing the corner of your view.

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  7. Like I have said beore,you do live in paradise!
    And I agree with kathleen, I want to hear about swimming with dolphins. How lucky you are :-).

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  8. hi ian,
    at first i thought your pictures were stunning.
    then i clicked on them one by one, and was completely blown away.

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  9. I would love to spend a nice day relaxing on that beach. The whole area looks amazing!

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  10. thank you for sharing. beautiful photos and natural history lesson of your corner view!

    From another corner view blogger!

    kyndale

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  11. It really is so green and fresh looking! Beautiful photos.

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  12. Swimming with Dolphins, gosh how I really envy you! Beautiful pictures again Ian and I appreciate your info....a lot. Thx, C.

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  13. Swimming with the dolphins ... I tried once in Corsica and I will never forget this experience !!

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  14. stunning scenery! and swimming with dolphins! wow, this is close to paradise. have a great day :)

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  15. How beautiful Green fields and unspoilt beaches. The contrasts are amazing. Every week I tell myself I´m going to visit you! Un beso-Jane P.S. And can we go swimming with the dolphins?...

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  16. beautiful greenery and beach photos. wow! and i love the fact that there are mirrh trees growing everywhere.

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  17. I had no idea it would be so green! I'm also impressed that a beach that nice is so devoid of people. Here it would be covered with sunbathers, probably the kind that insist on driving their cars right up to the water line
    (sorry, a new pet peeve of mine).
    I really am learning a lot from these Corner View posts.

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  18. paradise, indeed. i would LOVE to be there, just right there - under the tree, in the hills, on the beach. oh yes.

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  19. so surprised to see it is so green at your end of the world - i expected some desert shots... ;) beautiful landscape. and what a stunning beach! lucky you!

    p.s.: i somehow seem to drop off the end of the corner view list... you're welcome to stop by though :)

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  20. So, so beautiful! That water color is fantastic!

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  21. I come tomorrow at 16:45 local time, by plane !...If only I could...

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  22. So peaceful, that unspoiled beach. I love it!

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  23. Oh wow ! I love it. I love the contrast of the very green and then the beautiful beach !! Amazing !

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  24. Wow. Those photos are stunning! I have a 'thing' for desert landscapes and so would love to visit a place like that.

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  25. You are very lucky Ian to be experiencing a piece of untouched beauty. And dolphins too!

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  26. a great place to be! this planet.
    thanks for sharing!
    that middle one, i like it!

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  27. so so beautiful, ian. the trees are what draw me in-though of course swimming with dolphins doesn't sound too bad either.

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  28. Wow, you are really a fascinating man Ian! I never even realized that frankincense was a tree, so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing the information as well as the photos.

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  29. It is absolutely beautiful there! Fantastic photos!

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  30. Ian, thank you for sharing your landscape with us. Your travels take us to such extraordinary places. Frankincense and myrrh trees...wow, and so far away... J.

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  31. Houlala... What else ? Thanks for sharing ! Beautiful landscape.

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  32. Your pictures are amazing! You have an incredible site! Thanks for visiting mine, i appreciate it! :)
    couponmagnet (Christy)

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  33. Absolutely beautiful! I thought Arabia was all dust and sand .... this does look like paradise! Turtles - whales - dolphins - and no tourists?? Please keep it a secret :)

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  34. Great shots and such beautiful places! Thank you for sharing.

    Also, thank you for nice comments on my photos.
    Have a nice day,
    Kasia

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  35. Mountain and sea. nice pictures..smile$$$ from indonesia

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  36. Beautiful!! I agree with Kimmie above - it looks like paradise.

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  37. sorry - must be in the wrong place - i was just looking for tom...

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  38. Beautiful places!
    I love that beach... seems so peaceful...

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  39. Woow, I would love to visit there and swim with dolphins!! These are beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing!

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  40. incredibile! oh how I long water like that :_)

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  41. Encore une belle et unique promenade... grâce à toi !! Merci !!!

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  42. dear ian. you are a lucky person*to live your dreams and to see all these wonders...

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  43. Indeed, it looks a lot more green than I imagined your corner to be ...

    By the way (I am a little curious) - you write in your profile that you want to live in 20 countries - what do you mean by live, how long time do you have to stay in a country before you live there?

    Your comment on my blog: I will look up the writer Chris Ewert you mention - I had not heard of him :-)

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  44. I love how your "corner view" is such a stark contrast to other posts. Frankincense and myrrh trees... fantastic!

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  45. how surprising to see how green! it looks beautiful; i can see why the tourists are starting to pile in. i'm packing my bags now (well, just mentally...).

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  46. Wow... Feels like I'm also traveling! You got a very cool blog! Keep posting! :)

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  47. Hi Ian,

    Thank you for these photos. They are breathtaking. I'll give you fair warning before I come to visit :-)

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