How I Celebrate My Eid

Yeah… today we celebrate Eid in Oman. After the Solat Raya, all of us (four cars – 17ppl) head to Salalah. Salalah is the second largest city in the Sultanate of Oman and is located in the southern Governate of Dhofar.

It took us a 12 hours drive from Muscat to Salalah. In the first three hours of our journey we passed by towns and got to see the beautiful mountain scenery, but the rest of our journey was just an endless view of dessert. I’ve never been in such a long 12hours drive before. It was quite tiring and I got bored at one point. We stopped a few times for a break, lunch and petrol.

After a very long hours drive, we finally reached Salalah. We had to pass thru a police checkpoint before entering the town. The moment we passed thru the checkpoint, the climate immediately changed. We could hardly see the road and around us as it was covered with fog. I was expecting to see the lush green of Salalah but unfortunately it was all very hazy, misty and cloudy.

This kind of weather – khareef (monsoon) only happens in July-August every year. Salalah received the most visitors and tourists at this time as they are celebrating the Khareef Festival as well. We are very lucky to be able to experience this.

At some point we felt like back in our home country – mendung dan hujan renyai2 all day long. Salalah is known as “the Switzerland of Oman”, “the oasis” and “the paradise of Arabia” because when all other GCC countries are blazing hot, Salalah is having the Khareef season and cool drizzles. It is hard to imagine and to believe how can the two regions in the same country have the totally opposite climate. For us.. coming from Muscat with a very harsh hot weather, this is something to be appreciated!

Our adventures have only begun on the following day. We went to visit the Makam Nabi Ayoub and Imran. We were lucky to have an Omani friend who was very proudly showing us around the interesting places in Salalah. We went to the famous spot called “the zero gravity” point. There is nothing to see here except for the amazing experience of our car defying gravity and moving uphill while in Neutral. Well.. some say that it is an optical illusion but I don’t care! Since I am here, I want to experience the feeling of it!

On the following day, we visited the Marneef Cave, which is located at the AL Mughsayl Beach. Since it was Eid holiday, the place was crowded with visitors. Dah rasa macam kat Batu Caves ah pulak. The cave overlooks the Arabian Sea and the famous Al Mughsayl blow-holes. If you were to stand near the spot, the gush of water, like a fountain, would come out from the holes.

This phenomenon is from the momentum of the water surging into the cavities of rock that lie mostly under water. We were lucky as it was a monsoon season and the sea level rise. The water currents become more active and the running water rips through the rock cavities resulting in the surge of the water fountain.

We were fortunate to see the beauty of the place but on the other hand because of too many visitors, the spot of this blow-hole was just like a “stage show” to them. A few of them (taking turns) stood on the spot and waited for the water to shoot up to pose for a picture. The annoying part was some of them stood on the holes it self that we couldn’t see the water come out beautifully. Memang geram sangat!

We then had a picnic lunch on the hills nearby. It was a very breathtaking view. Our Omani friend cooked for us the local biryani rice with fresh grilled fish and chicken. Yummy… We ended our day of course with shopping! We went to the famous Al Husyn Souq and Khareef Festivals.

4 days and 3 nights in Salalah – I really enjoyed myself. It is worth for a visit though it was a very tiring long hour drive journey. I’ve been staying in Oman for almost 7 years and only now have the opportunity to visit Salalah.  Salalah is a very beautiful place and no doubt will astonish you.

I love the weather – wish that we in Muscat could have the same climate and also enjoy the beautiful green scenery. Salalah, which is also known as a religious city, also has its own unique history. If you want to know about the city, read here as what I am sharing here is just my wonderful experience holiday with my family and friends.

This is how I celebrate my Eid. Berbaju kurung, berpakaian melayu lengkap sampin dan songkok – berjam2 dalam kereta… kami tetap gembira!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri semua!