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Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern governorate of Dhofar. It has a population close to 331,949.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city in the Dhofar province. Salalah is the birthplace of former Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Salalah attracts many tourists from other parts of Oman and from abroad during the monsoon/ khareef season, from June to September. The climate of the region and the monsoon allow the city to grow some vegetables and fruits like coconut and bananas. There are many gardens within the city where these vegetables and fruits grow.
Between 1932 and 1970, Salalah was the residence of Sultan Said bin Taimur. His son, Qaboos, who acceded to his father's throne in 1970, decided to move his capital to Muscat, the largest city in Oman, where he lived until he quietly left for treatment in Germany. Sultan Qaboos's absence was much regretted in Salalah, where his palace was always kept ready to receive him. His last visits were in 2006 to meet influential tribe and local leaders, and in 2010 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his accession with a massive parade watched for several hours by an estimated 100,000 spectators.
Despite the Sultan's generally benevolent government running Oman without national taxation, thanks to its vast mineral resources, and with all menial work done by Asian labourers, Salalah saw peaceful protests for a few months in 2011 in the domino effect of the Arab Spring. Some Omani protesters demanded the dismissal of current ministers, better job opportunities, salary increases, a solution to the increasing cost of living, or the establishment of Islamic banking.
The majority of the Omani population (98.9%) in Salalah is Muslim. Unlike Omanis on the eastern coast of Oman in and around Muscat, most of whom are Ibadism, most Muslims in Salalah follow the Sunni sect of Islam. There is also a considerable population of Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Sikhism in the expatriate community.
English language is the official foreign language and the most spoken language of the expatriate. Malayalam is another popular language and together with Tamil language, Telugu language, along with Urdu, Hindi, Spanish language, Catalan language, Romanian and Somali language are widely spoken language among expatriates.
One of Joachim's or Al Imran's believed graves is in Salalah; which is claimed to be the "longest grave in the world" (12 metres).Qur'an 3:42; cited in Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, "Mary", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.."Nabi Umran Tomb in Salalah City – Religious Sites, Tourist Attractions." Beautiful Salalah
Cyclone Mekunu, which originated over the Arabian Sea, became an extremely severe cyclone before hitting the Salalah city on 25 May 2018. 200 km/h was the recorded windspeed, and the city of Salalah was pounded with over of rainfall, which is almost 5 years of Oman's average rainfall.
Dhofar F.C. have been nicknamed as " Al-Zaeem", or "The Leader(s)", due to their enormous success in both the Omani League, and in the Sultan Qaboos Cup. Dhofar also have an adequate number of trophies in sports like volleyball, and handball. Al-Nasr have also been known for their great success in football, winning the Omani League five times, and the Sultan Qaboos Cup 4 times. Al-Nasr, like Dhofar, have also been successful in other sports such as field hockey, basketball, volleyball, and handball.
Salalah currently has two stadiums, the Salalah Sports Complex (also known as the "Youth Sports Complex"), which is the only multi-purpose stadium in Salalah. The newer, Al-Saadah Stadium is the newly built stadium in Al-Saada district of Salalah devoted to football. Incorporated in the walls of the sports complex apart from the football stadium is a hockey field, tennis court, Olympic swimming pool, and indoor volleyball/basketball court. Al-Saada Stadium is the venue where Saudi national football team, and the Omani national team first met in Salalah on August 12, 2009.
The most popular sport played among the youth is by far football. It is very normal to see a group of boys and young men from around the area playing in makeshift fields in parking lots, or in a large open area. Beach football is also a common sight to see along the beach in the Al-Haffa district. Another popular sport in Salalah is volleyball. Although not as popular as football the game is frequently played, special in the beach of Salalah.
In December 2026, Salalah will host the finish of the Budapest–Baghdad–Salalah Rally, a transcontinental endurance rally spanning over 10,000 kilometers. The route starts in Budapest and passes through numerous countries across Europe and the Middle East – including Iraq and Saudi Arabia – before reaching its final destination in southern Oman. The event is a unique blend of adventure travel and motorsport, where participants compete or tour in various vehicle categories such as motorcycles, cars, quads, and side-by-sides. Designed in the spirit of minimalist assistance, the rally combines challenging navigation with cultural interaction, aiming to showcase the natural beauty and hospitality of the regions along the route. Salalah, as the endpoint, plays a symbolic and celebratory role, highlighting its geographical and cultural significance.
The Salalah College of Applied Sciences incorporates an English Department. Its aim is to offer students a solid grasp of the English language so that they may go on to complete further studies in important sectors such as I.T. and Communication and Design.
Salalah is also home to a private university, Dhofar University which is one of the largest in the region. It has significant shares owned by Mustahil Al-Mashani, uncle of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Recently the university has constructed a new campus worth 25 million Omani Rial.
British School Salalah was founded in 1970. The school follows the National Curriculum of England and Wales, and offers schooling to children from Reception to Year 10 (Year 11 from August 2021). It is also situated in Dahariz next to the Indian School and Pakistani School.
The Indian School Salalah, established in 1981, is an Indian-run, self-financing, co-educational institution, primarily established to meet the academic needs of children of Indian expatriates working in Salalah.
Oman Air introduced Oman Air Pass for regular travelers between Salalah and Muscat. Qatar Airways has daily flights from Salalah to Doha connecting to over 130 destinations worldwide.
Very convenient connections are available to destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. There is also a direct weekly flight from and to Kochi, Kozhikode (Calicut) for the Malayalee expatriates. During the Khareef Season (Monsoons) there are weekly flights to other international destinations including Sweden and Turkey. There are also transit flights to almost all countries.
The new International airport opened on 15 June 2015 and the old Airport has since then been converted into a Domestic and emergency Airport.
Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) has started daily public bus service in Salalah from December 2018.
Long-distance air-conditioned buses are operated daily from Salalah to Haima, Muscat, Nizwa, Buraimi, Dubai, Al-Ain, Al Ghaydah, Mukalla, and Seiyun, as well as PDO locations such as Marmul.
Other forms of public transport popular in Salalah are taxis. Generally fares vary from half a Rial to 2 Rials depending on the distance to destination. Taxis are color-coded orange and white and provide semi-personal transportation in the form of both individual hire and the same opportunistic roadway service as Baisa buses, which are not as popular in the city.
Minibuses, colour-coded orange and white, are unmetered like taxis, after several government initiatives to introduce meters were rejected. The fare is set by way of negotiation, although drivers usually adhere to certain unwritten rules for fares within the city. One should always find out the normally accepted fare for one's journey from one's hotel or host before looking for a taxi.
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Climate
The city has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), although summers are cooler than in more northern or inland parts of Oman. Salalah is very cloudy and foggy during the monsoon months of July and August, even though it receives relatively little rainfall. Khareef means "autumn" in Arabic, but it refers to monsoon when describing the region around Salalah. During this time, the brown landscape of Salalah and its surroundings are completely transformed to beautiful and lush green scenes. This provides picturesque scenes for photos.
Sports
Salalah is known as the home of some of the best football clubs in Oman. In total, Salalah has four based in the city: Salalah Club, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nasr, and Dhofar (the most successful club in the League with 11 trophies).
Education
Currently Salalah has two colleges, the Salalah College of Technology and Salalah College of Applied Science, both of which are government owned and sponsored.
Transportation
Air transport
Salalah International Airport mainly caters to domestic flights from Muscat and some International flights from India and regional Arab countries such as Qatar, U.A.E, and Saudi Arabia. Oman Air, the national airline operates five flights daily from Salalah to Muscat, the capital city and also two flights to Dubai weekly.
Bus
There is a daily bus service from Deira, Dubai, UAE to Salalah at 3pm. There is daily bus service between Muscat and Salalah from many bus service providers.
Public transport
Salalah did not have a public transportation system within the city limits until 2018, but in 2019 Sultan Qaboos announced a bus service within the city from Salalah airport to city center and city center to Salalah port.
Water transport
The Port of Salalah is one of the deepwater ports in Oman and also eleventh-busiest transshipment port in the world, second-busiest port in the Middle East, which is located at Port Raysut (Salalah). It can accommodate large vessels up to 18m draft. It is the main container tran-shipment terminal of the region. This port is operated and managed by Salalah Port Services Company (S.A.O.G.). The port also welcomes cruise liners and luxury ships.
City districts and suburbs
See also
External links
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