I found many tours covering the east and west of Salalah, but, once again, I ran into the same problem I had in Muscat – they all required a minimum of two people. Ah, the joys of travelling solo.
Eventually, I found one tour that accepted a single traveller: the Sunset and Desert Safari in Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter). In the end, there were three of us, as a lovely Swiss couple joined me. We had a good chat while our tour guide, Ali, drove us. I found it fascinating that the couple would switch languages mid-conversation, sometimes speaking Italian, then German, and then something that sounded like Dutch.
On the way to our first stop, we spotted camels by the road. Our driver did not hesitate and pulled over so we could take some photos.
Hello, camel
Look, tourists again. They are taking pictures of us, again
The first official stop was Wadi Dawkah, where we saw hundreds of frankincense trees. Ali explained the whole process: how often the trees can be cut and how long it takes for the frankincense to dry out. Frankincense is extremely popular in Oman. Every family uses it several times a day, believing in its revitalising and health-giving properties. Oman is apparently known for exporting some of the world’s finest frankincense.
Frankincense tree
This is how you cut it
Now, it just needs to dry out for several weeks
Each tree had a QR code
Our next, unofficial, stop was for coffee. We each received a small cup of Arabic coffee along with some delicious dates.
Coffee and food
Arabic coffee with dates
Omani dagger - each man should have one
Farms on both sides of the road.
The second official stop was the Lost City of Ubar, sometimes called the Atlantis of the Sands. It is believed to be the site of a legendary lost city, although our guide was sceptical. We had a quick look from the car windows but decided not to go inside. It was simply too hot, and the site itself did not look particularly interesting. Ali mentioned that the excavations were led by Italians, much to the delight of my fellow travellers.
Ubar
The third stop was a camel camp. As the camp migrates every two or three months, Ali had to ask some locals for directions. They had moved only two days earlier, and he was not entirely sure where they had gone. After a short drive on the main road, he suddenly turned the steering wheel and we found ourselves driving across a field. I wondered how he knew where to go. It must have been something like, “turn left at the third stone, continue straight until you see a green patch, then turn left again.”
No road, no signs
After around twenty minutes, we found them. This group was special because they had black camels too. I was surprised to see that the dromedary camels (one-humped camels) roamed freely. Only the male camels had their legs tied together.
TGIF selfie 😇
Hello, and welcome, my dear tourists
The locals offered us fresh camel milk. I would have loved to try it, but I was unsure how my intolerance would react. One of the Swiss travellers was brave enough to taste it and said it was delicious, describing it as very creamy.
Freah camel milk
Owning camels is very common in Oman, but it has become extremely expensive. On average, a family owns around 3,000 camels. They are mainly raised for milk and meat, although so far they have not yet learned to make butter or cheese from camel milk.
We then continued along a new road, spotting several fata morganas and dust devils (I had to look up the name later).
New road
The highlight of the tour was supposed to be a stunning sunset over the dunes in the Empty Quarter. Instead, a sandstorm swept in, giving us a completely different kind of experience. Ali was very apologetic. He said sandstorms were rare and happened only once every couple of months.
Sandstorm is coming
We all agreed that the perfect way to end this wonderful day would be to have camel meat for dinner. We stopped in the middle of nowhere, where the tour company had set up a camp with several tents for overnight stays.
Tents for tourists
Instide a tent was this huge bed
The camel meat was excellent, very tender and flavourful. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. We ate dinner under a sky full of millions of stars, which was absolutely magical.
Dining room
Vegetable and rice
Chicken and camel meat
On the way back, with no lights around, we made another brief stop to admire the spectacular night sky, full of stars.
