The Al Wusta province covers the heart of the Jiddat al Harasis desert, a large area of predominantly flat gravel plains rolling in from the edge of the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia in the west to the Huqf area and beaches of the Arabian Gulf in the east. In the south and north it merges with the desert areas of Dhofar and Dhahira, and Dakhliah and Sharqia, respectively. Al Wusta gets very little rain and is sparsely populated except for a few fishing villages along the coast and the new towns of Haima and Duqm, which were both, built after the discovery of oil in the late 1970s. The Al Wusta is the homeland of the Harasis tribe, one of the largest of the Beduin tribes in Oman.
Dhofar is the southernmost province of Oman and has Salalah as its capital. This area occupies about one-third of the total area of Oman and houses about ten percent of the population. To the west and north, Dhofar shares a border with Yemen and Saudi Arabia, while in the south and east it is bounded by the Arabian Sea. The northern part of Dhofar is little more than a continuation of the Jiddat al Harasis desert. But the southern part, comprising the Qara Mountain Range and the Salalah coastal plain, receives every year between June and September the southwest monsoon rains. These rains nourish dense coconut palm graves, fruit gardens, gram field and carpet the hills with a green lustre.
As early as 1000 BC, Dhofar gained fame as the production area of the priceless frankincense that ships and caravans carried as far north as Egypt, Syria and Rome, and eastwards to India. From 1965 to 1975, Dhofar was the terrain of a communist-led rebellion. Following the end of hostilities, Dhofar has seen rapid development on all fronts. Infrastructure, including a port at Raysut, was built and traditional economic activities, such as agricultural and fisheries, modernised. |
