Salalah No More

Well.... not as we know it anyway. Some may think I'm exaggerating and may even suggest I change the title of this post to "Haffa No More". But ... this is my blog after all and I've decided to name this post "Salalah No More". So there.

Dhofari Gucci is huddled in her little living room with a cup of tea and some country music. Lady Antebellum's "Hello World". You see, I'm feeling nostalgic. And when Dhofari Gucci is feeling nostalgia, she listens to country music. 

I'm having an emotional day, you see. I woke up to the news of the demise of the king of Saudi Arabia. Watching Saudi Arabia mourn created a tight knot the heart of every Omani as we all prayed for our own ruler's health. Trust me, it's not easy being in the dark as you can see from my previous post. After that, I was informed of the sad death of a friend's family member. Then I spent the morning in Haffa mourning Salalah as we know it. I'll say more about that in a bit. Following my heartbreaking morning in Haffa, I spent time cruising past Dahariz beach and Taqa beach, more areas that the government plans to revamp murder.  I decided to cheer myself up by seeing a movie. Unfortunately, the only movie showing at that time was American Sniper. I'm not a fan of war movies, but Bradley Cooper's kinda cute and I like Sienna Miller, so I went. 

Big Mistake.

No words can describe how much I despise Hollywood right now. It's like America (no offense) is begging Arabs to hate them. What a racist stupid idiotic movie. Sure, show your movie in all Arab cinemas. Throw in a good-looking actor playing an American sniper, a few hundred F-words, and refer to Arabs more than a dozen time as 'savages' as you shoot them one by one from your comfortable mattress on the rooftop of an Iraqi home.  Many events in the movie took place in Al Falluja, an Iraqi city. "A city of savages" according to the US Marines. Yep. Not very nice for those of us who actually KNOW people from Falluja. Two of my math professors at university were from Falluja, and they were some of the nicest people I've ever met. 

And then Americans wonder why the Arab world aren't fans. When people around the globe are struggling to strengthen understanding and build bridges to promote peace, out comes one stupid movie that ruins everything. I couldn't keep track of the number of people who got up and left in the middle of the movie. I consider myself to be a calm realistic and intelligent person, but I left feeling upset and well.... furious.  America, you failed.

Now, back to Haffa.

Anyone who has been to Haffa beach/corniche/souq knows what it means to us Dhofaris. In fact, the first post I ever wrote on this blog in 2009 was about Haffa. See the link here.  For decades and decades, Haffa beach is where locals go to practice the art of doing nothing. For as long as I can remember, Haffa has been the hub of local life. 

The picture above depicts Haffa as I know it.  Old men sitting in circles on the sand playing cards and board games. Young men playing soccer. Women huddled in groups sipping tea and talking. People on their front steps watching the world go by. Fishermen mending their nets. Guys smoking hookah. Kids build sandcastles. Tourists, locals, expats, everyone. All these people came to Haffa to chill. The entire length of the beach was dotted with ancient ancient precious coconut palms, old houses, cafes, a traditional souq, and at the other end Al Baleed archaeological site. Despite its ancient feel, people love the place. Local fishermen have lived on that beach for as long as they can remember. My friends and I sat on that beach every Friday evening for years. We'd gather to chat and sip tea. Haffa beach is part of us. It's in our hearts. 

Anyway, one day many years ago (at least a decade?) the government decided 'Hey, let's kill Haffa and build a few hotels'. So yeah, families who have been living there for generations were given land and money and told to evacuate. They fought, they struggled, this was all kept out of the media (of course... like seriously, why would Oman wants to cover REAL issues in the media?). I know about this because a friend of mine and her family were evacuated. 

It took years to get everyone out, and a few weeks ago they finally switched off water and electricity in Haffa. The houses were empty, vandals had stolen everything they could steal (windows, doors, metal, etc, etc). It looked like a war-zone (I have photos - to come soon). 

A couple of weeks ago I drove over there in the morning. The silence was deafening. It felt like the aftermath of war. Crumbling ruins. Abandoned homes. Stray dogs. Vandals. A lump formed in my throat. How we took this beautiful part of town for granted assuming it would always be there. Now that it's gone, all I had were these crumbling ruins and my memories. There were other Dhofaris there that morning, all standing there like I was, heartbroken. 

Last week they bulldozed everything down. Before they killed what was left, I decided to work on a very special project. I'll share it with you later, it needs a little editing. 

In the meantime, this is what Haffa looks like today:

Yes. That's what's left. The palm trees and a load of rubble. People's homes. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not against development. I even like the idea of having Costa on the beach. But did they really have to kill the heart of the city? For tourism? People come to Salalah looking for something authentic. Haffa was authentic. Seeing life for what it really is was authentic. Five-star hotels, cafes, and fancy walkways are anything but authentic. Do we really want to become another Dubai or Doha? We need to hold on to what makes us Dhofari. Our local life. 

If you've been to Muttrah, imagine them tearing down all the waterfront buildings in Muttrah to make room for hotels and modern development. Imagine what the locals would feel. People come from all over the world to see Muttrah JUST AS IT IS. 

The same applies to Haffa. 

The worst part is that the government hasn't even bothered to share their plans with locals. We have no idea what they plan to do with the area. We hear through the grapevine... hotels, walkway, cafes, ... the usual. 

Dahariz beach is also being revamped. I fear Taqah is next. 

Is this what we want? Is this what tourists wants? 

Sigh. 

Whoa. Local News.

Brief Update:
(1) Yesterday around 1200 people marched down the highway after Friday prayers at the 'People's Square' (sitin area) in Salalah. Why? To remind authorities that they're continuing with the sit-in until their demands are met. It's been two friggin months already. They put up two huge new banners. One says 'Jobs for all - cancel loans - Islamic banks!' (there's a fourth element but I can't remember ...). The second one says 'We're strong - We'll Stay - United' معتصمون - مرابطون- صامدون

.The Friday sermon yesterday was a little tough. The speaker, a Mr. Hardan, addressed His Majesty in parts of the sermon in a rather .... rough manner? Many of the people who were there felt uncomfortable after the sermon. Anyway, they marched and again Salalah made it to the front page of the newspaper this morning.

.(2) Murder in Salalah: on the weekend a senior official (deputy-wali) from Salalah murdered another senior official in the centre of town right by Al Shanfari mosque. Both men were extremely well known and the town is baffled. Why would someone in such a senior position murder someone (died of gun-shot wounds) in the centre of town in a public parking lot? It makes no sense,but it happened. The murderer, from a very well-respected mountain tribe confessed almost immediately afterwards and some claim he may have confessed to the crime without committing it because he's more likely to get out of jail by paying the family of the deceased a huge settlement. The 'real' murderer may have been a younger man from his family and most people believe it was an honor killing (involving a woman? a man? who knows). I hope wasta doesn't play a role in solving the murder (as was the case in previous crimes) and I hope the police crack down on weapons in Salalah. Everyone has weapons! It's frightening. I hope the truth comes out and we break these useless traditions of protecting the 'reputation' of certain families by covering up what they've done. In all cases, please say a prayer for the families of both men. What both wives must be going through.... I can't decide whether it's better to have dead husband or a murderer for a spouse. Ugh. May God give them strength to get through this. Ameen. What are your thoughts on this? Are you aware of any crimes in Salalah that were covered by 'wasta' over the years?

.(3) Say goodbye to Al Haffa Corniche/beach as we know it.The families living on the ocean received their settlement from the government just a couple of weeks ago and should be out of their beachfront houses by the end of this year I assume. Sad. Sad. Sad. I know I can't stop development but Al Haffa beach is the ESSENCE of this town.

Goodnight!

Tell me about the Ocean ....

Some of you grammar-geeks out there may say 'Hey! Why did she put a capital O on the word Ocean?'.... well, I believe the Ocean is like a person.

The Ocean speaks to us in many different ways. Some people talk to the Ocean everyday! (like my friend Muna ... whom I wrote about in one of my earlier posts). Others visit the Ocean when they have a problem or are feeling depressed. They just sit and stare at the ocean. Sadly, many people are indifferent and can sit for hours in front of the sea smoking shisha and gossiping and not paying any attention to its majestic beauty and power.

I often visit the Ocean on my own just to think. I walk down to a section of the beach where it's ok for ladies to sit, and I dig my toes into the cold sand and listen to the waves. I've discovered over the years that if you're trying to think about 'Life' in general, it's hard to do it between four walls. My thoughts are clearer when I'm in an open space like the mountains or by the Ocean. I begin to comprehend bits and pieces from the great puzzle of life.

This afternoon I drove to the ocean and sat on the cold sand for a good two hours ... thinking. I felt I needed to clear my head for a bit. The ocean helps with that. Natural therapy. I wanted to shout out 'I am here! I am alive! I'm so full of life!'

The picture posted is one taken at Mughsayl (a 45-minute drive West of Salalah), two weeks ago. Beautiful!

What do you feel about the ocean? Does it inspire you? Tell me about it!

Guitars and Fishing Nets

It's been three days since my last post! I've been busy with several projects, and have been brainstorming ideas for my blog. I now have a list of 53 (yes 53!) topics that I'm interesting in writing about. Some of them need a little research (especially Khor Rori, the Valley of the Spirits and portal to another world, according to our witches). I'm not in writing-mood today, so I'll make this short. Yesterday I went to Haffa Souq (by the Sultan's palace on the ocean) with my mother to buy frankincense, one of life's necessities! Families in Salalah burn frankincense everyday at sunset. It's a traditional habit, but it's also to ward off evil spirits that tend to hang around at sunset. Haffa Suq is a series of little shops around a sort of courtyard and all these shops sell exactly the same thing basically; frankincense, Bukhoor, frankincense burners, and traditional perfumes. As my mother was busy bargaining with the old lady in the shop, I noticed something very odd. I've seen it before but it never really 'hit' me until yesterday. I was wandering around the suq, heading towards the beach, and I noticed the usual group of old (and I mean old) men sitting in a circle on the sidewalk drinking tea and mending their fishing nets. It's one of Salalah's most charming sights. However, a few metres away, on the same sidewalk, but sitting in a circle on chairs were a group of young Dhofari men playing the guitar! Yes! Four men and four guitars practicing some Spanish tune I think. Obviously both groups were aware of each other's existence. What were the old men thinking? Probably sad thoughts about the younger generation losing touch with traditions and real life in Salalah. What were the young men thinking as they watched the old men mending their fishing nets? Were they reminded, if only for a moment, of who they were and where they came from? I was dying to go up and ask them, but that would be so taboo! It was bad enough that I was wandering alone in the suq!

Salalah & The Full Moon

I love Salalah when it's the full moon. Everyone disappears. Literally, everyone disappears to Mirbat or Taqa (nearby towns) for all-nighter picnics under the stars. Barbecues, fires, gossip, and tales of Jinn.
I spent the late afternoon/evening walking down the Haffa beach with a friend. It was unusually quiet at the beach. A few groups of females huddled in group talking, some children playing, definitely NO males over the age of 12 within a 2 mile radius. They were all watching the Dhofar -Muscat soccer match. Wonder who won ....
I've attached a picture of the Haffa Corniche on a busy afternoon. Typical Salalah. (April 9, 2009)