Located in the very south of the country, the province of Dhofar and its capital, Salalah, offer a very different experience to the rest of the country. From June to August the khareef monsoon winds blow in heavy rains that see the sharp mountains covered in a softening blanket of green more reminiscent of a tropical rainforest than the Arabian Peninsula. In the lee of the mountains, frankincense trees live off the sparse moisture that makes it this far, producing their aromatic gum which has been the principal source of wealth for the region for millennia. Ancient villages and ports attest to this trade, as do the few remains of the legendary city of Ubar.
