Salalah-Nephi’s Harbor

On Thursday morning we left and drove to the ancient city of Sumhuram. It was built around the 3rd century BC and remained one of the most vital trading ports in the region for nearly eight hundred years. It was great to roam through the ruins and see the floor plans they had that depicted living areas, storage areas, work area. (Thank you, Pat and Vanna.)
It sits just up from a harbor. This particular harbor is one that LDS scholars believe is Nephi’s harbor. Again, for those not familiar with the Book of Mormon, a couple of entries ago I mentioned the family of Lehi and the valley of Lemuel. Nephi was also a son of Lehi. After traveling for eight years this family reached a land they called Bountiful. After much research, scholars believe the Dhofar region of Oman is that area. While here, Nephi constructed a ship which would take them to what is now the Americas. These scholars also believe it was in this harbor down from Sumhuram that Nephi built that ship.
Dano and the kids wanted to hike both sides of the harbor’s promontory rocks. We thought it would be best for Abby and Emily not to make the hike as the cliffs are steep at the top. Dano tried to get us as close to the beach as he could. Unfortunately he got us a little too close and we ended up deep in the fine sand. Here the Lister kids would get a lesson in how to get a car out of the sand. We all took a wheel and started digging. Dano got back in, we pushed, and the car lunged forward. We repeated digging, pushing, lunging; digging, pushing, lunging until the car (thankfully) got out of the sand. We had again been in a place where I don’t know where we would have found anyone to help us out.

Abby, Emily, and I walked along the beautiful beach wading in the surf and picking up seashells whilst Dano and the kids hiked up the rock. We also found footprints belonging to a desert cat native to the area which is similar to a lynx. It didn’t take too long before we heard them hollering down to us from atop the rock.
They looked around, snapped some shots, and hiked back down. Can you find me and Abby on the beach?
After hanging out on the beach for a little bit we drove around to the other promontory rock.
As we drove down the gravelly road, that Lister Luck set in again and POP! Out went our back left tire. Thank goodness we had our spare. Dano, Kennedy, and Ethan began to change it only to find the key described in the owner’s manual to release the spare was non-existent. With no way to get the spare down we could only wait for help to come. (I really need to take pictures of these moments of debilitation.)

We walked over and watched a flock of flamingos that inhabits the area during certain times of the year. Who would have thought?
With still more time, Dano and the kids decided to continue with their second climb.
At the top they discussed the story of Laman and Lemuel threatening to throw Nephi from the cliffs. This could have been his view of nature's fury. A little unsettling. (Another reason I didn't care to make the hike with the little girls.)
We have considered ourselves very blessed to have the opportunity to visit these sites which bring the scriptures to life.

We waited two hours for the man from the rental car company to find us. Well, actually Dano had to go to the main road to find him. When he arrived he began to change the tire. Dano told him he needed a key to release the spare tire. He told him no, that was on a different car. We showed him the owner’s manual (with the cover torn off). Sure enough, it belonged to a different model and had just been tossed into the car to claim there was one in it. I think it was the Tootsie Pops that made it more of a jovial situation. How can you be upset about anything when you’re sucking on a Tootsie Pop? Dano and his assistants secured the tires and we headed home alongside the beach and another Omani sunset. Have I mentioned how beautiful Oman is?