The city of Salalah is the capital of the Dhofar region of Oman and is known as the “perfume capital of Arabia.” The city is a popular destination for tourism due to the natural attractions of the al Qar mountains (Jabal al Qar, in Arabic) and abundant stands of frankincense trees lining mountain stream courses. These can be seen in this astronaut photograph as green regions in the Jabal al Qar north of the city (located in the center of the image). The beaches and coastline are also major attractions for scuba diving and bird watching.
Rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Mekunu dropped enough rain over the Arabian Peninsula to form lakes between the sand dunes in the Rub’ al-Khali.
Much of Oman’s landscape is low-lying, hot, and dry. Northern Oman, however, contains rugged mountains, some of the highest elevations in eastern Arabia, and varied vegetation.
The rocky, fjord-like fingers of the Musandam Peninsula jut into the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in this detailed image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA's Terra satellite.
Acquired March 6, 2001, this false-color image shows Tombouctou (Timbuktu) and the surrounding region. Vegetation is red, water is blue, human-built structures are brown-gray, and bare ground ranges in color from off-white to tan.