Muscat, August 17 - Apart from khareef, Dhofar is also known for the Madhbi barbecue, which is meat, chicken and fish grilled on slow fire or embers of coals. Madhbi barbecue is found at roadside shops at places such as Sahl Ateen and Darbat. The pleasant aroma of Madhbi makes the place distinctive and beckons the people passing by. For many, a trip to Salalah is not complete unless they try out the Madhbi barbecue, while some head there just to relish it. Some visitors take meat, chicken or fish to the Madhbi ‘stations’, where they get it grilled. Buying Madhbi barbecue for lunch and dinner is an ideal choice for many tourists. Madhbi barbecue is popular during weddings and family gatherings during Eid and other occasions.
Meat is also grilled on pebbles or stones, said Nasser bin Salem al Mamari, owner of a restaurant which sells Al Madhbi. He said chicken, mutton or fish is marinated with spices before barbequing on top of stones and fire under it. Meat is also grilled with salt and no spices.
Al Mamari said, “Many tourists come to our restaurant to enjoy what we serve. Some of them come here just for photography. Some of them purchase grilled meat. We also have ‘mashakeek’ and rice cooked in various ways.” Nadir, a Yemeni vendor of Al Madhbi, said: “There is a huge demand for Al Madhbi in the khareef season. This requires us to prepare large quantities of meat and chicken on a daily basis. Most of our customers are from the Gulf countries.”
Tourists are also attracted to its various agricultural products such as coconut, bananas and sugar cane. Marwan bin Abdulhakeem al Ghassani, Director of Tourism Promotions at the Directorate-General of Tourism in Dhofar Governorate, said that the Ministry of Tourism was making all efforts to ensure that tourists when they visit the governorate enjoy it.
Al Ghassani said, “The directorate-general organises a number of activities with the Omani Women Association in Wilayat Taqah and in cooperation with the office of the governor of the wilayat and support of Muscat Overseas Group of Companies. They include various beach contests, folk dances, exhibition of handicrafts and fine arts show.” Dhofar Governorate has many traditional markets known as souqs, prominent among them is Souq Al Hisn or Al Haffa which is a major tourist and economic landmark. It is famous for frankincense, traditional textiles and clothes, gold and silver jewellery. There are many shops selling Omani headdresses — kuma and Massar.
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