Al-Baleed Archaeological Park

Not to be confused with Zafar, Yemen.

Al-Baleed Archaeological Park is an archaeological park located in Al Balīd (Arabic: البليد) of Salalah, Dhofar, Oman. It is a part of the Land of Frankincense in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.^[3]

Al-Baleed Archaeological Park

البليد
Shown within Oman
Location	Salalah, Dhofar, Oman
Region	Arabia
Coordinates	17°00′23″N 54°07′50″E
Type	city
Part of	Land of Frankincense
History
Founded	6th century[1][2]
Abandoned	17th century[1][2]
Site notes
Excavation dates	1952–present[1]

The ruins in the park belong to the medieval city of Ẓafār/Ẓufār (Arabic: ظفار) which also covers the adjacent area in Ar Rubāṭ (Arabic: الرباط). Ẓafār/Ẓufar, from which the Dhofar Governorate got its name,^[4] acted as an important port for frankincense trade after the decline of the nearby port in Khor Rori.^[1][2] It is sometimes associated with Sapphara Metropolis mentioned by ancient Greek/Roman authors,^[5] but this name more likely refers to the ancient Himyarite city with the same name.^[6]

It was visited by many famous travellers, such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Ibn al-Mujawir and Zheng He.^[7] The city declined in the 16th–17th centuries due to various reasons such as the closure of the lake Khawr al Balīd (which used to be a bay) and Portuguese/Turkish/Mamluk invasion.^[1][2]

The park also contains the Museum of the Land of Frankincense.

References

1. Zarins, Juris (2007). "Aspects of recent archaeological work at al-Balīd (Ẓafār), Sultanate of Oman". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 37: 309–324. ISSN 0308-8421.
2. Newton, Lynne S.; Zarins, Juris (2019). Dhofar through the Ages: An Ecological, Archaeological and Historical Landscape. Oxford: Archaeopress. pp. 38, 67, 115. ISBN 978-1-78969-160-3.
3. "Land of Frankincense". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2000-11-30. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
4. Costa, P.M. (1979). "The study of the city of Ẓafār (al Balīd)". Journal of Oman Studies. 5: 111–150.
5. Maugh, Thomas H. II (April 21, 1992). "L.A.-Based Archeology Team Finds 2nd Arabian City: History: Saffara Metropolis, a 3,000-year-old frankincense trading center, is found in Oman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
6. Yule, Henry (1903). The Travels of Marco Polo. Vol. 2.
7. "Al Baleed Archaeological Park Salalah - UNESCO World Heritage Site - in 2020". Beautiful Salalah. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2020-09-10.