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About this location: On the main road from Salalah travel about 37 kilometers where you will meet up with a gravel path which leads you to Khor Rhori where you will find an excavation site surrounded by a large span of green fencing and some vacant portable cabins. 

This lagoon is frequented by many migratory birds including flamingos, waders and gulls.  It is a natural place of beauty, both now and then for it has a fantastic history as well.

Sumhurum which is located beside the Khor Rhori beach, "Khor" is the Arabic word for "Bay",  is a picturesque freshwater creek, believed to once have been connected to the sea.  Sumhurum was probably the citadel of the ancient city of Moscha, the Abyssopolis of Pliny the Elder, and the collecting place and port of the flourishing incense trade. 

In ruins now, the ancient city dates back to 100 BC, built under the orders of King Azz II of Hadramaut.

Sumhurum has been excavated at least three times in recent years.  First in 1952 by Wendell Phillips and the American Foundation for the Study of Man.  Finds then included bronze coins, a Greek amphora, a stone bull's head, frankincense and the temple of the moon goddess cult named Sin. The temple area has a well which is more than 30 meters deep and walls more than 2.5 meters thick.  The site covers two acres and is fenced off and there is little to see from the outside but you can apply for a permit from the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture.

The remains of what is known as Queen Sheba's Palace stand on a small hill overlooking Khor Rhori.  Queen Sheba used to travel to Dhofar for frankincense, before there was a border between Oman and Yemen.  She had the palace built for her to reside in during her visits, and frankincense was stored in the palace before being shipped to Yemen.

Upon visiting this site there are no real explanations as to just what is exactly that you are standing before.  However, upon climbing the steps and viewing the site a visitor gets a real sense that indeed this was once something very special.