[Oman-l] Hoti Cave

[Joachim Duester]

a) meaning
As I could not find the spelling in Arabic script, I am hesitant to
speculate about the meaning of hoti (hota) and of  falah (or fallah ?).
"Hoot" is indeed the Arabic word for whale.
Unless it is a local name, "falah" derives certainly from the root falaha,
hence also the word fallah (second "a" a long vowel) = peasant, farmer. 
The word "falih" from the same root, with long a and short i, means 
indeed lucky, successful.

b) sources
Al-Hota / al-Fallah caves are described in "Caves of Oman" by Sanir Hanna
and Mohamed al-Belushi, SQU 1996, pp. 49-61. They are also dealt with in
some of the travel guides for Oman, such as Peter J. Ochs's "Maverick Guide
to Oman", 2nd ed. 2000, pp. 277-78.

c) fishes
The fish from this cave are Garra barreimiae, Fowler & Steinitz, 1956. They
are described, and earlier articles about them are quoted, by Keith Edward
Banister and Margaret Ane Clarke in their article "The Freshwater Fishes of
the Arabian Peninsula", in: The Scientific Results of the Oman Flora and
Fauna Survey 1975 (Journal of Oman Studies Special Report; 1), 1977, pp.
111-154.

Joachim Duester