Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir or more simply Sallah is a character from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark and who is connected to the Jungle Cruise.
History[]
Biography[]
Background[]
Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir was born in Cairo, Egypt in the year 1897. From a young age, Sallah was interested in archaeology and assisted his father in identifying ancient Egyptian monuments along the Nile River. In 1912, Sallah's father died and in 1913 Sallah befriended a young Indiana Jones whom he explored ancient ruins with.
As an adult, Sallah would become Egypt's top excavator and a frequent ally and contact of Indiana who became a world-renowned archaeologist. Sallah also married a woman named Fayah whom he had nine children with from their marriage to 1936. Sallah also had multiple contacts throughout the world in the archaeological community, both of the legal and criminal variety.
Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition[]
In the June of 1935, Sallah had his brother-in-law acquire the missing parts of an ancient map on the black-market. This relic completed a map which lead to the long lost Temple of the Forbidden Eye in the Lost Delta of India, a temple of the deity Mara who bestowed supernatural gifts to visitors. Indiana and Sallah located the temple and lead the Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition to excavate it with assistance from the British Colonial Affairs division of the British Empire. However, early in this expedition they were troubled by Jones' evil rival, René Belloq who learned of the temple's location.
British Colonial Affairs was largely negligent and pressured Sallah into running dangerous tours throughout the temple that caused harm, damage to the excavations, and the disappearance of a group of tourists which sparked global outrage. This tourism business was assisted by the British colonial Jungle Navigation Company and involved riding modified jeeps through the temple. Sallah's tourism business evolved into the company, "Sallah Tours" which lead tours of the Lost Delta. On one occasion, Sallah sent Indy's map of the temple to their mutual friend, "Trader Sam" in hopes he might bring patrons of his bar to the temple for tours.
On the July 6 of 1936, Indy travelled into the temple to seek out the missing tourists and Mara's power-source, "The Jewel of Power". A week later, Jones was deemed missing after failing to return from the temple's inner sanctums. After contacting their archaeological affiliate Marcus Brody, Sallah was pressured into continuing the tours for profit and with hopes that one of the tours might find the missing Doctor Jones. One of these tours ran afoul of Mara and was saved by Jones before escaping together albeit with harm occurring to the temple. The archaeological expedition was ended by the July of that year.
Raiding the Lost Ark[]
Also in 1936, Sallah teamed up with Indiana in Cairo to hunt down the Well of Souls, a lost temple which contained the biblical Ark of the Covenant. Sallah also ran the excavation team of their rival René Belloq who was attempting to find the ark for the Nazi party of Germany who wished to use it as a super-weapon. Sallah used this position to aid Indiana Jones in getting onto the archaeological site and finding the ark's real location. Sallah later aided Jones and his lover Marion Ravenwood in leaving Egypt with the ark.
Following these events, Sallah discovered Jones' lost acquisition the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol in Marrakesh, Morocco. Sallah contacted Jones about this rediscovery and Indy subsequently sent his aviator Jock Lindsey to recover the idol.
The Last Crusade[]
In 1938, Sallah and Marcus reunited to assist Indiana Jones and his father, Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. in tracking down the Holy Grail of Arthurian myth. The band was able to find the grail's temple and defeat a group of nazi archaeologists though the temple and grail were destroyed in the process.
Later adventures[]
Sallah continued the business Sallah Tours and expanded it to giving tours of the Lost Delta and Amazon rainforest. Sallah was also a patron of Trader Sam's bar during a Christmas which was surrounded by supernatural events alongside members of the Adventurers Club. In the 1950s, Sallah was a patron of Jock Lindsey's bar in the sleepy town of Disney Springs, Florida.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye[]
Sallah appears in the pre-show videos for this attraction and is mentioned throughout the queue, being identified as the head excavator behind the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. News-reel footage of him on, "Eye on the Globe" plays, followed by a safety-video for their tours of the temple.
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]
In the Enchanted Tiki Bar is a message from Sallah to Sam, asking him to bring his patrons to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye to satisfy British Colonial Affairs' tourism quota. There is also a luggage-tag from Sallah's business of, "Sallah Tours", mentioned as going from the Lost Delta region to the Amazon rainforest.[1] A letter from Indiana Jones to Sam that comes with a whip and fedora gifted to Sam has a logo for, "Sallah Tours" adorning it. During the Christmas overlays, a stocking for Sallah is hung up up.[2]
Other connections[]
Adventure Trading Company[]
This attraction had many references to the Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition's operations such as a luggage-sale advertisement in the Daily Gnus.
The Great Movie Ride[]
Sallah appeared in the Raiders of the Lost Ark scene, lifting the Ark of the Covenant with Indy.
The Jungle Cruise[]
Sallah headed the excavation of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye passed by in the Jungle Cruise. During Summer of Hidden Mysteries, the ark which Sallah assisted uncover was located in the Congo nearby Kejo the Silverback.
Other appearances[]
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull[]
Sallah is mentioned on a board from Indiana's 1931 excavation of the Temple of the Crystal Skull in the Lost River Delta in Peru. The message reads, "Have Sallah check w/Zecharia in Bagdad: figure in winged disk Persian- Adhura Mazda Summarian- Marduk Assyrian- Ashur".[3]
Indiana Jones: Den of Destiny[]
On a board in this den is a photograph of Indy and Sallah together, in the possession of the CIA.[4]
Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]
Sallah's keys are in the lost & found of Jock Lindsey's bar. There is also a food item called, "Sallah's Falafel" and assorted references to the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark.[5]
Trivia[]
- In Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, Sallah is replaced by an original character named Paco.
Gallery[]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/7848397840/
- ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/christmas-trader-sams/
- ↑ https://medium.com/@bernicewong/day-4-tokyo-disneysea-46c1aff10717
- ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2023/06/cia-profiles-indiana-jones-den-of-destiny/
- ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2016/06/30/review-jock-lindsey-s-hangar-bar-at-disney-springs-overhauls-food-menu/