Musandam, Oman 1

Jabal Mahama (1042m), Wadi Khasab, Musandam, Oman.
View south from Jabal Harem (ca. 2100m, also known as Jabal as Sayh). The highest summit on the Musandam Peninsula, Oman.
On the ridge of Ra's Awlad (ca. 300m), Wadi Khasab, Musandam, Oman.
View south from Jabal Harem (ca. 2100m, also known as Jabal as Sayh). The highest summit on the Musandam Peninsula, Oman.
Full moon over Khor Najd, evening, near Khasab, Musandam Fijords, Oman, Arabian Peninsula

The Musandam peninsula. The rocks rise straight out of the sea.
View south from Jabal Harim, over 1,500 m high.

Shelly fossils in limestone at 1,500m on Jabal Harim. View north down Wadi Khasab.

Mussandam, Oman Description

Rocky and rugged, the Musandam Peninsula juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entry into the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, from the Arabian Peninsula. The Musandam (Persian: مسندم) peninsula is an exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. Its location gives Oman partial control, shared with Iran, of the strategic strait. In the northern section of Musandam, around Kumzar, the current language is Kumzari, which is one of the south-western Iranian languages and a sub-branch of Persian. The Musandam Peninsula has an area of 1,800 square kilometers and a population of 28,727 people. Connectivity has traditionally been a problem for the region, but this has greatly improved since August 2008 with the world's fastest passenger ferry launching service between Muscat and Musandam.[1]

Administrative Divisions

Musandam governorate consists of four namely Khasab, Bukha, Dibba Al-Baya and Madha. Khasab town is the regional center of the Governorate.

Musandam Governorate has great strategic importance owing to its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.

Geography

The rugged coastline resembles the glacier-carved coasts of polar regions, but in this case, the coast was shaped by the movement of Earth’s crust. The Arabian plate is slowly pushing under the Eurasian plate, creating the earthquake-prone mountains of Iran. On the leading edge of the Arabian plate, the Musandam Peninsula is sinking. The higher elevation mountains remain above the water, but the sea has rushed in to fill the valleys with fingers of water.


The "Norway" of Arabia
The Musandam Peninsula is the northernmost part of Oman jutting out into the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The province, or governorate of Musandam as it is officially known, is separated from the rest of Oman by various of the United Arab Emirates - Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah. Musandam more or less begins where the mountains rise from the plains of Ras al Khaimah.

The mountains have isolated communities for centuries. Coastal villages can be reached only by boat rather than by road. Pockets of flat land support meagre agriculture. The population of approximately 29,000 is concentrated in the capital, Khasab (18,000 in 2004) in the north and Dibba (5,500) on the east coast. Fishing is the principal economic activity supported by employment in government jobs. Tourism could be a major earner. Traders from Iran boost the port trade of Khasab.

At its nearest point Musandam is just 55 km from Iran across the strait. See the satellite image which will open in a separate window. The file size is 72.5 K and takes up to 30 seconds to download fully at 28.8K.

In 2000, we flew from Muscat to Khasab, the main town, in Oman Air's twin engine aircraft. A new, international airport opened at Khasab late in 2003, which can take larger aircraft flying from Dubai.

Geology
The mountains rise straight out of the sea giving rise to the fiord-like appearance of the coast, superbly evident from the air.

Rocks of the Hajar supergroup in the north appear to be flat-lying but are actually folded in a north-south trending anticline. Thinly-bedded yellowish-orange dolomitic limestones and mudstones indicating a near-shore environment progress upwards into highly fossiliferous shelf limestones. Shell fragments, brachiopods and micro-fossils in limestone indicate continental shelf conditions. These limestones were deposited from the early Jurassic to the Cretaceous period and are reckoned to be older than 65Ma.

Way of Life
Occasional flat ledges of land have been terraced for small-scale agriculture. Low walls are built round the cultivated areas to trap surface run-off. Silt settles from the water flattening the profile of the land and adding to soil. Three dams protect Khasab town from flash floods.

Stone houses, several centuries old, can still be seen hugging the mountain sides in some of the wadis. Rock art made by pecking boulders with a stone implement, can be seen in Wadi Qida.

Thick date-palm groves lie to the west of the inlet from the sea at Khasab and at the entrance to the wadi. Red posts on the road at the extreme end of the inlet warn motorists that the sea encroaches at high tide.

The Portuguese built Khasab fort at the beginning of the 17th century at the height of their naval presence in the region. Unlike many forts built on higher ground with a defensive purpose, Khasab fort was a supply point for dates and water to Portuguese ships sailing through the strait. The harbour gave shelter from rough seas. Access by land was virtually impossible.

Until quite recently, the Wali (the local governor) used the fort as an official residence. Prisoners were also jailed here. The ceilings were supported by teak timbers from India filled in with plaited palm fronds and mud plaster. Khasab gets very hot in the summer.

Life may appear to be very bleak when you visit the small fishing villages at the end of the fiords, which you can only reach by boat. But close up, you can see electricity power lines and a big water tank filled by the Municipality from the desalination plant in Khasab every week. The children board at school in Khasab from Saturday to Wednesday returning home at weekends. The communities remain very independent in spirit.


'Round the bend'
The British, in their inimitable fashion, arrived on this lump of rock called Telegraph Island in the fiords back in the mid-19th century, staying 5 years. They were laying a telegraph cable from India to Basra in Iraq. Taking the cable "round the bend" of the Gulf gave rise to the expression, since living on Telegraph Island in the summer must have sent them crazy.

These days, the island is noted for its rich underwater life. Dhows stop off here to enable tourists to go snorkeling. Take your mask and snorkel with you if possible. These may not always be provided on the dhows.

Fishing
Fishing is rich. Large species abound, such as king fish and tuna. All over Oman, you will see fishing for very small sardines which are spread on the beaches to dry and then used as animal feed.

Omani fishermen also ply the tourist dhows. It's a delight to watch the dolphins. Dolphins don't like the speed-boats but will stay close to the dhows, playing "chicken" by crossing repeatedly under the prow as close as they can go, and matching their speed to that of the dhows.

Traders from Iran
Khasab makes its money now from the port trade. Iranians import sheep and goats in small fibre glass hulls with very powerful engines into the local port, where the animals are shipped off to UAE and Saudi Arabia in trucks. On the return trip, the sailors load their boats with electronic goods and American cigarettes.

They have to arrive in Khasab port after sunrise and leave before sunset. We watched as some fifty or so boats gathered outside the port in the late afternoon, taking off together at high speed at some unseen signal. They have to avoid the Iranian coastguard as well as other shipping in the strait waters; the crossing is dangerous with so many oil-tankers passing to and fro. On my return in 2004, they seemed a little more relaxed. I was told that the boatmen can conceal themselves among the numerous small islands in the straits.

Read about this in The Economist archive for 4th April 1999. Another tourist article also appeared in the British Financial Times for 25th March 2000. A Reuters' correspondent visited the area at about the same time but I haven't been able to locate a source for his articles on the web.

Diving in Musandam

As well as publicizing the stupendous scenery, tourist developers are working on advertising Musandam as a diving destination. Trips cater for experienced and inexperienced divers alike, as well as snorkellers. Check out this discussion at Dive Forum in January 2004 which concludes that diving in Musandam will attract more experienced divers with an interest in big fish. Visibility is reckoned not to be as good as the Red Sea.

Expert Divers opened a dive centre adjacent to the Golden Tulip-Khasab Hotel in January 2005. This website is in German. Try this one for English contacts. Trips will take experienced divers round the northern edge of the peninsula and offer sheltered diving and snorkeling sites to novices. Several companies operate trips from Dibba on the east coast. Try Al Marsa Charters for example, although I do not know this company myself.

You can cruise the east coast of Musandam in the Charlotte Anne, a 200 ton Baltic trading boat, which was re-fitted with sails in 1994. The schooner is available for charter, both directly from the owners and also from Oryx Offroad, with whom Frederick Forsyth made a trip in 2003, writing it up in the Sunday Times magazine of 25th January 2004.