M U S A N D A M
Like Alaska, the region of Musandam is not physically connected to the rest of the country. If you go by land, you must pass through the United Arab Emirates and have passports and UAE exit visas ready for the six hour drive. There is also a five hour ferry between Muscat and Khasab, the capital of Musandam. We opted for the hour flight on Omani Air.
Musandam lies at a strategic point on the Arabian Gulf directly across from Iran on the Straits of Hormuz. Its greatest allure are the remarkable fjords (Norway in Arabia!), inlets and hidden coves. Smugglers and pirates to this day dramatize the region with an air of danger and daring.
Musandam has a unique culture all its own, distinct from the dominant Omani culture. The northernmost section of Musandam is called Kumzar whose people speak their own language, Kumzari, which is the only Persian language native in the Arabian Peninsula.
Musandam lies at a strategic point on the Arabian Gulf directly across from Iran on the Straits of Hormuz. Its greatest allure are the remarkable fjords (Norway in Arabia!), inlets and hidden coves. Smugglers and pirates to this day dramatize the region with an air of danger and daring.
Musandam has a unique culture all its own, distinct from the dominant Omani culture. The northernmost section of Musandam is called Kumzar whose people speak their own language, Kumzari, which is the only Persian language native in the Arabian Peninsula.
* * * * * * *
Khasab
On arrival, Suleiman met us at the airport, but he barely spoke a word of English. (Most Omanis say they speak English, but few are actually conversant. Our best bet for directions was asking Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi workers.) We were supposed to hike in the mountains but ferocious rains the day before washed away parts of the gravel road. Suleiman eventually led us on a path to a farm that had a few bait al qufl (“house of the lock”).
After lunch Suleiman took us to the town's stylishly restored Portuguese fort. It was the first of many Omani forts that we would later come to explore. As the first one, we were delighted by it and the museum which housed many local cultural objects, including the jerz (axe). See the 1:11 min VIDEO of fort. Suleiman took us to an area where there are a number of petroglyphs. They are rather mediocre compared to rock art we've seen in Namibia or the U.S. Southwest, and seemingly not that old, but we reveled in it anyway. That evening we were transferred by sea about 15 minutes away from Khasab to a glorious beach we had all to ourselves -- except for the escort the tour company apparently felt we needed. He couldn't speak English but we managed to tell him that NO we did not want a generator to supply lights; please turn the damn thing off. He neglected to tell us (or use hand motions) to put all belongings in the tent that night. The next morning we discovered a feral goat had eaten a big chunk out of our Oman guide book, including the index. See 30 sec VIDEO as we depart from our paradisiacal beach. |
|
* * * * * * *
|
Sea Excursion through the Fjords
The fjords are Musandam's number one tourist attraction. Because it was the end of the season, there was not the usual armada of dhows laden with foreign adventure seekers (mostly ex-pats on vacation from the Emirates).
Our dhow was owned and captained by Mohammed. Besides us, the guests consisted of a New Zealand couple living in Dubai with their two darling girls and his visiting parents, plus six young ladies, three from Poland and three from Serbia. The New Zealanders had slept on the dhow the previous night in the upper Musandam peninsula and excitedly told us of witnessing almost 100 high speed boats smuggling cigarettes and the like to Iran. Our cruise glided through the lower Musandam peninsula where dolphins trailed the dhow -- see 30 sec dolphins VIDEO. The boat made a pit stop at Telegraph Island, a spit of land occupied by the British in the late 19th century to boost telegraph messages along the London to Karachi telegraphic cable line. There are remnants of the station house which we climbed up the island steps to see. The swimming here in the cool water was fabulous. Watching Mohammed dive into the sea, Colleen held her breath. A good thirty seconds after she exhaled, Mohammed surfaced. He came aboard with a clamshell in his hand, opened it and handed her the pearl. She tried to refuse it several times believing it had a modicum of great worth, but he insisted and his friends said it is not polite to refuse a gift. Mohammed's father is from Larek, an Iranian island in the Straits of Hormus. They speak the same non-Arabic, Persian-based language spoken by the Kumzar of north Musandam. He showed us videos of Larek sword dancers which totally beguiled us. 2:07 min VIDEO 2:50 min VIDEO 1:42 min VIDEO The first two clips have an anthropological feel. |