December 2023
Khasab and the Musandam Peninsula
Khasab is an exclave of Oman at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula, very near the Strait of Hormuz. It has been dubbed the “Norway of Arabia” because of its extensive fjord-like craggy inlets and desolate mountainscapes.
Oman is very fractured geographically. This is where Khasab, on the Musandam Peninsula, sits in relationship to the Arabian Peninsula; notice how it is separated from the main body of the country by the UAE. This is very important in regard to the politics of this area.
We are here to enjoy the dolphin sanctuary in the waters around the Musandam Peninsula.
However, you do see a lot more than dolphins. Oman is essentially a crime-free country, So it is rather odd to learn that smuggling in broad daylight has long been tolerated. Due to US sanctions on Iran, smugglers cross the Strait of Hormuz to buy appliances and cigarettes in Musandam and carry them back to the Islamic Republic, dodging tankers and the Iranian coastguard.
It is believed that the Hajar Mountains were first formed on the Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary as a result of a continental collision that began at least 30 millennia ago. Exactly when these mountains developed is still not known.
Being part of the edge of the Arabian tectonic plate, the rocks are subjected to massive pressure as the plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate. As a result of this plate subduction, Musandam is being pushed downwards at approximately 0.24 inches per year at its northernmost point.
As can see by the map above, the area sits in the northern mountains of the Western Hajar Range. It is a remote patch of Oman separated from the rest of the country by a corner of the UAE. Hundreds of years of isolation have led to the evolution of the area’s own language, Kumzari, a blend of Farsi, Arabic, and Hindi, with a smattering of Portuguese, Italian, and English. The area lacked roads until just a decade ago.
A funny little outcropping that looks like a cartoon
Telegraph Island. The name comes from the telegraph-cable repeater station built on the island in 1864.
Being stationed on Telegraph Island must have been hell. Although, the men did have servants, a couple of boats for leisure time, and regular newspaper deliveries. The telegraph station was abandoned in December 1868.
There are random, very isolated villages throughout the Musandam Peninsula
Goats in an isolated village
There are bottlenose dolphins in this area, but what we saw were Humpback Dolphins.
Their dorsal fin sits on top of a fatty, hump-like structure, which gives the dolphins their name.
Most humpback dolphins are grey in color, intelligent, and generally live in groups.
A crane as he hops from boat to boat in the harbor
