We flew 1,5 hours with Oman Air from Oman’s capital Muscat to Khasab …
… the isolated smuggler’s nest, surrounded by deep fjords …
… on the Musandam Peninsula, facing the Strait of Hormuz, only 15 km away from Iran.
Map: Wikipedia
About 25% of the world oil production passes this strategic point every day. Historically, this area has been under Portuguese rule (who built Khasab Castle) …
… and then under British control (who built an important hub for the telephone line to Asia here). Nowadays, Khasab hosts the FALCON seacable. There is a modern ferry from Dubai and a good asphalt road via Ras Al Khaimah. Khasab Airport is mainly military and hosts only one civilian flight per day.
We hired the same Dhow that the Danish prime minister had been on the day before …
… and navigated deep into the fjordlands.
The friendly Captain and the diving instructor:
We saw dolphins …
3rd foto: Wikipedia
… and plenty of other small fish.
A lonely fisherman village that needs to get all freshwater supplies by kayaks from Khasab, or by climbing over the mountains when the sea is too rough.
The old road to the UAE …
Foto: Wikipedia
… and the new road along the coast to Ras Al Khaimah.
Foto: Wikipedia