While in Oman..

A couple of days more and it would be the beginning of the end of May. In this part of the world, the mercury had just begun it's climb to the top. My family and I were in the lovely town of Khasab, located in Musandam peninsula in the Sultanate of Oman. Separated from mainland Oman by the UAE, Musandam is known for it's amazing coastline decorated with bold and beautiful mountains with fjords that hide many a surprise. It juts into the Strait of Hormuz facing Iran on the opposite side. Sometimes called the 'Norway of the Middle East', because the fjords here bear striking resemblance to those in Norway.

After driving for nearly five hours from Abu Dhabi we arrived in Khasab. We had been along the magnificent coast-mountains forming a wall on one side and the blue waters of the sea washing the white sand on the other. The afternoon heat had forced all the residents inside and the town bore a deserted look. Most houses here were very low with mud walls and all along the road there were at regular intervals, poles which indicated the levels to which the water filled the area during flash floods in the monsoons. We noticed the scars left behind by these floods on the compound walls of homes as withered plastering. After we refreshed ourselves at the hotel, we hopped in the car for a spin. Driving back towards the sea, we reached Bassa Beach. In soft evening sunlight light the mountains appeared as if they had been smeared all over with caramel. I could see the mountains as far the horizon, slowly fading away into the blue haze.

Bassa Beach

Not far away from the beach speed boats whirred past each other and the waves danced with one another. My mother spotted a bird quite close to the beach floating with the waves. We saw it float right onto the shell-showered beach. Soon a larger bird, a sea gull landed right beside it and coaxed it to fly. After a few failed attempts, the young sea gull finally burst into the air joining it's mother in the light, refreshing breeze.

Sea Gulls

Day two. We arrived at the harbour where the Dhows(Arabian boats) were ready to take tourists on a day-long cruise to see the fjords and the scenic coastline kissed by crystal-clear blue waters. The dhow was less of a boat and more of a royal palanquin, with comfy pillows a generous shade to shield us from the scorching sun rays and also included a restroom! As we left the harbour, we saw gulls and cormorants flying around, crashing into the water for a catch or just hanging around in flocks on precarious cliffs along the water. The Dhow chugged along, taking us into the interior to reveal more of the majestic mountains. Sipping a cup of tea, we lay back and allowed our eyes to do all the work, absorb the scenic treasure around us. The cool breeze, the rocking of the boat and the soft sound of the waves hitting the boat felt more like a lullaby and sometimes I felt myself being dragged off into a slumber.

The harbour at Khasab

A Dhow

Forty-five minutes into our cruise, we approached the first fishing village, Qasba. From a distance that we were allowed to look at it, the village looked desolate and I soon realised that the mid-day sun would have driven the inhabitants into the shades of their almost invisible houses which had perfect camouflage with the mountains behind them. Many boats just like ours had now grouped in a particular area. I could see that on other dhows people were all collecting on one side, all ready with cameras and camcorders, carefully looking into the waters. All of a sudden we heard cheers and whistles. People were clapping and the motors of all boats revved up. Dolphins! Many playful dolphins, brimming with energy were jumping all around the boats and the tourists, including us were going crazy just watching this show. Whistles and claps excited the dolphins and seemed like this recharged their internal batteries of enthusiasm! They were jumping out of the water while snorting out fountains of water, doing barrel-rolls and chasing the boats as if they were prey. For the next half-hour our minds were saturated with the memories of these dolphins. Leaving the dolphins behind, we proceeded with our cruise.

Indo-Pacific Hump-Backed Dolphins

Our next stop was Telegraph island. A tiny island containing nothing but the ruins of a few small buildings. During the British rule, this island used to be a transit for telegraph cables connecting Europe to India! Around telegraph island, the colour of water alternated between deep blue and emerald green. The water hid nothing, beautiful corals and fish were awaiting my first ever snorkeling attempt. So that is what I did, geared up and jumped into the water. My momentary fear of the depth of water didn't allow me to venture away from the safety of the boat's ladder. I looked down. I was astounded! I saw hundreds and hundreds of creatures. Fish with striking blue, red and yellow markings. Stony corals were everywhere and in between them were sea urchins and tiny jewel-like fish. Jellyfish floated around me and schools of other fish herded around our boat in search of tit-bits that our guide dropped into the water to attract fish. I had never in my life seen such an explosion of life around me and I was really excited. It felt like I was looking at a show on Animal Planet. It was a pity that I didn't have a water-proof camera at that time. The only camera was my mind. Our guide, Ahmed got us all back in the Dhow, promising to take us to an even better location for snorkeling. After about half an hour we came across a cliff and we were all asked to look at it carefully. After just seconds of studying the side of the cliff we all realised that it looked like a tortoise, exhibiting the creative role played by the forces of nature. All along the cliffs which overlooked the water, there were many crevices many of which were used by the local fishermen as makeshift closets! They had stored something in the spaces and carefully covered them with pieces of cloth.

Cliff-side shaped like a tortoise

Our Dhow, now joined by several other dhows slowed down to a halt and anchored at a safe distance from some low cliffs. This was our next and final snorkeling spot. I was ready, excited and waiting to jump into the water. The ladder was lowered into the water alongside the boat and as I stepped onto it. I froze, looking down into the water and all I saw was the murky blue depth. I am not a very good swimmer and the thought of drowning seemed to persuade me to remain in the boat but I jumped into the cool water. The only thing seperating me from the blue depths was my life-jacket. I still didn't have the courage to look down, so I began kicking my legs and this seemed to propel me towards the cliffs, where shallow waters perfect for snorkeling awaited me.



I swam for about five minutes and when I looked down, I was relieved to find that I had reached the shallows. The water was very clear and the fish seemed calm in the now warm water. The sandy bottom was covered by groups of sea urchins. A few coloured fish roamed in the quiet waters. I saw a sea-cucumber, sitting motionless on bottom. A few scattered, colourless coral grew in the barren shallows. I was surprised at the rather suppressed fish activity. I expected to see a large number of fish and coral just like I had seen about an hour ago at Telegraph Island. Nevertheless I was enjoying snorkeling. I occasionally took short breaks to rid my breathing-tube of water, that had sneaked in through the open end. By now, I had developed an appreciable appetite and swam back to our boat. Over a tasty meal, we shared our experiences with each other, the most popular topic being that about snorkeling. After lunch we began retreating to open sea, on the way visiting another fishing village. Watching the rays of the setting sun play behind the towering peaks, seeing the birds return to their roosts, we left the fjords behind us and came back to where we had begun our cruise.

A Fishing Village

The following morning saw us seated in a 4x4 Nissan Patrol, driving towards the mountains around Khasab with our guide Salah. He didn't speak much English, but did a great job by regularly drawing our attention to things of interest during the mountain safari. The road was surprisingly smooth only until we arrived at the foothills. From then on, what we were driving on bore little resemblance to a road. Stones with sharp edges lay on the path and much larger boulders were used as a substitute for a wall along the edges of the cliffs. As we drove higher into the mountains, it became increasingly clear to us that there might be no creature that could survive here. The barren landscape was punctuated by brown boulders, jagged cliffs, grasses and a sort of short tree.

Mountainous road

A Valley

We were wrong. We were puzzled to see goats jumping clumsily on the sides of cliffs that hung hundreds or even thousands of feet up in the air. Then we realised to whom these numerous goats belonged to. At some places along the road, there were houses built out of crude materials having small fences lined by barbed wire. These houses belonged to the mountain-folk. From then on, we were seeing many of such houses. We were climbing further and we came to a halt on a plateau with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. The terrain was rugged, and in between the rocks grew small, thick, spiny bushes. Salah was standing on some rocks looking at something and then called us to him. What we saw on the rocks were ancient drawings. They included drawings of goats, people on horseback, figures holding weapons. We didn't know how old they were or who had drawn them, but they hinted at the lifestyle of the people that lived here in the early ages.

Rugged terrain

Thorny bushes

Ancient drawings

Getting back into the car we drove for many more kilometers until we reached a valley where the sea-water touched the foothills.This was a beautiful location called as Khor Najd. Far below I could see boats anchored at the shore while out in the water Dhows just like the one we had been on were going on their usual rounds, reminding me of the wonderful time I had had the previous day. This was our last stop in Musandam.

Khor Najd

A Gecko among the rocks

That afternoon, we left for Abu Dhabi. We retraced our path, driving past some of the most beautiful coves and beaches that we had ever seen. Every second took us further away from Khasab and all the while I felt like abandoning the thought of going home and turning back towards Khasab. Now, back home, as I was writing this post, my mind was for brief moments teleported to this place and it magically felt as though I was just there.