If you have never heard of Musandam, you are not alone.  Very few people even knew what I was talking about when I said I was going to Oman, much less the far north part of the country.

Musandam is  a remote patch of the planet, the kind of place that gets blank stares when you say you are going there.  It is separated from the rest of Oman by the UAE.  These boundaries  were drawn in the early part of the 20th century by the tribal elders in control at the time. 

Musandam is a mountainous peninsula projecting into the Strait of Hormuz featuring fjord like inlets, small villages and dramatic mountain hugging roads.  

It is often referred to as the Norway of Arabia.  That appealed to me when I looked at the itinerary for Jim Cline Photo tour of Oman and Dubai.  I’m part Norwegian and loved the trip we took  eight years ago along the Norwegian fjords. 

These fjords look very different, but equally spectacular. 

Late afternoon in Khasab

Our short visit began with a flight from Muscat, the capital of Oman.   We flew into Kahasab, Musandam with not much daylight left.  Quickly some of us gathered our cameras and headed toward town. First, we encountered a mosque, a common sight all over Oman.  But more interesting was what was happening in the parking lot.

Benches covered with rugs, a TV and a buffet were installed on the corner of the lot.  It was a little party of sorts.  Men gathered to watch a spy thriller while people arrived to buy food from the stall.  

These little girls showed up with money in hand to buy dinner.  Aren’t they cute?  They joined the group on the sofas for a while and charmed us all. 

Later this very expressive man with a couple of lovely ladies appeared to buy food.  Omani take out I guess you’d call it. They were very agreeable about letting us take their photos.  The gentleman looks angry, but he wasn’t. I was fascinated with his eyes.  

17th century Portuguese Fort 

The next day the tour company took us to the main attraction the town—a 17th century Portuguese Fort.  It was filled with displays of early life in the area.  

The fort was built as a supply fort for dates and water for Portuguese ships on the trade routes.

Frankly, museums are not often included on Photography Tours.  We’re more interested in capturing what we see.

However, this short museum visit was a nice overview for what life was once like here in Musandam during the 1600s.  

Visiting villages nearby 

We headed off to meander some of the outlying villages, taking photos and enjoying the remote locations in the mid-day sun.  

I found the residential  buildings interesting.  They were very basic, but most of the homes had interesting doors, showing the  human need for ornamentation.   The color pops in this very stark environment.  

Some gentlemen in the village allowed us to take their photos.  They didn’t seem to have much to do. The pace of life seemed to crawl. 

Touring the Fjords of Musandam. 

In the afternoon we all got on a Dhow, a traditional Arab wooden boat used for fishing, moving cargo and tourism.  

Lucky us.  We headed off to see the fjords, the dolphins, enjoy the beautiful blue water and gorgeous scenery.  Along the way we saw small villages only accessible by water.  While dramatic, they looked  inhospitable to me. I would have liked to have gone ashore to explore. 

Our tour company invited a young Omani family along for us to photograph while boating, making the trip especially interesting.  

It was a lovely afternoon fueled with snacks and lots of photo opportunities.  Nothing makes a group of photographers happier.  

Heading to Dubai

The next day we loaded into a bus and made our way to Dubai.  There I marveled over the contrast.  Musandam is filled with natural wonders to enjoy like hiking, snorkeling, diving and boating.  Dubai is a man made playground with glitz and glitter, shopping galore. 

They are separated with  a mere two hours drive.  I can see why Musandam is a relaxing weekend get-away for Dubai residents.   

More on DesignDestinations.org

For more about Dubai, click here and here for two didffernt blog posts about Dubai.  I’ve also posted about a day in Abu Dhabi for your enjoyment.

And here’s a link to another blog post about Oman.  

For more about the 2021 JimCline Oman trip, click here.