Two months ago, I was invited by friends to go on a three- day sailing cruise aboard their boat around the fjords of Musandam at the northern tip of Oman. The Musandam Peninsula acts as the gateway to the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Arabian Gulf. This region of Oman used to be out of bounds to foreigners, but over the last two decades the region has slowly opened up.
The scenery in this rugged and relatively untouched part of Oman is spectacular with rock formations jetting out of the sea and forming the high mountains of the interior. Because of the rocky peaks and steep terrain the peninsula is largely impassable. Almost all of the landscape is void of flora and the only animals that can be seen roaming freely are domesticated goats foraging for food. Unfortunately, the goats have found a more accessible kind of food new to this environment, garbage. This trash is often left behind by weekend tourist who charter boats to explore the hidden shores. I witnessed a goat devour a huge piece of foam plastic that was probably used for packaging.
The lack of plant and wildlife on the land is the antithesis of what lies beneath the surface of the sea. With a mask and snorkel you are privy to a whole other world as you dive below. Suddenly, there are hundreds of beautifully colored fish of all shapes and sizes surrounding you. The barren rocks we saw above the surface are transformed into a resting place for various shell fish and different types of colorful coral. It is a world in stark contrast with what can be seen above. Such is life in this pristine corner of the earth.
As Oman opens its doors to tourism, areas like Musandam are slowly being discovered and tourist development schemes are already on the drawing boards. The pace of development in the Gulf region is happening at such lightening speed that before an objection can be lodged, an entire skyline is transformed. This continues to be the case in the Emirate of Dubai and now in Qatar. Fortunately, these two emirates happen to have plenty of empty spaces to develop in areas which are not environmentally sensitive. Oman is different though. It is a country of contrasts, which enjoys an environment that changes with the terrain. Oman has 1,700 kilometers of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean from the Yemeni border in the south to the Strait of Hormuz. In the north, the landscape is barren and mountainous. Yet in the south, which is tropical and hit by the monsoons, the land is lush green and covered with banana plantations and coconut groves. The people and their lifestyles also reflect this contrast. Like the rest of the Gulf States, Oman has its cosmopolitan modern cities with shopping complexes, high rises and five-star hotels. Alongside this developed part of the country is the traditional part where houses have kept their mud brick facades and where marketplaces are still fragrant with the smell of frankincense. Oman is still one of the few places that has been able to successfully blend modernity with tradition. But for how long can it hold out?
During our trip north, I could make out the skeletons of a few tourist projects being constructed along the coast. Fortunately, they were mainly on sandy beaches and not intrusive. The real concern is when developers go a step further and venture into the tranquil bays of the once foreboding Musandam Peninsula.
At its closest distance, the tip of Musandam Peninsula is only 38 kilometers from the Iranian coast. Between the two countries lies the volatile Strait of Hormuz, a very strategic body of water. Twenty percent of the world's traded petroleum passes through the strait. This area is still considered militarily sensitive for Oman, but it is a far cry from the war zone it was in the 1980s and 1990s.
Two decades ago Oman's Musandam Peninsula was largely out of bounds to all but local tribes, the military and the odd scientific explorer. In the mid- 1980s, during the latter half of the Iran-Iraq war, ships that entered through the Strait of Hormuz were at risk of being attacked by Iranian gunboats. Overnight, this little stretch of water became the focus of the world's economic superpowers. First, the Soviet Union sent warships to the region and began chartering Kuwaiti ships hoping to deter Iranian gunboats. However, this may not have been such a wise decision. Kuwait, which had one of the largest commercial maritime fleets, was a close ally of Iraq at the time and took the brunt of the Iranian attacks. Then the Americans, not to be outdone, went a step further and temporarily re-flagged all Kuwaiti- registered oil tankers with American flags. This way, the US navy was able to escort those tankers as they transited the Arabian Gulf.
By the time the Iran-Iraq war was over, Oman was well on its way to opening up the country.
Musandam, though, remained closed. This was not so much the Omani government's doing but the result of rumors, circulating among expatriates in Dubai, about mysterious tribes lurking in the mountains and waiting to attack any foreigners who dared to trespass. The source of these rumors was probably a local tale passed on from generation to generation. The government did not try to deny these stories as they served authorities when they wanted to keep out tourists from that part of the country. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.
© Executive 2008
