Khasab

History

The Portuguese built a fort at Khasab at the beginning of the 17th century, at the height of their naval presence in the region. The natural harbour gave shelter from rough seas. Unlike many forts, which were built on high ground for defensive purposes, Khasab fort was designed as a supply point for dates and water for Portuguese ships sailing through the strait. Today, Khasab is protected from floods by three large dams.

Economy

Access to the area by land was virtually impossible until a modern coast road was built, which allows fast access from the United Arab Emirates, making Khasab a popular weekend destination for people living in the Emirates. The new road also allows access to the village of Tawi, where prehistoric drawings of boats, animals and warriors can be seen in the rock face. Khasab also has a number of modern shopping areas with imported Iranian goods and locally created pottery, and a few hotels, including the Khasab Hotel, Atana Musandam Resort and Atana Khasab Hotel, which sits on a cliff overlooking the Persian Gulf.

Khasab has an interesting trading position, which hinges on its proximity to Iran. Iranians export sheep and goats into the local port, from where the animals are dispatched to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in trucks. On their return trip to the Islamic Republic, the sailors load their boats up with electronic goods and American cigarettes, arriving in Khasab after sunrise and leaving before sunset to conform with Omani immigration laws. Since the trading is illegal under Iranian law, they must avoid the Islamic Republic's coastguard as well as all other shipping in the busy waters of the Strait of Hormuz. The crossing is hazardous since the vessels, piled high either with livestock or with numerous boxes must avoid the path of the scores of oil-tankers which pass through the Strait in a transverse direction daily. Recent increases of United States' sanctions against Iran have increased the amount of smuggling done through Khasab.

Tourism

Dhows from Khasab take tourists on trips to view the dolphins common in the waters around the Musandam, as well as to visit the fjords and Telegraph Island. For a short time (between 1865 and 1868) Telegraph Island was the site of a staffed telegraph repeater station on the cable section between Bahrain and Bombay; it is currently undergoing redevelopment.

Khasab is the site of the world's longest overwater zip-line, at 1.8km long and speeds of up to 80kph.

Climate

Khasab has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with very hot and humid summers and mild winters. Precipitation is low, and mostly falls from December to March.

On 27 June 2011 Khasab Airport recorded the world calendar day highest minimum temperature of 41.2 °C, until Death Valley, California, United States, broke the record by 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) to record 41.7 C on 12 July 2012. On 17 June 2017, Khasab recorded the highest night-time low temperature of 44.2 °C.

|Jan record high C = 30.8 |Feb record high C = 32.0 |Mar record high C = 37.5 |Apr record high C = 43.0 |May record high C = 46.2 |Jun record high C = 49.0 |Jul record high C = 47.7 |Aug record high C = 47.5 |Sep record high C = 44.0 |Oct record high C = 41.4 |Nov record high C = 36.0 |Dec record high C = 31.0 |Jan record low C = 10.5 |Feb record low C = 10.0 |Mar record low C = 10.0 |Apr record low C = 15.5 |May record low C = 21.5 |Jun record low C = 25.0 |Jul record low C = 23.8 |Aug record low C = 27.0 |Sep record low C = 22.0 |Oct record low C = 16.0 |Nov record low C = 12.0 |Dec record low C = 8.4 |access-date = January 15, 2013}} |access-date= 25 December 2024}}

Gallery

File:Khasab Oman.JPG File:Khasab1.jpg File:Persian gulf scene from kasab mountian route.jpg File:A scene Kasab to Ras-al-Khaima.jpg File:A beach scene from kasab.JPG File:A scene from kasab route.jpg|A picture of the Khasab Coastal Road File:khasab view.jpg File:Dolphin-Musandam 2.jpg|Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin off Khasab File:KHASAB HARBOR OMAN 2024.jpg|Khasab Harbor, with Atana Khasab Hotel in foreground and station for over-sea zipline

References

References

2. "Khasab". [[Oman Air]].
3. (September 28, 2006). "Musandam is a glimpse of the real Arabia". Travel Weekly.
4. (February 2, 2004). "A Mountain Of Thirst". [[Outlook (Indian magazine).
5. (2011). "Honour is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighbouring Regions". [[Walter de Gruyter]].
6. "Fleet".
7. Wells, Rhona. (February 1, 2004). "The Norway of Arabia". [[The Middle East (magazine).
8. Karim, Rose Yasmin. (February 21, 2009). "Fjords & flippers". [[The Star (Malaysia).
9. Al Shaibany, Saleb. (November 1, 2009). "US sanctions help Omani fishermen survive as smugglers". [[The National (Abu Dhabi).
10. "Longest zip wire over water". Guinness World Records.
11. "Khasab: Oman Opens Its Longest Zip Line In Khasab To Public". GulfBuzz.
12. (September 8, 2011). "June 2011 Global Weather Extremes Summary". [[Weather Underground (weather service).
13. (22 June 2017). "A World Record Low Humidity? 116°F With a 0.36% Humidity in Iran".