Kumzar

Kumzar occupies a narrow cleft at the northern tip of the Musandam peninsula, hemmed in by cliffs with no road in and no land route out, so everything arrives by boat from Khasab an hour away. The houses are packed into the ravine wall to wall with lanes barely wide enough to pass. The community speaks Kumzari, a language with a Persian base and Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese and English elements, not intelligible to Arabic speakers and spoken essentially nowhere else, which makes it one of the more isolated linguistic communities in Arabia. Fishing is the livelihood, and many families historically moved to Khasab for the date harvest each summer.

History

Kumzar has been inhabited for about 500 years, although records are scarce, and early Portuguese maps already mark a settlement here. Many Kumzaris believe the name joins the Arabic words kam and zar, "how many visited?", a nod to the many visitors drawn by the village's position on the Strait of Hormuz (Wikipedia, Kumzar).

Highlights

• The packed village - houses filling the ravine between cliffs.
• The harbour - the boats and the landing that is the only access.
• Kumzari - the language spoken in the village and nowhere else.
• The cliff setting - the fjord walls enclosing the settlement.

When to go

October to April; summer is extremely hot and the sea trip uncomfortable. Boats are arranged in Khasab and depend on sea conditions. Mornings are calmer on the water.

Good to know

Access is only by chartered boat and trips cancel in rough weather. This is a small, conservative and inhabited village, not an attraction; visitors should be discreet and ask before photographing. There are no facilities or accommodation. Lanes are private space as much as public.

Nearby

Khasab lies south by boat; the Musandam fjords are all around.

Key facts