'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎101v] (207/862)

130 COASTS OF THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
along the coast, except for a track from Khasab, the only large village,
running ultimately along the Pirate Coast (p. 134).
The Musandam peninsula and Ruus al Jibal promontory are
inhabited by the curious and primitive Shihuh people, who live on
fish, and who migrate in summer to the date-groves at Khasab, Rams
(on the Pirate Coast), and places on the coast of the gulf of Oman.
The Musandam peninsula is the Mons Asabo of Ptolemy, the Maceta
of Arrian, and the Maka of Eratosthenes.
Detailed Description
Ras al Bab, the north-east extremity of the Musandam peninsula,
ends in a vertical limestone cliff 453 feet high. Musandam island lies
600 yards north-east of Ras al Bab; it is precipitous all round, except
in some small coves on the east side.
The north coast of the Musandam peninsula, between Ras al Bab
and Ras Sharaita, 8 miles north-west, is indented by several bays and
coves: Ghubbat al Khouse or Khor Fakudda, the largest bay, is
entered between two narrow points 2 and 3J miles west-south-west
of Ras al Bab; all its sides are precipitous; at its head it is separated
from a bay of the gulf of Oman by a steep isthmus 2\ miles long and
less than half a mile wide. Khor Muaili, the next bay to the west,
has a sandy beach at its head, immediately south of which rises a
sharp peak 1,891 feet high. Kumzar, a fishing-village at the head of
Khor Kumzar, is shut in by bare precipitous mountains which rise
to 1,843 f eet a m ^ e sout h; it has no land approach, and the small
houses are closely crowded together; there is one copious well.
Between Ras Mukhalif, the point at the western entrance of Khor
Kumzar, and Ras Sharaita, are three coves; the eastern one has a
natural harbour for small craft at its head.
Ras Sharaita, the north-west extremity of the Musandam peninsula,
is a precipitous promontory 1^ miles long, rising to 405 feet in the
south, and joined to the mainland by a sandy isthmus 20 feet high.
From Ras Sharaita the coast trends south-west and forms the east
side of Khor Quwai, a cliffed strait between the north-west part of the
Musandam peninsula and Jazirat al Ghanam, a high, waterless,
uninhabited island 3 miles long, on which H.H. the Sultan of Muscat
and Oman has given recreational facilities for the Royal Navy. Khor
Quwai contains anchorages for a cruiser and a possible alighting area
for flying-boats; there are several small beaches on both sides, but
the shores are steep and uninhabited and have no land communications.