Located in the Musandam Peninsula is the city of Khasab, which is considered to be the Norway of Arabia. This city is around 500 kilometers away from Muscat and was built by the Portuguese in the 17th century due to the sheltered nature that the natural harbor had. This fort city was built by the Portuguese as their supply point for water and dates in those days.
These days, Khasab is considered a popular weekend destination by those living in the Emirates area. This began when a modern coastal road was built to make the city more accessible by land. Today, there are a number of hotels that local and foreign tourists can stay in when they visit the place.
Visitors to the area will love the old village of Tawi which features a number of prehistoric drawings that are made on the rock faces found in the area. You will find age old drawings of animals, boats and warriors on these rock faces. You will also find that the mixture of the old with the new is present here with the numerous modern shopping areas that you can go to in the city which sell items like local pottery and Irani goods.
Some of the things you can enjoy doing in Khasab include the day tours or excursions that some tour companies can help you with and the Dhow cruises that takes you from Dubai to Khasab. You will need to arrange this with certain cruise companies in Dubai and these often include lunch and dolphin sightings, if you are lucky.