Kumzar is one of Oman’s most remote and northern settlements. With its back to the mountain and looking out towards Iran – barely 50km ahead – Kumzar is a bit of a cultural oddity. Its residents speak Kumzari, an Arabic dialect made up of Farsi, Portuguese and Hindi, hinting at influences from all sides of the sea. Kumzar has so little breathing space between mountain and sea that its 3-5,000 residents share the dubious distinction of living in Oman’s most densely populated settlement. It has a mosque, one beach, one street, a helipad and an electric station. And while most boats going in and out have engines, you can still find the traditional wooden boat they call a batil. High above its seaside entrance, on one side of the cliff, stood a little stone room. It is from there that people have looked out for generations, looking for schools of fish the boats could then go after.

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