Kumzar also written as Kumza, is a village located in Musandam

Musandam

Musandam Governorate is a governorate of Oman.Geographically, the Musandam peninsula juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entry into the Persian Gulf, from the Arabian Peninsula. The Musandam peninsula is an exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates...

, the northernmost province of Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

. It is the most northerly inhabited part of the country, located on the Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman....

. The village is isolated and only accessible by boat.

Kumzar has been inhabited for approximately 500 years, although exact records are difficult. Early Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 maps of the area highlight a settlement in the area.

The isolated location of the village has harboured a separate language, Kumzari, which is the only Iranian language native in the Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...

. The Kumzaris (a subdivision of the Shihuh tribe) practice Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and have traditional folk values. The culture is distinct from the other settlements in the area.

Fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 is the dominant source of income, tuna

Tuna

Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

 and sardine

Sardine

Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....

s being the major catch. Most families have two houses, one in Kumzar and the second in Khasab

Khasab

Khasab is a city in an exclave of Oman. It is the local capital of the Musandam peninsula. Khasab is located 500 kilometers from Muscat and is dubbed the "Norway of Arabia". The Portuguese built Khasab at the beginning of the 17th century at the height of their naval presence in the region. The...

. The extreme heat in the summer makes Kumzar almost uninhabitable and from May to September most people leave Kumzar to stay in Khasab. In Khasab the Kumzari are typically isolationist

Isolationism

Isolationism is the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by...

, having their own district, close to the sea, where all the houses are grouped.