Khasab Fort

Khasab Fort sits on the harbour in Khasab town, 5 minutes’ walk from the dhow port and the cruise-ship terminal. The Portuguese built the outer walls and the square corner towers around 1623, when they controlled the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes. The round central keep is older — it pre-dates the Portuguese arrival and is attributed to the Yaruba dynasty, which ruled Musandam in the 16th century. The fort was damaged in 1643 when the Yaruba and Omani forces expelled the Portuguese. It was restored in the 1990s by the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture and now houses a small but well-curated museum of Musandam ethnography: traditional jewellery, dhow models, weapons, Bedouin tents, date storage rooms, and a 1:200 model of a 19th-century Khasab town. Most cruise-ship passengers visit the fort on the 1-hour walk after the morning dhow cruise. Most independent travellers visit on the way to or from the harbour. The fort is open Saturday–Thursday, 08:00–16:00, Friday 08:00–11:00. Entry is 500 baiza (~5 AED) for adults, free for children under 12.