KUMZAR VILLAGE

The village of Kumzar, accessible only by sea, occupies the northernmost point of the region. The harshness of the site echoes this natural isolation. Low, rudimentary houses are hiding between large blocks of fallen stone. The alleyways are so narrow that you can barely squeeze through. A handful of pets go about at random, women duck in a crumple of cloth, men take a nap on the beach, children run around in their dusty clothes. At the bottom of the circus, high cliffs block all access through the mountains. Straight ahead lies the open sea, and over there on the horizon, just 55 km away, lies the Iranian coastline. Kumzar has 3,000 inhabitants, a hospital, two mosques, a pier and a school. Not so small after all, but so special, as if bathed in a slightly mystical aura. Could it be the presence of this quasi-sacred tomb erected at the foot of the mountains at the far end of the village? That, it is said, of a charismatic man who came from Iraq and stayed there for 5 years to bring peace. His body does not lie in Kumzar, only the symbol. The other peculiarity of the place is its unique dialect, Kumzari, composed over the incessant passage of men and boats: a mixture of 24 languages, including Arabic, Indian, Baluchi, Portuguese, English. Economically, the people of Kumzar live mainly from fishing and only leave their village in the summer to spend their holidays in Khasab.