Oman's turtle island — loggerhead nesting beaches and world-class kitesurfing on a remote Arabian Sea coast
Masirah Island sits 15km off the central coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, accessible by a short ferry from Shannah, and is one of the most important marine turtle nesting sites on the planet. Between May and October, thousands of loggerhead turtles come ashore each night to lay eggs on Masirah's beaches — the largest loggerhead nesting concentration in the Indian Ocean and one of the largest globally. The same combination of open ocean exposure and strong seasonal winds that keeps tourist numbers low has made Masirah an internationally known kiteboarding destination: the Hallaniyat Channel b…
Masirah's documented history is largely maritime. The island sits at the junction of the monsoon wind patterns that drove traditional dhow trade between Oman, East Africa, and India — it was a waypoint and emergency shelter for sailors crossing the Arabian Sea. A Royal Air Force base was established on Masirah in 1944 and used extensively during World War II and later by the British and then the Omani Air Force. The 1980 US Operation Eagle Claw hostage-rescue attempt used Masirah as a staging base — an episode largely unknown locally. The island's turtle nesting has been documented since at l…