Oman · OM

Quoin Island

Quoin Island is the rugged heart of the Quoin Islands — a trio of bare, wind-scoured rocks that form the northernmost point of Oman, sitting in the Strait of Hormuz where the Gulf of Oman narrows into the Persian Gulf. Local Shihuh fishermen know them as As Salamah wa Banatiha, "Salamah and her daughters": the great western rock (Mumar, or Great Quoin), a small middle islet (Fanaku, or Gap Island), and a low eastern stone (Didamar, or Little Quoin) that flies a white lighthouse built more than a century ago. This is not a resort beach or an easy day-trip landing — the islands are uninhabited and exposed, in the middle of one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. For most travelers, Quoin Island appears on the horizon from a Musandam dhow cruise or a Strait-of-Hormuz liveaboard, a dark triangular headland on the skyline and a signal that they have reached the very edge of the Arabian landmass.