My 5 new passengers were waiting for me to fly towards Chah Bahar. Dating from 2500 BC and destroyed by the Mongols many centuries ago, this city is currently an important maritime international trade center due to its status of Free Trade Zone. More importantly, this trip would make me fly over a small portion of Oman and cross most of the Iranian coast in a single leg.
Due to the busy airspace of Dubai and its surroundings, I decided to file a Y flight, departing by VEBUL and cancelling IFR from there. Weather, as usual in this area, was great to enjoy a stable take off and nice views from the large metropolitan area of Dubai-Sherjah.
The spiky hills reveal that we are entering Oman airspace. At least, the Musandam exclave. Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world and has a rich and long history dating from prehistorical eras. Musandam Peninsula is formed mainly by the mountains created by tectonics. In addition to this, since the Arabian plate is sinking under the Eurasian plate, water is starting to flood the coast and create beautiful shapes.
After flying over Limah, extremely nice city on a beautiful location, we head towards the Iranian coast. Although I can see the coast across the Strait of Hormuz, an emergency over the water would not be pleasant. But in few minutes we enter Iranian airspace, following the coast till our destination. The shape of the mountais here is again really interesting, creating a contrast with the flatness of the sandy shores.
Finally I reach Chabahar Bay and Chabahar airport, in which I land on visual despite a slight low visibility.
Lovely trip that I expect to repeat at some time. This part of the world has some unique landscapes that I will miss once Pakistan is left behind. Speaking of which... next trip might lead me across Iran eastern neighbour.
------
Distance: 300 nm
