Geography of Oman around the Al Hajar mountains are part of the Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert ecoregion, while the mountains themselves are a distinct habitat. The northernmost area, Musandam, extends from the tip of the Musandam Peninsula to the boundary with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Hisn al Diba. It borders the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from the rest of the sultanate by a strip of territory belonging to the UAE. This area consists of low mountains forming the northernmost extremity of the Al Hajar al Gharbi (Western
Arab states of the Persian Gulf used to refer to the inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. Historically, "Khaleeji" meant descendants of Ichthyophagi, the coast-dwelling "fish eaters". Geographically, the Arabic-speaking is solely Eastern Arabia. Press in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf have varying degrees of freedom with Kuwait topping the league with a lively press that enjoys considerably more freedom than its Persian Gulf counterparts according to Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders. Both organizations rank Kuwait's press as the most free of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf and, in fact, rank amongst the top three most free press in the Arab world. Qatar