05 July, 2009

The crazy quilt that is the UAE

Check out this map.

For one thing, did you know you could drive from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah without passing through Sharjah? That's because Dubai is not a connected set. Neither is Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, or Fujairah. You can even drive straight from Ajman to Fujairah.

I recall reading that the British deployed the Trucial Scouts to determine the present day borders of the seven emirates. And that they did it by surveying locals to determine their allegiances. I suppose the idea was to set borders that would be politically stable.

7 comments:

Grumpy Goat said...

Realising that the map isn't the last word in contemporary cartography, it's only fair to note that Sharjah - the east coast bit, which is Khor Fakkan - actually wraps around the north of Oman and connects to Ras Al Khaimah.

Not that it's possible to travel that route. It's mountains, mountains, mountains.

Dubai Jazz said...

question is: does Oman ever access that isolated mountainous zone?

Anonymous said...

I actually knew this. When I was in jr. High there was this country wide competition and one of the questions (Im cursed with this memory) was Which Emirate borders every other Emirate?

Sharjah. So the Map was given as proof. Are there many people that dont know where the Emirates begin and end?

Anonymous said...

I suppose the idea was to set borders that would be politically stable.

And this was also used in israel? lol.

unJane said...

Am I the only person who thinks that map looks like a praying goat?

Al-ain Rose said...

unJane, it looks like a neat sailing vessel for me... depends on how your brain imagines things..u know...

Anonymous said...

Can anybody shed some light on Mumzar area dispute b/w Dubai & Sharjah?

I have heard about it from people but have never found any thing in print, electronic or online meida

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