Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country’s east instead of the Persian Gulf (See map).
Fujairah became a British Protectorate in 1902, thus becoming the last emirate to join the Trucial States the former name for the UAE, which came into being in 1971.
The Emirate of Fujairah covers 1,450 sq. kilometres, about 1.4% of the area of the UAE and has a population of 130,000. Only the Emirate of Ummal-Quwain (You can look for this Emirate in the Atlas!) has fewer inhabitants.
Fujairah is the only Emirate to be largely mountainous and therefore boasts a higher than average, for this region, rainfall allowing farmers to produce at least one crop a year.
Over the last few years Fujairah has risen greatly in importance and significance for he world oil supply industry. If you look at the map you will see that in order to load oil from Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi tankers had to pass through the Straits of Hormuz, a point of tension with Iran. A pipeline has been built from the Persian Gulf over the relatively narrow peninsular to Fujairah so that tankers can load in relative safety and don’t have the longer journey round the peninsula and through the Straits to the Persian Gulf. In return desalinated water is pumped from Fujairah to the other Emirates on the Persian Gulf.
I counted some 36 tankers anchored off Fujairah as we docked either waiting to be loaded or loaded and awaiting shipment until the price of oil has risen!
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