Ras Al Khaimah

Description: 

Ras Al-Khaimah is one of the seven cities in the United Arab Emirates. It covers an area of 656 square miles (1700 km²). Ras Al Khaimah is in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is ruled by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi. It is in the northern part of the UAE bordering Oman. The emirate has a population of about 250,000 inhabitants.

The city has a population of 191,753 as of 2007. It is served by the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. The city has two main sections Old Ras Al Khaimah and Nakheel on either side of the creek which flows through Ras Al Khaimah.

An adventurous and spell-binding place, Ras-Al-Khaimah is considered as the 'Wild West' of the United Arab Emirates. Its ferocity and beauty is seen in its traditions and scenery. Based on a history that reaches the Bronze-Age, Ras-Al -Khaimah was the hub for advancing civilizations around the Arabian Gulf as early as the Ubaid period which was around 5000-3800BC. The pearl-market was a major income for this place and it suffered greatly when there was a drop in the demand for pearl in the early 20th Century but by the 1980s this emirate received its economical boost after discovering its offshore Saleh oil fields and has become a major industrialist ever since.

The city of Ras Al Khaimah, the capital of the emirate, is divided into two parts by a water gill named Khour Ras Al Khaimah. The western part is known as the Old Ras Al Khaimah and comprises Ras Al Khaimah Museum and some of the governmental departments. While the eastern part, known as Al Nakheel, comprises the Ruler's office, governmental departments and commercial companies. The two parts are connected via a large bridge built across Al Khour that facilitates traffic between them.

An important part of the emirate, is Khour Khuwayr industrial area, that lies about 25 km to the north of Ras Al Khaimah. It comprises various industrial ventures like cement, gravel and marble. It includes also the main export port (Saqr Port), and the Remis district whose inhabitants have been working as fishermen for quite so long. There is also Digdaga district, that is famous for its agricultural projects and houses the biggest pharmaceutical factory in the whole Gulf known as Julphar. Other important districts are Al Hamraniah which is an agricultural area, containing the RAS Al Khaimah International Airport, the Khaat area, a tourist resort that is well renowned for its thermal springs and visited by tourists for treatment, and Masafi district, that is well known for its orchards and natural potable water.

So if one wants to embark upon a journey of cultural experiences, daring sports or relaxing undertakings then come to Ras-al Khaimah and enjoy the ultimate Arabian Experience.

History:

The city was historically known as Julfar. Sources say that Julfar was inhabited by the Azd (They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan (the aboriginal Arabs), the other being Himyar) during the eighth and ninth centuries AD, and that the houses of the Azd were built of wood. In the early 18th century the Qawasim clan (Huwayla tribe) established itself in Ras al-Khaimah.

After British occupation (18 December 1819 - July 1821), Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi signed in 1822 the General Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate keeping the Ottoman Turks out. Like Ajman, Dubai, Umm al-Qaiwain and Sharjah, its position on the route to India made it important enough to be recognized as a salute state (be it of the lowest class: only 3 guns).

In 1869, Ras al-Khaimah became fully independent from Sharjah. However from September 1900 to 7 July 1921 it was re-incorporated into Sharjah, its neighbour; the last governor became its next independent ruler.

Schools:

A large number of Government-run schools - primary, elementary and higher secondary are scattered all over Ras Al Khaimah with Arabic as their main medium of instruction. Among other Arabic-medium schools are those that are run by private managements. The English-medium ones which offer varied curricula to suit the expatriate community, offering syllabi such as GCSE, IGCSE, A Levels, O Levels, CBSE, Kerala State-Board (Indian Syllabi), Pakistani.

University Education:

Many Local-established universities and foreign universities have set up base in Ras Al Khaimah.

Transportation:

Within Ras Al Khaimah Metered taxis are the main mode of transport within Ras Al Khaimah (Formerly the fare was negotiable between driver and passenger but all non-metered taxis were phased out by the year 2001). Buses are also available but only on long-haul routes and they cater mainly to people residing in far-flung towns viz. Sha`am, Rams, Jazeerah-al-Hamra etc.

Emirate-to-Emirate:

Ras Al Khaimah is connected to emirates like Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah by taxis which often embark from the taxi-stand located south of Al Dhaid town near the new RAK Police Headquarters. Engaged taxis are available on request to Dubai and to Abu Dhabi. Cars are available for rent from various Rent-A-Cars companies.

Highways:

Three free-flowing dual-carriageways link Ras Al Khaimah with the other emirates and beyond. One follows the coast with beaches on the one side and stretches of desert on the other; the other, new route runs out towards the airport in the direction of Khatt, Masafi, Fujairah and Thaid and further onto Oman.

Nowadays, the newly constructed 'Emirates Highway' is being used by most motorists. The highway traverses the emirates of Umm Al Quwain, Ajman (60km) and Sharjah (71km) to finally end up in Dubai(87km). Most travellers would agree that it connects Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai in under 45 minutes.

Seaport:

Saqr Port, located in the industrial area of Khor Khuwair is the Emirate's main port providing bulk and container services. It has eight deep water berths, each 200 m long, is dredged to 12.2 m and has two ro-ro ramps plus specialised berths for handling bulk cement and aggregate. Other services include ship handling, crew changes and 40,000 m2 of covered storage together with a vast open storage area. It is also the closest port in the UAE to Bandar Abbas in Iran.

Airport:

The Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is currently undergoing an upgrade. It operates cargo and passenger services to a variety of destinations covering the Middle East, North & East Africa, Central Asia, India and the Far East. In total 27 airlines including Gulf Air, Egypt Air, Indian Airlines, Aeroflot, Pakistan International Airlines and many other airlines operate scheduled and non-scheduled flights. Open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, the airport has an open skies policy with no restrictions on frequencies and time of arrival / departure; offers competitive tariffs and storage facilities; is not congested, and has a full offering of duty free goods among other services.

Spaceport:

On February 17th 2006, Space Adventures announced its plans to develop a $265 m commercial spaceport in Ras Al-Khaimah (Ras Al Khaimah spaceport) for the purposes of space tourism.

Exciting Places:

1- Hot springs of Ain Khat

2- Al Ghail wadi (mawred) it's posted in this site by Muthad Rashed, this wadi (in my opinion) has the best nature sights in United Arab Emirates.

3- Awafi desert, specially in winter, it has wonderful weather and nature during that time, you can do camping and enjoying by seeing Camel races or car races.

4- Al Manar mall, the best shopping center in RAK, you can go shopping there or escape from the hot weather !!