A-Square Photography

"Ghost Town" -Jasirat Al Hamra

This time it was not with my friends but with a bunch of photographers ,I was exploring the so called "Ghost Town".

Drive towards the Emirates Road R/A. Once at the roundabout, do not turn towards Dubai but go straight and continue along the coast. After about 5km you pass the modern village of Jazirat Al Hamra, then turn to the right, there is also a sign: Al Jazirat Al Hamra. After 900m you will see the Al Jazeera Port sign, turn here to the right and then take a first turn left. After 400m enter the old village by turning left onto the dirt road and explore the village.

Al Jazirat Al Hamra, which means the ‘Red Island’, is one of the oldest occupied sites in the UAE. A large deposit of shells middens accumulated over a long period of time showed that the area offered a certain degree of stability and was inhabited regularly, probably by the semi-nomadic groups. Furthermore, the flint tools, stone artefacts, beads and potsherds from theUbaid period (5000-3200BC) discovered in the place proved that the people here had a contact with other lands already in the 5th millennium BC. More layers of middens were added on top of this Neolithic one, demonstrating that the area was further occupied in the subsequent periods.

These days,Al Jazirah Al Hamra is a coastal town, 18 km south west of Ras Al Khaimah centre, divided into the old and new towns. The old settlement was created centuries ago (at least in the 14th century) on a peninsula, which at the time of high tide was becoming an island. Since 1974, when a construction of the modern village started, the old part is permanently linked with the mainland by the reclaimed land. Later, one of the main sea ports of Ras Al Khaimah was opened and still operates just near the old town.

GPS: Wind Towers House: N25o42’ 40.56” E55o47’ 44.38”

Old Mosque: N25o42’ 42.00” E55o47’ 36.61”

Ahmed Al Omran’s house: N25o42’ 32.00” E55o47’ 30.40”

Fort and watch towers: N25o42’ 32.17” E55o47’ 49.45”

The walls of this ghost town are majorly filled with different writings,graffiti etc.

For centuries, this coastal village was occupied by the Za’ab tribe. Since their livelihood depended mainly on pearling, the crisis of 1930s and the decline of natural pearl industry worsened the economic situation of the town. Around the 1960s-1970s, the old town was largely deserted when the inhabitants moved out attracted by the prospect of better living conditions offered by the local government. People left behind their houses, mosques and shops, creating an undisturbed picture of life before the exploitation of oil. The village managed to survive almost intact until the 21st century and now it is the best preserved coastal town in the UAE.

Majority of the houses are built from coral rag, the roofs are constructed from palm trunks or mangrove poles. The walls of the oldest buildings have clearly visible larger pieces of coral, while the younger once were erected from bricks of crushed coral. There are also many concrete structures including houses with garages, a school and mosques, that were built relatively recently, around the 1950s and 60s.

Many houses, although not occupied, are still the property of the local families so do not force an entry and remove nothing.

The typical households in Al Jazirat Al Hamra include grouped dwellings set around the courtyard often shaded with a palm tree. These houses were usually shared by the members of the same family. You may also find a well, which provided a water supply for the house, inside the yard or nearby the building. You can admire many decorative features of the buildings including wall niches, wind catchers or plaster window coverings. The entrances to the buildings are often guarded by the decorated rusty metal doors, although some older houses still have wooden doors.

The town has a distinctive atmosphere, which will captivate your senses immediately. Once you are there it is easy to forget the time as you walk through the narrow alleys around the households and mosques. It seems that there is always more to discover, as the architecture of the place represents not only various styles but also different periods. This abandoned town is also called the ghost town and some local people believe that indeed the ghosts are running this place now. However, instead of ghosts you are more likely to see some desert foxes that choose this place as their home.