Al Zorah is a coastal suburb of Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), situated on the northern border of Ajman and Sharjah, between Ajman and Hamriyah. It is the location of the Al Zorah mixed use luxury development, which comprises housing and leisure developments, including the Al Zorah Golf Club, [1] the Oberoi Beach Resort Al Zorah, [2] and the Lux Al Zorah (slated to open 2021). [3] It is also the site of Al Zorah Nature reserve, which is home to some 60 species of bird including pink flamingo, egret and heron. [4]
Originally an uninhabited sandy island surrounded by mangrove swamps, Al Zorah was disputed when, in 1866, Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi of Sharjah, supported by Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi II of Ajman and with the financial assistance of the Wahhabi agent, Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi, erected a fort there. As the development 'threatened the peace of the coast' according to the British, it was bombarded by the British ship HMS Highflyer. [5]
In 1895, Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan saw in Al Zorah an ideal base for supplying Bani Qitab forces loyal to him in conflicts with the Northern Sheikhs and applied to the British Resident for permission to move supplies there by sea. Unaware of the true reasons for the movement, the Resident gave permission but Zayed faced opposition in his scheme from other Sheikhs and was unable to complete the movement. In 1897, a section of the Sudan (singular Al Suwaidi) tribe under Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi requested permission to settle Al Zorah with the support of Zayed (himself a Suwaidi on his mother's side and married to one of Sultan's daughters) and this was granted by the Resident.
Alarmed by the scheme, the Ruler of Ajman built a fort at one of the waterways connecting Al Zorah with the mainland (it was at the time an island) and the Ruler of Sharjah, in 1890, appealed to the Resident to prevent this establishment of a non-Al Qasimi stronghold in the midst of his territory. This being upheld, to the annoyance of Zayed who had seen Al Zorah as an extension of his claim to the Northern coast, the scheme was abandoned and the decision to block it was subsequently upheld after a visit to Al Zorah by Major Percy Cox, the British Political Resident. [6]
Following the Dubai Incident in 1910, Cox considered Al Zorah as the site for a wireless telegraphy station, but his plans were never approved. [7]
The Al Zorah planned development project has been implemented by the Al Zorah Development Company P.S.C, a partnership between the Government of Ajman and Lebanese developer Solidere International. Under Ajman law, Al Zorah is a designated free zone, which allows for 100% foreign ownership of property and businesses and confers tax free status.
The 5.4 million square metre development (of which 1 million square metres are mangroves, forming the Al Zorah Nature Reserve) includes five distinct housing districts: the Shores, the Fairways, the Coves, the Gates and the Avenues. Overall, 60% of the project's land area is given over to mangroves and public spaces. The Avenues comprises 2 km of retail and leisure developments. The development includes a watersports centre and tours by both boat and seaplane. [8] The Marina-1 development offers berths for yachts between eight and 40 metres alongside 15 restaurants and cafés. [9]
The 18-hole championship golf course at Al Zorah was designed by Jack Nicklaus and is managed by Troon Golf.
The United Arab Emirates is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirates and was founded on 2 December 1971 as a federation. Six of the seven emirates combined on that date. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972. The seven sheikdoms were formerly known as the Trucial States, in reference to the treaty relations established with the British in the 19th century.
The Emirate of Sharjah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, which covers 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi) and has a population of over 1,400,000 (2015). It comprises the capital city of Sharjah, after which it is named, and other minor towns and exclaves such as Kalba', Al Dhaid, Dibba Al-Hisn and Khor Fakkan.
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emirate's residents. It is linked to the Islamic trading port of Julfar. Its name in English means "headland of the tent". The emirate borders Oman's exclave of Musandam, and occupies part of the same peninsula. It covers an area of 2,486 km2 (960 sq mi) and has 64 km (40 mi) of beach coastline. As of 2015, the emirate had a population of about 345,000.
Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (1781–1866) was the Sheikh of the Qawasim and ruler variously of the towns of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, Jazirah Al Hamra and Rams, all Trucial States in their time and now part of the United Arab Emirates. Briefly a dependent of the first Saudi Kingdom, his rule over Ras Al Khaimah ran from 1803–1809, when he was deposed by order of the Saudi Amir and restored in 1820, going on to rule until his death in 1866 at the age of 85. He was Ruler of Sharjah from 1814–1866, with a brief disruption to that rule in 1840 by his elder son Saqr. He was a signatory to various treaties with the British, starting with the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 and culminating in the Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, also known as Zayed the Great or Zayed the First was the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1855 to his death in 1909. He was the grandfather and namesake of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, founder of the United Arab Emirates.
Ajman is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is engulfed by the larger emirate of Sharjah in territory.
Kalba is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba, an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south of the town by the Omani border.
Al Hamriyah is the name of a coastal settlement of Sharjah on the northern perimeter of the United Arab Emirates. It is one of nine municipalities of the emirate, and is wedged between the emirates of Ajman (south) and Umm Al Qawain (north). It is notable for its lagoon popular with pleasure boaters and jet skiers as well as local fishermen who moor here, as well as storing and repairing both rope and wire mesh fishing nets.
Hassan bin Rahma Al Qasimi was the Sheikh (ruler) of Ras Al Khaimah from 1814–1820. He was accused by the British of presiding over a number of acts of maritime piracy, an assertion he denied. Despite signing a treaty of peace with the British in October 1814, a punitive expeditionary force was mounted against Ras Al Khaimah in December 1819 and Hassan bin Rahma was removed as Sheikh of Ras Al Khaimah, which he ceded to the British in a preliminary agreement to the General Maritime Treaty of 1820.
Sheikh Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi (1883–1914) was the Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1883–1914. He took control over Sharjah in a coup during the absence of his uncle, Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, and ruled both Sharjah and, from 1900 until his death in 1914, Ras Al Khaimah.
Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi was Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1866 to 1868 and of Ras Al Khaimah from 1866 to 1867. His short rule was most notable for the means of his accession, which involved the murder of his nephew, and also his death, at the hands of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan in single combat.
Sheikh Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mualla was the Ruler of Umm Al Quwain from 1873–1904. He led Umm Al Quwain through a turbulent period in the Trucial Coast's history, with conflicts against neighbouring emirates and almost constantly shifting alliances. On two occasions these conflicts led to him being found to breach the terms of the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Truce with the British. This notwithstanding, he was a signatory to the 1892 Exclusive Agreement, which bound the Trucial Sheikhs and the British together in a protectorate.
Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi was the Ruler of Ajman, one of the Trucial States which today form the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 1816–1838, leading a force of 50 men to take control of the town from members of the Al Bu Shamis tribe who had settled there and also at Al Heera. At the time, Ajman was a dependency of Sharjah. Five years after his establishment at Ajman, the fort was taken by the Darawisha Bedouin who were removed by the action of the Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi.
Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi II was the Ruler of Ajman, one of the Trucial States which today form the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 1864–1891. His reign, while largely peaceful, saw the expansion of Wahhabi influence in the Trucial States.
Abdulaziz bin Humaid Al Nuaimi was Ruler of Ajman, one of the Trucial States, which today form the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 1900–1910. He steered Ajman through a period in which tribal conflicts triggered instability throughout the coast but was to ultimately meet the fate he had himself engineered for his predecessor.
The Sudan is an Arab tribe of Qahtanite origin in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other Gulf states.
The Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 was a treaty signed between the British and the Rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later to become known as the Trucial States and today known as the United Arab Emirates. The treaty followed the effective subjugation of the Qawasim maritime federation and other coastal settlements of the Lower Gulf by British forces following the Persian Gulf campaign of 1819, a punitive expedition mounted from Bombay which sailed against Ras Al Khaimah, and which resulted in the signing of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820.
Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al Shamsi was the Sheikh, or head man, of the township of Al Heera, today a suburb of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. A highly influential and often divisive figure in regional politics during the early 20th century in the Trucial States, he was referred to by one British Political Resident as ‘a stormy petrel of the Trucial Coast, a man feared by everyone in and around Sharjah’.