Ras Ash

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Ras Ash
راس أش
Ras Ash, small mountain village located in the Hajar Mountains.jpg
Small mountain village located in the Hajar Mountains (UAE)
United Arab Emirates location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ras Ash
Location of Ras Ash within the UAE
Coordinates: 25°58′04″N56°10′04″E / 25.96778°N 56.16778°E / 25.96778; 56.16778 Coordinates: 25°58′04″N56°10′04″E / 25.96778°N 56.16778°E / 25.96778; 56.16778
Country Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Emirate Ras al Khaimah
Area
 • Total0.25 km2 (0.10 sq mi)
Elevation
1,450 m (4,757 ft)
Population
 (2023)
 • Total1
Time zone UTC+04:00

Ras Ash is a small agricultural and livestock village, located at 1,450 m altitude, northeast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the Al Hajar Mountains, Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

Contents

The village has about 15 houses, huts and stone cabins; corrals and terraces supported by dry stone walls, without mortar, which allow water and soil to be retained, destined for pastures and other agricultural uses; pipelines to collect runoff water; sheepfolds; and some other constructions in ruins, although at present it is only inhabited by a single person. Inaccessible by road.

Ras Ash is well known by hikers and climbers, as it is located on the itinerary of the popular mountain path Stairway to Heaven, [1] a historic donkey trail that today continues to be the preferred route of communication to access the village and for the transfer of goods, on the back of donkeys, from and to the Wadi Litibah and the town of Ghalilah, on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

Geography

Ras Ash is located to the west and very close to the border between the United Arab Emirates and Oman, a short distance from the summit of Jebel Jais / Jabal Bil Ays (1,911 m), [2] located in Oman, and on the edge of a large cliff that forms the eastern slope of Wadi Barut, [3] a tributary of Wadi Ghalilah.

Population

The area of Ras Ash was historically inhabited by the semi-nomadic tribe Shihuh, section of Bani Hadiyah (Arabic: بني هدية ), and section of Bani Shatair (Arabic: بني شطير ), which occupied, among other territories, the tribal area of Bani Bakhit. [4]

Toponymy

The name of this village was recorded in the documentation and maps produced between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, army officer and diplomat Julian F. Walker, [5] during the work he carried out to establish borders between the then-called Trucial States, later completed by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, on 1:100,000 scale maps published in 1971.

By oral tradition, the village is also known by the name of Ras al Ghash, [6] but it should not be confused with that of another nearby village, located in the Sultanate of Oman, identified as Ra's al Waḩḩ. [7]

Related Research Articles

The Shihuh is an Arab tribe living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. In the singular, the name is Al Shehhi, a common family name in the UAE and Oman today. Inhabiting the northern part of the Hajar Mountain range, specifically in the Ruus Al Jibal, the tribe has long been influential in the affairs of both the east and west coast settlements of the northern UAE and Oman and has fiercely maintained both its identity and independence.

Masfout is a village that forms part of the eponymous exclave of Masfout in Ajman, one of the seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates. It is surrounded by Ras Al Khaimah, the Dubai exclave of Hatta and Oman. It is only accessible from Ajman itself by crossing territories of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Oman.

Ghalilah is the name of a settlement in Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The location of a major desalination plant, Ghalilah also gives its name to the Wadi Ghalilah, the location of the 'Stairway to Heaven' hike.

Bani Shatair is a tribal name, originating in Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in areas of Northern Oman.

Bithnah is a village in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), long occupying a strategic location in the Wadi Ham, which is the only natural link to the interior of the UAE and the Persian Gulf from the East Coast city, and Emirate of Fujairah.

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The Na'im is an Arab tribe in the United Arab Emirates. The tribe is also present in other gulf countries.

Bani Hadiyah is a tribal name, originating in Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in areas of Northern Oman.

Wadi Qor is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the mountain village of Al Qor, near the Dubai exclave of Hatta, through the villages of Huwaylat, Rafaq and Al Nasla before crossing the Omani border and fanning out to the Batinah plain and the Gulf of Oman north of the Omani coastal village of Bu Baqarah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayyibah</span> Place in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabal ar Rahrah</span> Mountain in the UAE

Jabal ar Raḩraḩ is a peak in the Al Hajar Mountains, northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musaibat</span> Village in the UAE

Musaibat is a small agricultural and livestock village, located in the northeast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the Al Hajar Mountains, Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabal Raḩabah</span> Mountain in the UAE

Jabal Raḩabah is a peak in the Al Hajar Mountains, northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. At 1,543 m, it is one of the highest peaks in the UAE, located entirely within the territory of the Emirates

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yinainir</span> Village in the UAE

Yinainir is a small, semi-abandoned village, located in the northeast of United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the Al Hajar Mountains, Emirate of Ras al Khaimah, inaccessible by road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadi Jib</span> Wadi in the UAE

The Wadi Jib is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, belonging to the river basin of Wadi Bih, north-east of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadi Litibah</span> Wadi in the UAE

The Wadi Litibah is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, flowing almost exclusively during the rainy season, located northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadi Barut</span> Wadi in the UAE

The Wadi Barut is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadi Halhal</span> Wadi in the UAE

The Wadi Halhal is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.

References

  1. ↑ "Hitting the heights with the Stairway to Heaven in Ras Al Khaimah". The National. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  2. ↑ Peakbagger - Jabal Bil Ays
  3. ↑ Mindat.org - Wādī Barut
  4. ↑ Getamap.net - Banī Bakhīt / Ra's al Khaymah
  5. ↑ FCO 18/1932 1958 - Sketch map drawn by Julian Walker for boundary delimitation: Ras Al Khaimah - The National Archives, London, England
  6. ↑ GeoNames - Ras al Ghash
  7. ↑ Mindat.org - Ra’s al Waḩḩ

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