Ras al-Khaimah

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The flag of Ras al-Khaimah

Ras Al-Khaimah (Arabic: رأس الخيمة "the top of the tent") is one of 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 102,000 (2003 census estimate). 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.

1 History
2 Education
3 Transportation
4 Sources
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The city was historically known as Julfar. Sources say that Julfar was inhabited by the Azd 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 ibn 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.

On 11 February 1972 Sheikh Saqr ibn Muhammad al-Qasimi joined the United Arab Emirates.

Its rulers were:

17.. - 17.. Sheikh Rahman al-Qasimi
17.. - 174. Sheikh Matar ibn Rahman al-Qasimi
174. - 1777 Sheikh Rashid ibn Matar al-Qasimi
1777 - 1803 Sheikh Saqr ibn Rashid al-Qasimi
1803 - 1808 Sheikh Sultan ibn Saqr al-Qasimi (d. 1866) (1st time)
1808 - 1814 Sheikh al-Husayn ibn `Ali al-Qasimi (acting)
1814 - 1820 Sheikh al-Hasan ibn Rahman al-Qasimi (acting)
1820 - 1866 Sheikh Sultan ibn Saqr al-Qasimi (2nd time)
1866 - May 1867 Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Sultan al-Qasimi
May 1867 - 14 April 1868 Sheikh Khalid ibn Sultan al-Qasimi (d. 1868)
14 April 1868 - 1869 Sheikh Salim ibn Sultan al-Qasimi (b. 18.. - d. 1919)
1869 - August 1900 Sheikh Humayd ibn Abdullah al-Qasimi (d. 1900)
Sharjah then appointed governors:
- September 1900 - 1909 ....
- 1909 - August 1919 Sheikh Salim ibn Sultan al-Qasimi (s.a.)
- August 1919 - 10 July 1921 Sheikh Sultan ibn Salim al-Qasimi (b. 1891 - d. 19..), who stayed on the first of its own rulers:
10 July 1921 - Feb 1948 Sheikh Sultan ibn Salim al-Qasimi (s.a.)
17 July 1948 - current Sheikh Saqr ibn Muhammad al-Qasimi (b. 1918)

[edit] Education

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 viz.,

The Egyptian School
Badr Primary School

Apart from the above schools, there are 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, etc. viz.

Ras Al Khaimah English Speaking School
The International School of Choueifat
Indian School Ras Al Khaimah
The New Indian Higher Secondary School]
Pakistani Higher Secondary School
Indian Public High School

University Education: Many Local-established universities and foreign universities have set up base in Ras Al Khaimah, some of which include:

Ittihad University
Royal College of Applied Sciences and Technology
George Mason University
Higher Colleges of Technology

[edit] Transportation

Within Ras Al Khaimah: Metered taxis are the main mode of transport within Ras Al Khaimah with fares starting AED 2 (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. The fare per head is AED 20. Engaged taxis are available on request for Dhs 100 to 150 to Dubai and Dhs 200 to 250 to Abu Dhabi.

Cars are available for rent from various Rent-A-Cars at negotiable prices starting Dhe 80.

Highways: Three free-flowing dual-carriageways link Ras Al Khaimah with the other southern 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 aplenty by most motorists. The highway traverses the emirates of Umm Al Quwain, Ajman (60km) and Sharjah (71km) to finally end up in Dubai(87). 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 for the purposes of space tourism. (Ras Al Khaimah spaceport)