Al Buraimi

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Al Buraimi (Arabic: البريمي‎) is the newest governorate of Oman which was split from the Ad Dhahirah region.

Until October, 2006, the area was part of Ad Dhahirah region. At this time, the new governorate was created from the wilayats Al Buraymi and Mahdah. A third wilayat, Al Sinaihah was created from parts of the two.

The town Al Buraymi is an oasis town in northeastern Oman, on the border of the United Arab Emirates. An adjacent city on the UAE's side of the border is Al Ain. It is located at about 24°15′0″N, 55°45′0″E. For many decades there has been an open border between Al Buraimi located in Oman and Al Ain (UAE). Effective 16/09/2006 this border has been relocated to an area around Hilli which is around 8 kilometers from the traditional open border. The traditional border near Al Ain city is now closed to all except to those with valid visas (GCC nationals require no visa).

Buraimi is considerably smaller than the adjoining city of Al Ain and is visibly less affluent.Streets in Buraimi are not named and development could be considered 'piece meal' with large villas often appearing some metres from roads, footpaths do not occur away from the main streets.

Before the relocation of the border (see above) it was fairly common for expatriates from Al Ain to rent villas and apartments as they were roughly 50% of the cost of an equivalent villa/apartment in Al Ain, however the change in Border policy has led many of these expatriates to relocate to Al Ain due to long waiting times at the border checkpoints during peak traffic hours.

Transport in and around Buraimi is by taxis, which like the majority of taxis in Oman are coloured orange and white. Drivers accept payment in both Omani Riyals(OR) and United Arab Emirate Dirhams(AED), a trip within the township of Buraimi will generally cost no more than 2 AED/0.2 OR.

Buraimi, like the rest of Oman, features many historic forts in varying condition. The largest mosque in Buraimi is the Majid Qaboos. Fossil valley found to the East of the Buraimi township contains many fossilised remains of prehistoric creatures.

The surrounding landscape of Buraimi differs vastly from that of Al Ain, consisting mainly of wide open gravel plains and sharp jutting rocks (The sohar gap found to the east of the Buraimi township is a good example of this), Samr (Acacia spp.) and Ghaf (Prosopis cinerarea) trees are fairly common on these gravel plains.

[edit] History

Buraimi was part of Oman from early historical times from around 600 AD the Azd tribes of Oman occupied the area. In 1750 the founder of the Al Said dynasty governed the town. The late President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was born in Abu Dhabi but was brought to Al Ain by his mother, Shaikah Sultana, following the assassination of his father. Zayed was raised in a fortified house in the Muaiji district of Al Ain. The ^[1] is erroneous. For a list of rulers of Abu Dhabi and the other emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, see ^[2].

The community of Buraimi is probably best known as the result of an incident known as the "Buraimi Dispute", an episode that contributed to the confirmation of Zayed as the most astute leader in the region. See Chapter 1 of the report "The Jebel Akhdar War Oman 1954-1959" ^[3] by Major John B. Meagher (USMC).