Sharjah (emirate)

الشارقة Sharjah
	The Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
Symbols
Flags of the United Arab Emirates	coat of arms
Basic data
Country	United Arab Emirates
Capital	Sharjah
surface	2590 km²
Residents	1,405,843 (2015-07-01)
density	543 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	AE-SH
Website	sharjah.ae (English)
politics
emir	Sultan bin Mohamed al-Qasimi

25.35 55.7Coordinates: 25 ° 21 ' N , 55 ° 42' E

Sharjah ( Arabic إمارة الشارقة, DMG Imārat aš-Šāriqa , High Arabic pronunciation as -Shariqa , locally as -Sharjah ; alternative spelling Shariqah , English Sharjah ) is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The capital and by far the largest town in the emirate is Sharjah of the same name .

The emirate had almost 800,000 inhabitants in the 2005 census, making it the emirate with the third largest population of all seven emirates. Around 65% of the population were male and only 17% were citizens of the UAE. Sharjah covers about 2,590 km², which is about 3.3% of the territory of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which makes it the third largest of the emirates in these statistics.

geography

Sharjah is the only emirate that has shares in both the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman , and it is the only one that borders all six other emirates. Sharjah consists of several sub-territories, the largest of which is by far on the Persian Gulf and completely surrounds the main part of the Emirate of Ajman , which forms its capital . This section is also surrounded by the emirates of Dubai in the west, Abu Dhabi in the extreme south, Umm al-Qaiwain in the north and Ra's al-Khaima , Fujairah and Ajman (exclave Manama ) in the east, and the main part of the emirate borders on the Sultanate of Oman . In this main part of Sharjah lies not only the capital Sharjah , but with adh-Dhaid also the most famous oasis area of the emirate, where a wide range of fruits and vegetables are grown.

The other sections are on the east coast of the Gulf of Oman . Three of them have direct access to the sea and are called Dibba al-Husn , Chaur Fakkan and Kalba from north to south . Another section, Nahwa , is an exclave of the United Arab Emirates within the Omani exclave of Madha .

Sharjah also controls the island of Sir Abu Nuʿair and raises claims on Abu Musa , which has been occupied by Iran since 1992 and whose affiliation is disputed.

Administrative division

The emirate is divided into nine communities ( Arabic بلديات baladiyyāt ). Sometimes the controversial island of Abu Musa is listed as the tenth municipality: while the uninhabited island of Sir Abu Nuʿair (صير أبو نعير) ( 25 ° 13 ′ 56 ″ N , 54 ° 13 ′ 9 ″ E25.232222222222 54.219166666667 ) does not belong tothe municipalityis explicitly stated (it is closest to Sharjah City).

f1 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Municipalities of the Emirate of Sharjah

local community بلديات	Designation DMG	Arabic	Population update 2015-07-01	Coordinates	Remarks	region
Sharjah City	Madīnat aš-Šāriqa	مدينة الشارقة	1274749	25 ° 21 ′ 38 " N , 55 ° 24 ′ 2" E25.360555555556 55.400555555556	Capital, on the Persian Gulf	Sharjah City
al-Hamriyya	al-Ḥamrīya	الحمریة	3297	25 ° 27 '43 " N , 55 ° 33' 42" E25.461944444444 55.561666666667	on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf	Sharjah City
al-Bata'ih	al-Baṭāʾiḥ	البطائح	3958	25 ° 18 ′ 1 ″ N , 55 ° 46 ′ 23 ″ E25.300277777778 55.773055555556		Central region
adh-dhaid	aḏ-Ḏaid	الذيد	20165	25 ° 15 ′ 35 " N , 55 ° 54 ′ 58" E25.259722222222 55.916111111111	Oasis in the east, capital of the central region	Central region
Mileiha	Milaiḥa	مليحة	4768	25 ° 7 '23 " N , 55 ° 52' 43" E25.123055555556 55.878611111111		Central region
al-Madam	al-Madam	المدام	11120	24 ° 57 ′ 41 ″ N , 55 ° 47 ′ 25 ″ E24.961388888889 55.790277777778		Central region
Dibba al-Hisn	Dibbā l-Ḥiṣn	دبا الحصن	12573	25 ° 36 ′ 55 ″ N , 56 ° 16 ′ 17 ″ E25.615277777778 56.271388888889	northern coastal enclave on the Gulf of Oman	Eastern region
Calf	Kalbāʾ	كلباء	37545	25 ° 2 ′ 28 " N , 56 ° 21 ′ 34" E25.041111111111 56.359444444444	southern coastal enclave on the Gulf of Oman	Eastern region
Khor Fakkan	Ḫawr Fakkān	خور فكان	39151	25 ° 21 '10 " N , 56 ° 20' 48" E25.352777777778 56.346666666667	middle coastal exclave on the Gulf of Oman, including the Nahwa exclave	Eastern region
Abu Musa	Abū Mūsā	أبو موسى	...	25 ° 52 '40 " N , 55 ° 1' 52" E25.877777777778 55.031111111111	island occupied by Iran in the Persian Gulf	Sharjah City
Sharjah (emirate)	Imārat aš-Šāriqa	إمارة الشارقة	1405843

history

The oldest traces of human settlement in the United Arab Emirates come from the Emirate of Sharjah: The finds from Jabal al-Faya were dated to 85,000 BC. Dated. There are also other significant archaeological sites near the village of Mileiha .

In the 16th century, the Portuguese and later the Dutch tried to gain control of the coast on the Gulf of Oman. From the 17th century, the British traded with the al-Qawasim clan , who came to power over Sharjah in the first half of the 18th century and rose to become a regionally important sea power. From 1820 the Emirate of Sharjah was one of the Trucial States .

Sharjah was the most important port city in the region until the first half of the 19th century. Sharjah also had a prominent role as the seat of the only British representative in the region (until 1954), the first airport in the Trucial States and the first school (1907) and the first modern, formal educational institution (1953) in what is now the UAE. Sharjah was the most important emirate of the UAE until the mid-1950s, but then could not keep up with the growth of Abu Dhabi and Dubai because of the comparatively low oil reserves . It was not until 1971 that Sharjah was also able to benefit from oil with the discovery of the Mubarak oil field on the island of Abu Musa.

Great Britain granted independence to the former Trucial States on December 2, 1971 . Under the leadership of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates were founded from the former Trucial States Abu Dhabi , Dubai , Sharjah, Ajman , Umm al-Qaiwain and Fujairah . On February 10, 1972, Ra's al-Khaimah joined the federation as the seventh and last former Trucial State . Ruler Sharjaz ( Emir ) has been Sultan bin Mohamed al-Qasimi since 1972 .

Religious Regulations

Sharjah is considered the most conservative emirate in the United Arab Emirates. It has z. B. a strict alcohol ban, also for foreigners. Furthermore, clothing regulations for appearing in public are specified. Failure to comply will result in a warning and, if the violation continues, a fine and possibly even a prison sentence. The same applies to the possession of drugs or party drugs; Even the smallest amounts can result in severe penalties.

traffic

For a long time, the public transport system relied on private bus services without reliable timetables and, above all, on taxis. In order to cope with the increasing demand, the Sharjah city administration is planning a new, high-performance system of bus routes with tight intervals.

The Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), 13 km east of the center of the capital, is among other local budget airlines used. The airport and the port of Bur Khalid connect the city with neighboring countries and the other emirates. The airport is quiet compared to the nearby Dubai International Airport . a. used by Lufthansa Cargo as a hub for the Near East. Some passenger flights go to Western Europe, with Condor also to Germany. The airport is also the main base of the state low-cost airline Air Arabia , which flies to destinations throughout the Middle East, India and Southeast Europe. With Chaur Fakkan , the emirate also has an important port on the Gulf of Oman .

Educational location

Sharjah has developed into an important educational location in the Gulf region through the establishment of two universities . On the outskirts of the capital, on a green campus of around 6 km by 1 km to the south of the airport, the American University Sharjah (AUS) is located to the north and the University of Sharjah (UOS), founded in 1997, is located to the south . Both universities are based on the American model: several colleges and institutes each for bachelor and / or master degrees . All buildings and facilities are built in a traditional Arabic style and equipped with the latest technology. In line with the huge demand for academics in the region, teaching is currently still in the foreground. In the long term, research will also be expanded; There are ample reserves of space on the elongated site. In both universities, the proportion of women among students is already over 50%.

Economy, tourism

The people of Sharjah are highly dependent on jobs in Dubai. It is estimated that around every second income of residents is generated in the neighboring emirate of Dubai, while living in Sharjah because of the lower rents. This tendency is likely to have reached its peak, because with the flattening boom in Dubai, Sharjah's quiet but steady growth is catching up. Hotels, office and commercial buildings, shopping centers and apartments are being built in the new urban development areas near the coast. Above all, jobs in the service sector and trade are created here.

In addition, Sharjah is also the location of two free trade zones, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF zone) in the south of the capital and the Hamariya Free Zone on the coastal section north of Ajman. Both free trade areas have developed rapidly in recent years and have become important economic factors in Sharjah, not least because of the relatively favorable conditions for investors. Several thousand national and international companies from the areas of trade, industry and services are already doing their business in the free trade zones.

The tourism grows relatively unspectacular in the shadow of Dubai, one often undercuts the boom town priced at the same hotel services. The company's own range of special tourist destinations is still modest; the first investment in tourist expansion was the Sharjah Aquarium on the historic al-Chan peninsula, which opened in autumn 2008. With 250 species, it provides a comparatively small but educational overview of marine fauna offers.

Sharjah City is the seat of the natural gas company Dana Gas PJSC .

With Khor Fakkan , Sharjah also has an important port on the east coast.