Ras Al Khaimah is the main city and capital of the namesake emirate that makes up UnitedArabEmirates/UAE. Sometimes simply called RAK City, it’s home to most of the emirate’s residents. The city that means “headland of the tent” borders Oman’s exclave of Musandam, and occupies part of the same peninsula. RAK is known for its 64 km long beach coastline. Ras Al Khaimah city is divided into Old Town and Nakheel on either side of a creek that is home to #mangroves and is surrounded by Hajar Mountains.
The emirate includes Ras Al Khaimah City and a large southerly inland exclave near the Dubai exclave of Hatta, and a few small islands in the PersianGulf. Ras Al Khaimah Is the most fertile in UAE, due to the rainfall it receives and underground water streams from the Hajar Mountains. Ras Al Khaimah has been the site of continuous human habitation for the last 7,000 years and so there are many historical and archaeological sites across the emirate.
The area of Shimal contains both Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq burials and a number of notable finds. Ras Al Khaimah is often linked with medieval port of Julfar. Archaeological excavations indicate that early Julfar was located north of the present city of Ras Al Khaimah. There is considerable debate locally regarding the 18th-century charge of maritime piracy, attracting the British label ‘The Pirate Coast’ to the Eastern Gulf though exaggerated. In the early 18th century, the Qawasim established themselves in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah on the ArabianPeninsula, becoming a significant maritime force with holdings on both the Persian and Arabian coasts.
In the aftermath of a series of attacks in 1808 off the coast of Sindh, the British decided to show force against the Al Qasimi, mainly to counteract French encouragement of them. After several skirmishes and agreement in January 1820, the British imposed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 that was signed by Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Sharjah who was reinstated by the British in Ras Al Khaimah after the deposition of Hasan Bin Rahma Al Qasimi, making it a British protectorate until December 1971.
In 1869, Ras Al Khaimah became fully independent from neighboring Sharjah and has been ever since except from 1900 to 1921. On 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qasimi, joined the United Arab Emirates after the Iranian seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, the last one to join the union. As one of the emirates that have never discovered crudeoil or naturalgas resources, Ras Al Khaimah has diversified its economy. It has one of the most diverse economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
The emirate instead focuses on real estate, building materials, manufacturing and high-tech industry, service, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. Ras Al Khaimah is a fast-growing tourist destination. RAK IS famous for the Jais Adventure Peak, a collection of adventure attractions such as Jais Sky Tour, Jebel Jais Viewing Deck Park, and Jais Adventure Centre. There are numerous hotels and resorts that provide luxurious, mid-range, and budget accommodation. Well connected by road, and air with all major cities in the region.
Ras Al Khaimah has numerous landmarks worth visiting including the National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, Dhayah Fort, Sheba’s Palace, Al Falayah Fort, Dhow Building Station, Camel Race Track, Shimal, Al Jazirah Al Hamra ghost town, Old City, and Souq, Wadi Haqil, Wadi Bih, Waldorf Astoria, and Bu Shaqq tower. Jabal Jais on the city’s outskirts is the highest peak in the UAE and is home to the world’s longest zipline. Ras Al Khaimah is known for events such as the annual Half Marathon, UAE Awafi Festival, Terry Fox Run RAK. The city has numerous shoppingmalls that sell a variety of branded international and local products.
There are numerous things to do in RAK such as beach walking, fishing, camping, and picnicking. There are numerous options for adventure seekers such as scubadiving, snorkelling, mountains climbing, sunset and sunrise viewing, dunebashing, parasailing, micro-light flying, paragliding, shooting, birdwatching, quadbiking, desertsafari, camelsafari and race. There are also several amusement parks such as Ice land Waterpark, Saqr Park.
There are two golf clubs in Ras Al Khaimah that offer the chance to practice putting. Many restaurants here offer a variety of arabic and indian cuisine at reasonable prices. Many restaurants also are known for shisha. Ras Al Khaimah offers the chance to moviegoers to watch Hollywood, Bollywood, and Arabic movies. Overall open to tourists throughout the year, Ras Al Khaimah is a great place to be on an extended weekend visit.
