Farasan Islands

The Farasan Islands, are an archipelago in the Red Sea, located some 40 km (25 mi; 22 nmi) off the coast of Jizan. Most of the archipelago falls within Saudi Arabia, although its southern extension is Yemeni.

The Islands have since Roman times constituted a stopping-off point for maritime activity and, at times, a base for naval forces in the southern Red Sea region.

Administratively, the islands form the Farasan Islands Governorate of Jazan Province. The governorate's capital is the city of Farasan, on Great Farasan Island.

The Islands Protected Area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021 and is included on Saudi Arabia's tentative list for World Heritage status.

Geography

The Farasan Islands consist of nearly 200 islands and islets, most of which are coral islands, spread over a sea area of 1050 km2 in the southeastern section of the Red Sea. Only three islands are inhabited: Great Farasan, Sajid, and Qummah. The remaining islands are uninhabited and include the pairs Saso Islands and Al-Dassan Islands, as well as Kirah, Zifaf, Dumsuk, Salubah, and Dushak, among others.

The archipelago is low lying, reaching a maximum height of 70 m above sea leve on Great Farasan Island. It consists of fossil-coral plateaux, coral-sand dunes and plains. The largest islands of the archipelago, Greater Farasan and Sajid, are linked by a bridge. A ferry service connects the islands to the mainland.

Heritage

Farasan City contains archaeological sites and monuments including an Ottoman castle, historical decorated stucco buildings such as Al-Rifa'i House and Al-Najdi Mosque as well as boulders with Himyarite inscriptions and historical wells in the nearby wadi Matar.

History

In the 1st century CE, the islands were known as Portus Ferresanus. A Latin inscription dating from 144 CE, found on Great Farasan Island, points to a Roman naval and military presence on the islands. It is believed that the islands may have been attached to the Roman province of Arabia Felix, before being transferred to Aegyptus some time before 144 CE. This fact would make the Farasan Islands the farthest Roman outpost (until at least the 3rd century), being nearly 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Rome itself. In addition, recent studies have found that the local language has some Latin loanwords. It remained this way up until the Arab Muslim conquest of the islands and subsequent Islamization.

The late medieval seafarer Ahmad ibn Majid gives evidence of availability of water, food and anchorages as well as routes past and around the archipelago. Egyptian Mamluks occupied the islands in the early 16th century, and the Ottomans at the beginning of the 20th century. The latter permitted the establishment of a German coaling station on Qummah Island.

In 1915, the Idrisids captured the islands from the Ottomans. In 1930, the islands were practically annexed by the Saudi State, confirmed by the Treaty of Taif in 1934.