Khuriya Muriya Islands

Map of the Khuriya Muriya Islands

The Khuriya Muriya Islands (or Kuria Muria) (Arabic: جزر خوريا موريا‎; transliterated: Juzur Khurīyā Murīyā or Khūryān Mūryān) are a group of five islands in the Arabian Sea, 40 km (25 mi) off the southeastern coast of the Sultanate of Oman. The islands form part of the province of Shalim and the Hallaniyat Islands in the governorate of Dhofar.

History

In antiquity the islands were called the Zenobii or Zenobiou Islands (Greek: Ζηνοβίου νησία; Latin: Zenobii Insulae) or Doliche (Greek: Δολίχη). The islands were mentioned by several early writers including Ptolemy (vi. 7. § 47) who numbered them as seven small islands lying in Khuriya Muriya Bay (Greek: Σαχαλίτης κόλπος; Latin: Sinus Sachalites), towards the entrance of the "Persian Gulf" (most likely the modern Gulf of Aden).^[1]

Aden Colony and dependencies, including the Kuria Muria Islands

In 1854 the hami (sultan) of Muscat (later Muscat and Oman now Oman) ceded the islands to Britain and in 1868 they were attached to the Aden Settlement (in what is now modern Yemen). Guano was mined there and as part of Britain's communication system with India the islands had a telegraph cable station.^[2] As a British possession until 1967, they were administered by the British Governor of Aden until 1953, then by the British High Commissioner until 1963, and finally by the British Chief Political Resident of the Persian Gulf (based in Bahrain). On 30 November 1967, Lord Caradon, the British Ambassador to the United Nations, announced that in accordance with the wishes of the local inhabitants, the islands would be returned to Muscat and Oman, despite criticism from President Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi that the islands should be transferred to the People's Republic of South Yemen.^[3] The boundary between the two countries was not formally settled until 1995 when it was agreed that the islands were on Oman's side of the line.^[4]

Islands

Island	Arabic	Transliteration	Area (km²)	Coordinates
Al-Hasikiyah	جزيرة الحاسكية	Ǧazīrat al-Ḥāsikiyya	2	17°28′28″N 55°36′05″E / 17.47444°N 55.60139°E
Al-Sawda	الجزيرة السوداء	al-Ǧazīra al-sawdāʾ	11	17°29′28″N 55°51′18″E / 17.49111°N 55.85500°E
Al-Hallaniyah	جزيرة الحلانية	Ǧazīrat al-Ḥallāniyya	56	17°30′52″N 56°01′29″E / 17.51444°N 56.02472°E
Qarzawit	جرزعوت	Ǧazīrat Ǧarzaʿūt	0.3	17°37′01″N 56°08′24″E / 17.61694°N 56.14000°E
Al-Qibliyah	الجزيرة القبلية	Ǧazīra al-qibliyya	3	17°30′00″N 56°20′15″E / 17.50000°N 56.33750°E
Khuriya Muriya Islands	جزر خوريا موريا	Ǧuzur Ḥūriyā Mūriyā	73	17°30′N 56°00′E / 17.500°N 56.000°E

See also

• Al-Hallaniyah
• Masirah Island

References

1. Cf. Arrian Per. M. Eryth. p. 19.
2. Khuriya Muriya Islands
3. The Times, December 1, 1967
4. International boundary agreement between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Yemen,1 October 1992.

Further reading

• Talbert, Richard. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. p. 4. ISBN 0-691-03169-X.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.

External links

• 1911 Britannica
• WorldStatesmen - Oman
• Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer, "Zenobii ins."
• Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer, "Doliche"
• Nautical Information (Sailing Directions)

17°30′N 56°00′E / 17.500°N 56.000°ECoordinates: 17°30′N 56°00′E / 17.500°N 56.000°E