Al-Hallaniyah
Encyclopedia
Al Hallaniyah is the largest and only inhabited of the Khuriya Muriya Islands
, which belong to Oman
. It is located in the center of the group, eight kilometers east of Al-Sawda, the closest island, and the second largest of the group. The area is 56 km². The only village is located on the flat western part, with a population in the range of 100 to 150. It is reachable by boat or plane. An airstrip is located nearby.
The island is generally rugged and barren, except for some tamarix
trees and a little grass on its eastern side. The central part of the island rises to granite
chimney peaks standing close together. The tallest peak reaches a height of 495 meters.
The east and west ends of the island terminate in comparatively low points. Ras al Hallaniyah, the summit and northern headland
of the island, is a bold projecting bluff, 501 meters high. The coast of a length of one mile on either side of this bluff consists of a Muschelkalk
cliff descenting almost vertically to the sea.
The inhabitants visit the other islands with their boats, weather permitting, to catch birds and collect eggs. Other than that, their main occupation is fishing
. According to the Foundation for Endangered Languages the inabitants speak the Jibbali language, also called Shehri. During the Charif
, from mid-May to mid-September, cold water rich of nutrients from great depths reaches the surface, bringing with it an abundance of fish. The sea is rough during that time, and the weather is windy and foggy.
Khuriya Muriya Islands
The Khuriya Muriya Islands are a group of five islands in the Arabian Sea, 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....
, which belong to Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. It is located in the center of the group, eight kilometers east of Al-Sawda, the closest island, and the second largest of the group. The area is 56 km². The only village is located on the flat western part, with a population in the range of 100 to 150. It is reachable by boat or plane. An airstrip is located nearby.
The island is generally rugged and barren, except for some tamarix
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
trees and a little grass on its eastern side. The central part of the island rises to granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
chimney peaks standing close together. The tallest peak reaches a height of 495 meters.
The east and west ends of the island terminate in comparatively low points. Ras al Hallaniyah, the summit and northern headland
Headland
A headland is a point of land, usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends out into a body of water.Headland can also refer to:*Headlands and bays*headLand, an Australian television series...
of the island, is a bold projecting bluff, 501 meters high. The coast of a length of one mile on either side of this bluff consists of a Muschelkalk
Muschelkalk
The Muschelkalk is a sequence of sedimentary rock strata in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic age and forms the middle part of the Germanic Trias, that further consists of the Buntsandstein and Keuper...
cliff descenting almost vertically to the sea.
The inhabitants visit the other islands with their boats, weather permitting, to catch birds and collect eggs. Other than that, their main occupation is fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. According to the Foundation for Endangered Languages the inabitants speak the Jibbali language, also called Shehri. During the Charif
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, from mid-May to mid-September, cold water rich of nutrients from great depths reaches the surface, bringing with it an abundance of fish. The sea is rough during that time, and the weather is windy and foggy.