Wikipedia

Liwa Oasis

Liwa Oasis

وَاحَـة لِـيْـوَا
A falaj in Qasr Al Sarab, Liwa Oasis.
A falaj in Qasr Al Sarab, Liwa Oasis.
Country United Arab Emirates
Emirate Abu Dhabi
Municipal regionAl Gharbia
Government
 • TypeAbsolute monarchy
 • EmirKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
 • Ruler's Representative of the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu DhabiHamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Population
(2019)
 • Total20,192[1]
Time zoneUTC+4 (UAE Standard Time)

The Liwa Oasis (Arabic: وَاحَـة لِـيْـوَا‎, romanizedWāḥḥat Līwā) is a large oasis area in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.[2]

Geography

The satellite image shows the location of the belt of oases along the northern reaches of the Rub al Khali dune fields. The unmarked border with Saudi Arabia is shown as a red line. To the north, irrigated areas along the highway to Tarif on the coast of the Persian Gulf are visible.
Location in the United Arab Emirates
Date palm trees in Liwa Oasis

Liwa Oasis is about 97.6 km (60.6 mi) south of the Persian Gulf coast and 150 km (93 mi) southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, on the northern edge of Rub' al Khali desert. It is centered around 23°08′N 53°46′E / 23.133°N 53.767°E and stretches about 100 km (62 mi) east-west, along an arch curved to the north. It consists of some 50 villages. The geographic and economic center of the oasis is Muzayri`, where the highway from Abu Dhabi enters the oasis and then divides to the east (65 km (40 mi) to the easternmost village, Mahdar Bin `Usayyan) and west (45 km (28 mi) to the westernmost village, `Aradah). According to the census of population of 2005, the population was 20,196.[2] Earlier estimates judging from satellite images which gauged the population at 50,000 to 150,000, were too high.[3] The villages of Liwa Oasis are the southernmost settlements of Abu Dhabi and of the United Arab Emirates. The southern border of Abu Dhabi with Saudi Arabia, which runs at a distance between 16 and 35 km (9.9 and 21.7 mi) to the Oasis, is a straight line in the Rub al Khali desert, which is largely uninhabited. Mahdar Bin `Usayyan is the southernmost village of the Emirates, and also the easternmost of the oasis. 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the border, and 40 km (25 mi) south of the eastern part of the oasis is the Saudi oil facility Shaybah. However, there is no road linking Liwa Oasis and Shaybah, and no border crossing. A modern, multi-lane highway connects the oasis area to the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Villages

Sand dunes in Liwa Oasis.

The USGS Geographic Names Database[4] lists 39 populated places in the area of the oasis, which are listed from west to east in the following table.

Village Arabic Coordinates
`Aradah عرادة 22°59′00″N 53°26′00″E / 22.98333°N 53.43333°E
Milqatah ملقطة 23°04′00″N 53°32′00″E / 23.06667°N 53.53333°E
Al-`Idd العيد 23°04′48″N 53°33′02″E / 23.08000°N 53.55056°E
Al-Mariyah al-Gharbiyah المارية الغربية 23°06′12″N 53°34′48″E / 23.10333°N 53.58000°E
Humar حمار 23°05′04″N 53°35′03″E / 23.08444°N 53.58417°E
Khannur خنور 23°06′14″N 53°36′05″E / 23.10389°N 53.60139°E
Hamarur حمرور 23°06′00″N 53°36′31″E / 23.10000°N 53.60861°E
Taraq طرق 23°06′50″N 53°36′41″E / 23.11389°N 53.61139°E
Mujib مجيب 23°07′00″N 53°41′00″E / 23.11667°N 53.68333°E
Kayyah كية 23°09′30″N 53°41′05″E / 23.15833°N 53.68472°E
Zuwayhir ظويهر 23°08′22″N 53°41′36″E / 23.13944°N 53.69333°E
Wafd وفد 23°06′20″N 53°42′50″E / 23.10556°N 53.71389°E
Umm al Qurayn أم القرين 23°06′00″N 53°43′00″E / 23.10000°N 53.71667°E
Qutuf قطوف 23°06′36″N 53°43′29″E / 23.11000°N 53.72472°E
Al-Atir العاطر 23°09′50″N 53°44′07″E / 23.16389°N 53.73528°E
Al-Mariyah المارية 23°08′30″N 53°44′30″E / 23.14167°N 53.74167°E
Dhafeer ظفير 23°07′50″N 53°45′37″E / 23.13056°N 53.76028°E
Jayf جيف 23°09′44″N 53°46′28″E / 23.16222°N 53.77444°E
Muzayri مظيري 23°08′19″N 53°47′14″E / 23.13861°N 53.78722°E
Nafir نافر 23°06′00″N 53°48′00″E / 23.10000°N 53.80000°E
Huwaylah حويلة 23°09′19″N 53°49′26″E / 23.15528°N 53.82389°E
Qurmidah قرمدة 23°07′08″N 53°49′42″E / 23.11889°N 53.82833°E
Hafif هفيف \ حفيف 23°08′52″N 53°50′29″E / 23.14778°N 53.84139°E
`Attab عتاب 23°09′14″N 53°52′46″E / 23.15389°N 53.87944°E
Shah شاه 23°08′33″N 53°54′51″E / 23.14250°N 53.91417°E
Huwaytayn حويطين 23°06′51″N 53°55′52″E / 23.11417°N 53.93111°E
Sabkhah سبخة 23°07′50″N 53°59′11″E / 23.13056°N 53.98639°E
Al-Hadhi الهذي 23°06′57″N 53°59′48″E / 23.11583°N 53.99667°E
Tharwaniyah ثروانية 23°05′00″N 54°01′00″E / 23.08333°N 54.01667°E
Al Mashrub المشرب 23°04′00″N 54°01′00″E / 23.06667°N 54.01667°E
An-Nashshash النشاش 23°05′00″N 54°02′00″E / 23.08333°N 54.03333°E
Dahin داهن 23°04′00″N 54°05′00″E / 23.06667°N 54.08333°E
Wadhil واظل 23°03′00″N 54°08′00″E / 23.05000°N 54.13333°E
Mawsil موصل 23°01′00″N 54°09′00″E / 23.01667°N 54.15000°E
Al-Khis الخيس 23°00′00″N 54°12′00″E / 23.00000°N 54.20000°E
Quwaysah قويسة 22°59′00″N 54°14′00″E / 22.98333°N 54.23333°E
Hamim حميم 22°58′00″N 54°18′00″E / 22.96667°N 54.30000°E
Jurayrah جريرة 22°57′00″N 54°19′00″E / 22.95000°N 54.31667°E
Mahdar Bin `Usayyan مهدر بن عصيان 22°56′00″N 54°19′00″E / 22.93333°N 54.31667°E

Economy

A road in Liwa

An important traditional branch of the economy is date farming. There is a widespread use of drip irrigation and greenhouses. The importance of tourism is on the rise. There are several hotels in the area including the Liwa Hotel in Muzayri`, Tilal Liwa Hotel, the Liwa Rest House in the same village and run by the government of Abu Dhabi, and the resort Qasr Al Sarab.[5]

The nearby Moreeb dune (22°59′N 53°47′E / 22.983°N 53.783°E), 22 kilometres (14 miles) south of Muzayri`, is 300 metres (980 feet) high, and is one of the largest dunes in the world. It attracts people every year during the Liwa festival[6] a large number of international and local visitors coming to see the offroad and camel racing events.

History

The oasis is the place of birth of the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In 1793, the ruling family Al Nahyan moved their residence from Liwa to the city of Abu Dhabi.[7]

Traditionally, men from Liwa (Bani Yas tribe) were pearl divers on the coast during the summer months. Pearl diving offered an additional source of income.

In popular culture

East of Liwa Oasis, in the Rub' Al Khali desert, was the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it was used to represent Jakku, a desert planet.[8]

Desert scenes of Sonic the Hedgehog (film) were filmed in Liwa Oasis.[9]

See also

  • Moreeb Dune
  • Al Ain Oasis

References

  1. ^ The Report: Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group. 21 March 2019. ISBN 9781907065217 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b "Al Gharbia". The Report Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group. 2010. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-9070-6521-7.
  3. ^ "Liwa Oasis". Lexiorient. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  4. ^ "Complete Files of Geographic Names for Geopolitical Areas from GNS (ISO/IEC 10646 [Unicode UTF-8]". Earth-info.nga.mil. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. ^ Qasr Al-Sarab
  6. ^ "Liwa International Festival / Moreeb Dune". Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Tourism Office. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  7. ^ Motohiro, Ono (March 2011). "Reconsideration of the Meanings of the Tribal Ties in the United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Emirate in Early ʼ90s" (PDF). Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies. 4–1 (2): 25–34. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. ^ "The harsh reality of building a 'Star Wars' fantasy in Abu Dhabi". LA Times. 3 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Watch: Key 'Sonic The Hedgehog' scenes were filmed in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert". The National. 25 March 2020.

External links

Media related to Liwa Oasis at Wikimedia Commons

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