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The Farasan Islands ( ar, جزر فرسان;
transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
: ) are a small group of coral islands approximately 40 km off the coast of Jizan in the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
, belonging to
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
. The government provides free ferry rides twice a day to Farasan Islands from Jizan Port. The largest island of the archipelago is
Farasan Island Farasan Island ( ar, جزيرة فرسان; transliterated: Jazyrat Farasan) is the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia and is among t ...
; others include Sajid Island and Zufaf Island. The islands are a popular tourist destination. In recent years the Saudi government has tried to increase the tourism quality and worth (as part of a larger tourism drive in the country) of the Islands in order to attract even more visitors.


History

In the 1st century AD, the islands were known as Portus Ferresanus. A Latin inscription dating from 144 AD has been found on the island which attests to the construction of a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
garrison. It is believed that the islands may have been attached to the province of
Arabia Felix Arabia Felix (literally: Fertile/Happy Arabia; also Ancient Greek: Εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία, ''Eudaemon Arabia'') was the Latin name previously used by geographers to describe South Arabia, or what is now Yemen. Etymology The term Arabia ...
, before being transferred to
Aegyptus In Greek mythology, Aegyptus or Ægyptus (; grc, Αἴγυπτος) was a legendary king of ancient Egypt. He was a descendant of the princess Io through his father Belus, and of the river-god Nilus as both the father of Achiroe, his mother ...
some time before 144 AD.New inscriptions from Saudi Arabia and the extent of Roman rule along the Red Sea.201

Retrieved on May 6, 2017
If this is correct, it would make the Farasan Islands the farthest Roman outpost, being nearly 4000 km from Rome itself. In 1900, the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
struck a deal with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
that allowed them to establish a
coaling station Fuelling stations, also known as coaling stations, are repositories of fuel (initially coal and later oil) that have been located to service commercial and naval vessels. Today, the term "coaling station" can also refer to coal storage and feedi ...
on the islands to support their ships operating in the Red Sea. The German Empire planned on eventually acquiring the islands but the project was dropped in 1902 because the coal depot remained unused and the Ottoman Empire refused to transfer it.


Climate

The climate in the Farasan archipelago is characterised by a long hot season (April–October) and a short mild one (November–March). In the long dry period high temperatures are usually dominant. The mean annual temperature is 30 C. Furthermore, the mean relative humidity in winter ranges from 70% to 80% and in summer between 65% and 78%. The highest rainfall occurs in April and the precipitation is generally unpredictable in the southern part of Red Sea.


Nature

The Farasan Island Marine Sanctuary is a protected area. It is home to the Arabian gazelle, and, in winter,
migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...
from Europe. Oceanic animals include
manta ray Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-s ...
s,
whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Bran ...
s, and several species of
sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...
s including endangered and critically endangered
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
and hawksbill turtles,
dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
s,Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. 2006
Science Diary – 8 May 2006
Retrieved on April 14, 2017
and several species of
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...
s and whales with occasional visits by others such as
orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
s.علي رويني 2.654.258. 2017
ظهور الحوت القاتل في جزيرة فرسان - جزيرة سلوبه يعرف عنه اصطياد فرائسه من الشاطىء المقطع الاول
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. Retrieved on April 14, 2017


Economy

After a French engineer investigated petroleum seeps on the islands in 1912, a 75-year concession was granted to the Red Sea oilfields. At the time, the Farasan Islands supported a small
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
industry. Tourism and fishing also play a role in the economy. Farasan Island is connected to Jezan port by ferry.


See also

* Greater Yemen


References


External links


Saudi Aramco World: Dreaming of Farasan

Farasan Island, a diver's paradise
, ''Splendid Arabia'': A travel site with photos and routes {{Islands of Saudi Arabia __FORCETOC__ Archipelagoes of the Indian Ocean Islands of the Red Sea Islands of Saudi Arabia Jizan Province Protected areas of Jazan Region