Kamaran Island ( ar, كمران ''Kamarān'') is the largest
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
i island 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''; T ...
. The island is long and wide and is strategically located at the southern end of the Red Sea. It is a "shelf island" located in the shallow waters of the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
's
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
with
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s surrounding three sides of the island. The population numbers 2,200.
Kamaran is generally flat, with a few hills in the south. Its highest point is Jabal Yaman (24 meters high), situated about three kilometers from Ra's al Yaman, the southeastern cape of the island.
History
![Kamaran mosque from Turkish era](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Kamaran_mosque_from_Turkish_era.png)
In 1513,
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
spent three months on the island after the abortive
siege of Aden
The siege of Aden occurred when the Portuguese Governor of India, Afonso de Albuquerque, launched an unsuccessful expedition to capture Aden on 26 March 1513.
Background
Aden was an independent city-state whose strategic location allowed it to ...
. The Portuguese stay was thoroughly unpleasant marked by a short supply of food, a small smattering of only goats and camels, alongside the outbreak of a mysterious epidemic that caused fever and blood clogging.
During the second part of the 19th century, the island was occupied by the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
who built a
quarantine
A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
station for pilgrims from
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
, the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
, India and the East conducting the
hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
by sea to the Ottoman-controlled
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
holy city of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
.
During the early months of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, there was a debate among the British on the suitability of occupying Kamaran and the other Turkish-held Red Sea islands such as the
Farasan Islands
The Farasan Islands ( ar, جزر فرسان; transliterated: ) are a small group of coral islands approximately 40 km off the coast of Jizan in the Red Sea, belonging to Saudi Arabia.
The government provides free ferry rides twice a day to Fa ...
. Those who opposed the move pointed out that when war broke out, Great Britain had solemnly declared that it had no territorial ambitions in the area; even a temporary occupation might be seen by the Arabs, particularly the Imam of Yemen, as a breach of that promise. Finally, the decision was taken to occupy Kamaran and on the 9th of June 1915, the
RMS Empress of Russia
RMS ''Empress of Russia'' was a steam turbine ocean liner built in 1912–13 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific steamships (CP). She regularly worked the trans-Pacific route ...
landed an armed party on the island, previously evacuated by the Turkish garrison. G. A. Richardson, formerly vice-consul at Hudaydah and Kamaran, also disembarked to act as Political Officer with additional responsibility for Police, Treasury and Customs. While the British continued to administer Kamaran from Aden, they never declared formal possession.
![Kamaran NAAFI canteen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Kamaran_NAAFI_canteen.jpg)
In 1923, the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...
, which divided up the defeated Ottoman Empire, declared an end to its sovereignty over the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent islands, whose future was to be "settled by the parties concerned" without specifying those parties. Britain continued to administer the island despite the objections of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
which claimed sovereignty over the island. In 1949, Britain formally declared the governor of Aden to be the governor of Kamaran but the island did not become a part of the colony.
Quarantine station
![Kamaran Island barren landscape](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Kamaran_Island_barren_landscape.jpg)
After the departure of the Turks, an international control was exercised over the quarantine station, but it was in fact placed under British administration. In anticipation of a vast increase in the number of the faithful from British India, the Dutch East Indies, etc. who would make the pilgrimage the camp was greatly extended. Long lines of barrack-like sleeping quarters were constructed where the Turks had provided only wattle huts. Big disinfecting plants were installed where the pilgrims went through an ordeal of cleansing on a production line basis. A power station was built. The local water supply being inadequate, a massive distillation plant was introduced to make sea water fit for drinking. There were carpenters’ shops, machine shops, a small railway to transport fuel and stores, a wireless station, a fine landing stage, a cantonment of officials’ bungalows. This proved a bonanza for the islanders. They prospered on this trade in potential disease among the devout, and the population grew. In the village of Kamaran, the only settlement apart from a few isolated groups of fishermen's huts, fine houses and a magnificent mosque went up, and a lively trade in pilgrim requirements was conducted with the mainland.
[Nigel Groom, "The Island of Two Moons: Kamaran 1954", British-Yemeni Society Journal, 2002.]
Norman Lewis describes that, during Thompson's commissionership, resident islanders worked primarily as
pearl divers
Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the ...
and would rarely last past the age of 50 due to the harsh work-induced stresses.
However, this prosperity was short-lived. Determined to control the pilgrimage in all its aspects, the Saudi Arabian Government decided to construct its own quarantine station and to insist that Kamaran be by-passed. Soon, the long lines of buildings in the camps lay empty and deserted; a handful of men maintained was had become a ghost town while arrangements were debated for its breaking up and disposal.
End of the British presence
On 30 November 1967, Kamaran became a part of the
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
(South Yemen) upon its independence from Britain, but was seized by the adjacent
Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the northwestern part of what is now Yemen.The United States extend ...
(North Yemen) in 1972
Daniel McLaughlin, ''Yemen: The Bradt Travel Guide'' (2007) pp.162-3.
and became a part of a unified Yemen in 1990.
British Commissioners
* June 1915 - 191. D.G.L. Shaw - Commander
* c.1922 - 1935 Captain Guy Vyvian Wickham
* 1930s - c.1945 David Thompson
* c.1945 - 1952 Major Thomson British Army 1948
* 1952 - 1954? R.G.W.E. Alban (b. 1899 - d. 19..)
* 1954? - 30 November 1967 Archie Wilson
Postal history
Kamaran Island had an Ottoman post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
until 1915 and had a sub-post office of Aden beginning in 1924. From 1967, it was a postal territory of South Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
, from 1972 of North Yemen
North Yemen may refer to:
* Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962)
* Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...
, and from 1990 of the unified Republic of Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...
.
Notes
Sources and external links
WorldStatesmen- Yemen
a
The British-Yemeni Society
webpage
{{Islands of Yemen
Islands of the Red Sea
Islands of Yemen
Al Hudaydah Governorate
1915 establishments in the British Empire