Masafi ( ar, مسافي) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located on the edge of the

Hajar Mountains The Hajar Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحَجَر, Jibāl al-Ḥajar, ''The Rocky Mountains'' or ''The Stone Mountains'') in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. It sits at the inland entrance of the

Wadi Ham Wadi Ham is a wadi, a seasonal watercourse, in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from Masafi towards Fujairah City, until it reaches the Wadi Ham Dam and the Gulf of Oman. The wadi is crossed ...

, which runs down to

Fujairah City Fujairah City ( ar, الفجيرة) is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Emirati capital city on the ...

. The border between the emirates of

Fujairah Fujairah City ( ar, الفجيرة) is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Emirati capital city on the ...

and

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

runs through the town, which houses a barracks used by the

United Arab Emirates Armed Forces The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah) are the armed forces of the Unit ...

Overview

Until relatively recently, with the construction of the

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

road and the 'truck road' between

Dibba Dibbā ( ar, دِبَّا) is a coastal area at the northern tip of the eastern Arabian peninsula on the Gulf of Oman. Political administration Dibba is politically divided into three segments: * Dibba Al-Fujairah, ruled by the Emirate of Fu ...

and the 311 highway at

Ras al-Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

, the road through Masafi was the only route from the interior to the East Coast of the UAE. The road from the inland town of

Dhaid Dhaid, or Al Dhaid ( ar, ٱلذَّيْد, Adh-Dhayd), is the capital of the Central Region of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. An oasis town, it has extensive irrigated date palm plantations with water channelled from the near ...

splits at Masafi, leading to Dibba to the north and

to the south. A number of excavations point to Bronze Age habitation in Masafi, which has a recently restored (2012) stone and adobe fort, smaller but architecturally similar to the nearby

Al Bithnah Fort Bithnah Fort is a traditional double story rock, coral and mudbrick fortification located in the Wadi Ham, near the village of Bithnah in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The fort has played a significant role in the history of the Emirates, par ...

, also restored as part of the same project. The fort encloses an exceptional example of a ''

falaj A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

'', an underground waterway constructed to channel water from the mountains to the oasis towns of the interior. At the turn of the 20th century, Masafi was a village of some 50 houses, with the villagers being split between the ''

Sharqiyin The Sharqiyin ( ar, الشرقيون, singular Al Sharqi ar, الشرقي) is a tribe of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Sharqiyin were long the dominant tribe along the East coast of the Trucial States (and the second most numerous in t ...

'' and '' Mazari'' tribes, with some 30 cattle, 350 sheep and 5,000 date palms. Masafi was the site of a rough airstrip used by the

Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts was a paramilitary force that the British raised in 1951 as the Trucial Oman Levies, to serve in the Trucial States. In 1956, the Levies were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts. In 1971, upon the formation of the United Arab ...

Climate

Water bottling

Masafi is a branded producer of

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

, juices and other consumer goods such as

tissue paper Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled pulp (paper), paper pulp on a paper machine. Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these ...

. The company's 250,000 m² bottling plant is located in the northern part of the town, part of Ras Al Khaimah. Capable of producing 90,000 bottles an hour, the plant produced, until 2017, the only bottled water in the UAE labelled as mineral water, changing its branding to identify as 'Deep Earth Water'. In 1980, the company was the sponsor of the first Masafi Car Rally, a popular annual event no longer held.

Masafi Friday Market

Located some 5 km West of Masafi (on the Dhaid Road), the Masafi Friday Market (''Souk Al Juma'a'') is actually open week-round and has become a popular tourist destination, consisting of a number of permanent and semi-permanent stalls selling toys, souvenirs, plants, carpets and rugs, pots and fruit and vegetables. The market grew around a number of farmers and other vendors using the presence of speed bumps on the road slowing traffic to sell vegetables and accessories from the backs of their trucks and expanded over time to form the present township. Much of one side of the market (on the Masafi/Dhaid carriageway) was destroyed by fire on 30 May 2015.

Sports

Masafi Club Masafi Sports Club is an Emirati football club based in Masafi. The team currently plays in the UAE First Division League. Current squad ''As of UAE Division One:'' References Masafi Masafi ( ar, مسافي) is a village located o ...

References

{{Ras al-Khaimah Populated places in the Emirate of Fujairah Villages in the United Arab Emirates Populated places in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah History of the United Arab Emirates Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates