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Native name: Al-Hallaniyat Islands | |
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  Khuriya Muriya Location within Oman Show map of Oman Khuriya Muriya Khuriya Muriya (Middle East) Show map of Middle East | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Arabian Sea |
| Coordinates | 17°30′52″N56°01′29″E / 17.51444°N 56.02472°E /17.51444; 56.02472 |
| Total islands | 5 |
| Administration | |
TheKhuriya Muriya Islands orAl-Hallaniyat Islands (alsoKuria Muria,Kooria Mooria,Curia Muria, Al-Hallaniyat ) (Arabic:جزر الحلانيات;transliterated:Juzur al-Ḥallāniyāt) are a group of five islands in theArabian Sea, 40 km (25 mi) off the southeastern coast ofOman. The islands form part of theprovince ofShalim and the Hallaniyat Islands in thegovernorate ofDhofar.
In antiquity the islands were called theZenobii orZenobiou Islands (Greek:Ζηνοβίου νησία;Latin:Zenobii Insulae) orDoliche (Greek:Δολίχη). The islands were mentioned by several early writers includingPtolemy (vi. 7. § 47) who numbered them as seven small islands lying inKhuriya Muriya Bay (Greek:Σαχαλίτης κόλπος;Latin:Sinus Sachalites), towards the entrance of the "Persian Gulf" (most likely the modernGulf of Aden).[1] ThePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea, aperiplus dated to between AD 40 and 70, thus mentioned the Khuriya Muriya Islands, then calledIsles of Zenobios:
After sailing along it over open water for about 2000 stades from the Isles of Zenobios, you come to theIsle of Sarapis, as it is called, about 120 stades offshore.
— Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, §33[2]
In 1854 the sultan ofMuscat (laterMuscat and Oman, now Oman) presented the islands to Queen Victoria as a gift and responsibility for the islands was granted to the Bombay government in British India. There was some concern at the time that the deed of cession was null since the sultan had no rights over the archipelago. The Red Sea and India Telegraph Company, formed in 1858, intended to use one of the islands as a base for a telegraph connection between Aden and Karachi but the project was abandoned in 1861 after sections of the cable failed. A group of Liverpool entrepreneurs were granted monopoly rights to harvest the abundantguano deposits, but after having met resistance from the local inhabitants who considered that resource theirs, and questions in the British parliament about the advisability of granting monopoly rights to anyone, the mining was abandoned after some 200,000 tons had been extracted between 1855 and 1860.[3] During that period, the archipelago presented a busy scene[why?], with up to 52 ships present on one occasion. As per a British intelligence report from 1883, fewer than 40 inhabitants lived on Al-Hallaniyah, the main island. The islanders lived in huts of unmortared stone with mat roofs, and at certain seasons they moved to caves. They lived on fish, shellfish and goat's milk, occasionally exchanging dried fish for dates and rice from passing ships. They fished entirely with hooks since they had neither boat nor nets.[4]
In 1886, the islands were attached administratively toAden. Due to their remoteness, the lack of anchorages and the fact that the inhabitants continued to consider themselves subjects of the Sultan of Muscat, the islands remained un-administered and, for decades, were only sporadically visited by British officials.[5][6] While technically part ofAden Colony, the islands, because of their remoteness and inaccessibly, were left to the supervision of theBritish Resident in the Persian Gulf.[7] As a British possession until 1967, they were administered by the Governor ofAden until 1953, then by the BritishHigh Commissioner until 1963, and finally by the BritishChief Political Resident of thePersian Gulf (based inBahrain). On 30 November 1967,Lord Caradon, the British Ambassador to theUnited Nations, announced that in accordance with the wishes of the local inhabitants, the islands would be returned toMuscat and Oman, despite criticism from PresidentQahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi that the islands should be transferred to thePeople's Republic of South Yemen.[8] The boundary between the two countries was not formally settled until 1992 when it was agreed that the islands were on Oman's side of the line.[9]
The island group has been designated anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supportsseabirdbreeding colonies ofred-billed tropicbirds,tropical shearwaters,masked boobies,Socotra cormorants,sooty gulls, andbridled andgreater crested terns. Other significant birds are residentmourning wheatears and visitingJouanin's petrels.[10]
| Island | Arabic | Transliteration | Area (km2) | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Hasikiyah | جزيرة الحاسكية | Ǧazīrat al-Ḥāsikiyya | 2 | 17°28′28″N55°36′05″E / 17.47444°N 55.60139°E /17.47444; 55.60139 |
| Al-Sawda | الجزيرة السوداء | al-Ǧazīra al-sawdāʾ | 11 | 17°29′28″N55°51′18″E / 17.49111°N 55.85500°E /17.49111; 55.85500 |
| Al-Hallaniyah | جزيرة الحلانية | Ǧazīrat al-Ḥallāniyya | 56 | 17°30′52″N56°01′29″E / 17.51444°N 56.02472°E /17.51444; 56.02472 |
| Qarzawit | جزيرة جرزعوت | Ǧazīrat Ǧarzaʿūt | 0.3 | 17°37′01″N56°08′24″E / 17.61694°N 56.14000°E /17.61694; 56.14000 |
| Al-Qibliyah | الجزيرة القبلية | Ǧazīra al-qibliyya | 3 | 17°30′00″N56°20′15″E / 17.50000°N 56.33750°E /17.50000; 56.33750 |
| Khuriya Muriya Islands | جزر خوريا موريا | Ǧuzur Ḥūriyā Mūriyā | 73 | 17°30′N56°00′E / 17.500°N 56.000°E /17.500; 56.000 |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Zenobios".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
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