Khor Fakkan, or the “Creek of Two Jaws”, is an interesting corner of the country.
The city is part of the emirate of Sharjah but can only be reached by roads which pass through its neighbour Fujairah. In the mountains behind Khor Fakkan lies Madha, territory of Oman which is entirely surrounded by the UAE. Inside Madha is tiny Nahwa, a village belonging to Sharjah. Madha is what is known as an exclave, meaning territory of one country that is entirely surrounded by another.
While Nahwa is a counter-exclave, meaning it is an exclave inside an exclave. Khor Fakkan, meanwhile, is an enclave, meaning territory of one state, in this case Sharjah, that cannot be reached without passing through another (Fujairah and Oman).
But it is not entirely surrounded (and thus an exclave) because it has a coast on the Gulf of Oman and territorial waters. How much does this concern this crowd enjoying a day at the park in the city on a sunny weekend back in the 1970s? The short answer seems to be: not in the slightest.
* James Langton
