Exploring Ajman

Ajman is one of seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The term 'emirate' compares roughly to the old term 'shiekhdom'. It is the third of the seven that I have written about. To read about the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, please see my posts dated 02-13-09 Bye, Bye, Dubai? and 03-06-09 Exploring Abu Dhabi

The Oxford Business Group webpage has this to say about Ajman:

- Ajman was formed by the Al Nuaim tribe, who migrated to the region from Oman around 1775. Ajman’s first recognition as an autonomous state was the General Treaty of Peace with Britain (1820). It also subscribed to the Maritime Truce of 1835 and to the Perpetual Maritime Truce in 1853. An exclusive agreement was signed in 1892, placing Ajman and the other Trucial States’ foreign relations in the hands of the British government. In 1968, Britain announced its intention to withdraw from its Gulf treaty obligations by 1971. In December 1971, the British left the area permanently, leaving a path for the formation of the UAE, of which Ajman was a founding member.

- Ajman itself is the smallest of the seven emirates, with a total landmass of 260 sq km, accounting for approximately 0.3% of the total UAE. It is composed of three sections, the principal portion being landward on the Gulf coast, sharing almost its entire border with Sharjah. This section is also the capital city of Ajman and the emirate’s only urban settlement.

- Ajman’s climate is very dry, with minimal rainfall. The weather varies depending on distance from the Gulf coast. The climate is pleasant from November to April, with warm sunny days, cool evenings and low humidity. Daytime temperatures range from 18 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. From May to September, the summer heat and often-high humidity forces most people to head to cooler climes, with daytime temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius. There are occasional tropical storms from January to March.

- Ajman has granted petroleum concessions to foreign companies; however, no supplies have yet been discovered. The Al Zora gas field, off the coast of Ajman, has potential to be developed in the future, but operations have not yet begun. click here to read more

Additional interesting facts about Ajman that I found while looking up other things:

(1) From the brief history above - "Ajman was formed by the Al Nuaim tribe, who migrated to the region from Oman around 1775." One year before the colonies, which were to become the United States of America, declared their independence from England, the Al Nuaim tribe left Oman and, in a sense, declared its own independence. Why did the Al Nuaim tribe decide to leave Oman? Was there repression of some kind to escape, like what motivated the USA's founders? Was it to search for better natural resources?

After a lengthy research battle, with both Google and Dogpile as my allies, I most humbly admit scholarly defeat and refer to Wikipedia for this possible answer: "The Al Nuaim (Arabic: النعيم) tribe is an Arab bedouin tribe, based primarily in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The tribe is the ruling family in Ajman. In Bahrain, the traditional home of the tribe has been Halat Nuaim island. The tribe used to be involved in the lucrative pearl diving industry. The Al Nuaim tribe was one of the several bedouin tribes to move to Bahrain in 1783 after the Al Khalifa conquered the island."

(2) In 1988, the Ajman University of Science and Technology (AUST) was founded. Reading this brought to mind one of my alma maters, DeVry University, formerly known as Devry Institute of Technology. It would be interesting to sit down with some AUST students in electronics and compare notes. I suspect their coursework is now so far advanced from what I learned in 1979-1981, that we'd likely be speaking different languages (in more ways than one!). If I brought up troubleshooting a circuit board at the individual component level, they would probably laugh. Well, I enjoy a good laugh - even when it's at my expense.

(3) Traditional methods of learning about a foreign land can sometimes make what should be a vitally interesting exercise... well... boring. I mean, are population figures, Gross National Product, and budget figures really interesting? I know, I myself included some facts like this at the outset of the post. So your intrepid explorer has found a topic that truly bridges the gap between peoples of different countries: sewage disposal! In July of 2007, the website, arabianbusiness.com, carried an article entitled, "Ajman turns on sewage system". I quote the opening two paragraphs:

- The northern emirate of Ajman will soon switch on its new AED 800 million sewerage system, according to the Ajman Municipality. The addition to the emirate's infrastructure is being set up to cope with large-scale commercial and residential projects.

- "A healthy living environment for residents, a more vibrant economy, and a greener Ajman are just a few of the benefits promised by the new system," said Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Ajman Sewerage Company. click here to read more

Yet another area of common interest, my memory called out. In the late 1950s, I remember new, large sewage pipes being installed in my south side Chicago neighborhood. They seemed enormous to my 8 year old self. The large piles of dirt created in order to accommodate the pipes were great fun to climb, and being modestly dangerous was a bonus too. Did the children in Ajman have similar fun experiences? I'd like to hope so.

(4) Finally, what better bridge-builder between peoples is there than sports? When members of racial minorities were permitted to play in the major USA sports, resistance was experienced at first. But soon, you had white Americans cheering for African American, Hispanic, and Asian players. And what is rarely mentioned, is the reverse. You had minority group kids and adults cheering for white athletes. It gets tougher and tougher to hate someone when you're cheering for them.

So I close this week's post with this item from the March 18, 2009 Gulf Daily News:

- Al Nuaim Boys School clinched the Secondary Schools Handball Championship after a 44-32 victory over Ahmed Al Omran School at Al Shabab Club gym in Jedhafs.

- The final match was held under the patronage of Education Ministry's physical education and scouts director Dr Shaikha Al Jeeb who presented the trophy and other individual prizes to the winners at the awarding ceremony in presence of physical education head Ghazi Al Marzooq and other ministry officials.

Impress your friends, coworkers, and neighbors by mentioning that sports item at your next get-together!