Madha

Our series on Territorial Oddities takes us to the Arabian Peninsula, where a rare double-enclave exists between Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Sovereignty between various sheikhs and emirs was in dispute for a long time, most importantly because, in feudal times, the concept of sovereignty had more to do with tribal allegiance than with territorial administration. Issues of territorial sovereignty were thus settled relatively late and led to a complex layout in the Eastern end of the Emirates. The northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula, while separate from the Sultanate of Oman by about 80km, is under Oman jurisdiction, and so is an exclave known as Madha. Both territories have a combined population of about 40,000 in 2022. Also, within Madha lies a small settlement named Nahwa whose population had sworn allegiance to the emir of Sharjah, which led the demarcation commission of 1969 to consider it part of the UAE. Nahwa has less than 200 residents.