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Kamaran

Native name: كمران‎ Kamarān
The Harbour
Kamaran seen from space
Kamaran
Geography
Location	Red Sea
Coordinates	15°21′N 42°35′E / 15.35°N 42.59°E / 15.35; 42.59
Administration
Yemen

Kamaran Island (Arabic: كمران Kamarān) is the largest Yemeni island in the Red Sea. The 108 km (42 sq mi) island is 18 km (11 mi) long and 7 km (4.3 mi) wide and is strategically located at the southern end of the Red Sea. It is a "shelf island" located in the shallow waters of the Arabian Peninsula's continental shelf with coral reefs surrounding three sides of the island. The population numbers 2,200.

Kamaran is generally flat, with a few hills in the south. Its highest point is Jabal Yaman (24 meters high), situated about three kilometers from Ra's al Yaman, the southeastern cape of the island.

History

In 1513, Afonso de Albuquerque spent three months on the island after the abortive siege of Aden. The Portuguese stay was marked by a short supply of food, a small smattering of only goats and camels, alongside the outbreak of a mysterious epidemic that caused fever and blood clogging.

In 1523 Selman Reis went on an expedition in the Red Sea. During this expedition Selman Reis discovered that the Kamaran Island was occupied recently by the Portuguese, who used their base to raid the coast of Arabia, Salman Reis and Husayn al Rumi had an Ottoman force composed of 4,000 men. After their arrival in Yemen, the Ottomans attacked the Portuguese, leading to the complete destruction and expulsion of Portuguese forces and the occupation of the island by the Ottomans.

During the early months of World War I, there was a debate among the British on the suitability of occupying Kamaran and the other Turkish-held Red Sea islands such as the Farasan Islands. Those who opposed the move pointed out that when war broke out, Great Britain had solemnly declared that it had no territorial ambitions in the area; even a temporary occupation might be seen by the Arabs, particularly the Imam of Yemen, as a breach of that promise. Finally, the decision was taken to occupy Kamaran and on the 9th of June 1915, the RMS Empress of Russia landed an armed party on the island, previously evacuated by the Turkish garrison. G. A. Richardson, formerly vice-consul at Hudaydah and Kamaran, also disembarked to act as Political Officer with additional responsibility for Police, Treasury and Customs. While the British continued to administer Kamaran from Aden, they never declared formal possession.

In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne, which divided up the defeated Ottoman Empire, declared an end to its sovereignty over the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent islands, whose future was to be "settled by the parties concerned" without specifying those parties. Britain continued to administer the island despite the objections of Yemen which claimed sovereignty over the island. In 1949, Britain formally declared the governor of Aden to be the governor of Kamaran but the island did not become a part of the colony.

Quarantine station

After the departure of the Turks, an international control was exercised over the quarantine station, but it was in fact placed under British administration. In anticipation of a vast increase in the number of the faithful from British India, the Dutch East Indies, etc. who would make the pilgrimage the camp was greatly extended. Long lines of barrack-like sleeping quarters were constructed where the Turks had provided only wattle huts. Big disinfecting plants were installed where the pilgrims went through an ordeal of cleansing on a production line basis. A power station was built. The local water supply being inadequate, a massive distillation plant was introduced to make sea water fit for drinking. There were carpenters’ shops, machine shops, a small railway to transport fuel and stores, a wireless station, a fine landing stage, a cantonment of officials’ bungalows. This proved a bonanza for the islanders. They prospered on this trade in potential disease among the devout, and the population grew. In the village of Kamaran, the only settlement apart from a few isolated groups of fishermen's huts, fine houses and a magnificent mosque went up, and a lively trade in pilgrim requirements was conducted with the mainland. The pilgrimage quarantine station continued to function until 1953, when the Saudis opened their own quarantine station in Jeddah and put the large profitable pilgrim camps of Kamaran out of business.

Norman Lewis describes that, during Thompson's commissionership, resident islanders worked primarily as pearl divers and would rarely last past the age of 50 due to the harsh work-induced stresses.

However, this prosperity was short-lived. Determined to control the pilgrimage in all its aspects, the Saudi Arabian Government decided to construct its own quarantine station and to insist that Kamaran be by-passed. Soon, the long lines of buildings in the camps lay empty and deserted; a handful of men maintained what had become a ghost town while arrangements were debated for its breaking up and disposal.

End of the British presence

On 30 November 1967, Kamaran became a part of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) upon its independence from Britain, but was seized by the adjacent Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) in 1972 and became a part of a unified Yemen in 1990.

Postal history

Kamaran Island had an Ottoman post office until 1915 and had a sub-post office of Aden beginning in 1924. From 1967, it was a postal territory of South Yemen, from 1972 of North Yemen, and from 1990 of the unified Republic of Yemen.

Climate

See also

• List of islands of Yemen

References

1. "Island Directory". UN System-wide Earthwatch. Archived from the original on 2003-11-16. Retrieved 2006-09-20.. Various other sources give significantly different figures including 181, 130, and 57 km (22 sq mi). This photo Archived 2006-11-22 at the Wayback Machine from the period of British rule gives a figure of 207 km (80 sq mi).
2. "Farlex Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
3. Roger Crowley, "Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire", p. 295.
4. Öztuna, Yılmaz. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Turkey: Kültür Bakanlığı, 1989.
5. Shah, Azmat Ali. "OTTOMAN DOMINATION IN THE ARAB LAND AND IT’S EFFECTS ON MUSLIM INDIA." p.11.
6. Qutb ad-Dīn an-Nahrawālī. 1511-1582. al-Barq al-Yamānī fī al-fatḥ al-ʿUṯmānī. p .39
7. Qutb ad-Dīn an-Nahrawālī, p .39
8. Sind University Research Journal: Arts series. Humanities & social sciences, Vol 9
9. Gerald De Gaury, Rulers of Mecca, p. 126
10. John Baldry, "British Naval Operations against Turkish Yaman 1914-1919", Arabica, T. 25, Fasc. 2 (Jun., 1978), p. 163.
11. The Kamaran Order in Council, 1949 (SI 1949/137)
12. Ausaf. "Kamaran Island — Transit for Indian Hajj Pilgrims in the past | Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed". Retrieved 2024-07-18.
13. ^ Nigel Groom, "The Island of Two Moons: Kamaran 1954", British-Yemeni Society Journal, 2002.
14. Lewis, Norman (2001). A Voyage by Dhow. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06171-2.
15. Daniel McLaughlin, Yemen: The Bradt Travel Guide (2007) pp.162-163 ISBN 1-84162-212-5
16. "Appendix I: Meteorological Data" (PDF). Springer. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2024.

Sources and external links

• WorldStatesmen- Yemen
• Kamaran Island page
• Kamaran Island Photo Gallery
• Nigel Groom. The island of two moons: Kamaran 1954 at The British-Yemeni Society webpage
• Small Islands in the Near East

v t e Islands of Yemen
Arabian Sea & Guardafui Channel	Socotra Archipelago Socotra Abd al Kuri Samhah Darsah North Ka'l Fir'awn South Ka'l Fir'awn Sabuniyah
Red Sea	Hanish Islands Zuqar Greater Hanish Lesser Hanish Zubair Group Zubair Island Jabal al-Tair Kamaran Perim
Islands of Yemen at Commons

• Islands of the Red Sea
• Islands of Yemen
• Al Hudaydah Governorate
• 1915 establishments in the British Empire