Farasan Islands
Native name: جزر فرسان | |
|---|---|
 Farasan Islands seen from the International Space Station | |
  Farasan Islands | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 16°48′00″N 41°51′00″E / 16.80000°N 41.85000°E |
| Type | Coral |
| Total islands | 200 |
| Major islands | Farasan Island Sajid Island Qummah Island |
| Area | 1,050 km2 (410 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Jazan Province | |
| Largest Island | Farasan Island |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 13,529 (2022) |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| Area code | 017 |
The Farasan Islands,[a] are an archipelago in the Red Sea, located some 40 km (25 mi; 22 nmi) off the coast of Jizan. Most of the archipelago falls within Saudi Arabia, although its southern extension is Yemeni. The Islands have since Roman times constituted a stopping-off point for maritime activity and, at times, a base for naval forces in the southern Red Sea region.[1]
Administratively, the islands form the Farasan Islands Governorate of Jazan Province. The governorate's capital is the city of Farasan, on Great Farasan Island.
The Islands Protected Area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021 and is included on Saudi Arabia's tentative list for World Heritage status.[2]
Geography
[edit]The Farasan Islands consist of nearly 200 islands and islets, most of which coral islands, spread over a sea area of 1050 km2 in the southeastern section of the Red Sea. Only three islands are inhabited: Great Farasan, Sajid, and Qummah.[3] The remaining islands are uninhabited and include the pairs Saso Islands and Al-Dassan Islands, as well as Kirah, Zifaf, Dumsuk, Salubah, and Dushak, among others.
The archipelago is low lying, reaching a maximum height of 70 m above sea leve on Great Farasan Island. It consists of fossil-coral plateaux, coral-sand dunes and plains.[4] The largest islands of the archipelago, Greater Farasan and Sajid, are linked by a bridge. A ferry service connects the islands to the mainland.[5]
Heritage
[edit]Farasan City contains archaeological sites and monuments including an Ottoman castle, historical decorated stucco buildings such as Al-Rifa'i House and Al-Najdi Mosque as well as boulders with Himyarite inscriptions and historical wells in the nearby wadi Matar.[4]
History
[edit]In the 1st century CE, the islands were known as Portus Ferresanus. A Latin inscription dating from 144 CE, found on Great Farasan Island, points to a Roman naval and military presence on the islands.[6] It is believed that the islands may have been attached to the Roman province of Arabia Felix, before being transferred to Aegyptus some time before 144 CE.[7] This fact would make the Farasan Islands the farthest Roman outpost (until at least the 3rd century), being nearly 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Rome itself.[8] In addition, recent studies have found that the local language has some Latin loanwords.[9] It remained this way up until the Arab Muslim conquest of the islands and subsequent Islamization.[10]
The late medieval seafarer Ahmad ibn Majid gives evidence of availability of water, food and anchorages as well as routes past and around the archipelago.[11] Egyptian Mamluks occupied the islands in the early 16th century, and the Ottomans at the beginning of the 20th century. The latter permitted the establishment of a German coaling station on Qummah Island.[12]
In 1915, the Idrisids captured the islands from the Ottomans. In 1930, the islands were practically annexed by the Saudi State, confirmed by the Treaty of Taif in 1934.[13]
Following their absorption into Saudi Arabia, the islands suffered economically from the collapse of the - already in medieval times attested[9] - pearling industry in the 1930s and 1940s, but revived with the development of the country’s oil economy in later decades and tourism recently.[14]
Climate
[edit]The climate in the Farasan Islands is characterized by a long hot season (April–October) and a short mild one (November–March). In the long dry period, high temperatures are usually dominant. The mean annual temperature is 30 °C (86 °F; 303 K). Furthermore, the mean relative humidity in winter ranges from 70% to 80% and in summer between 65% and 78%. The highest rainfall occurs in April and the precipitation is generally unpredictable in the southern part of Red Sea.[15]
| Climate data for Farasan Islands | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
31 (88) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
39 (102) |
40 (104) |
39 (102) |
38 (100) |
36 (97) |
34 (93) |
31 (88) |
35 (95) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
26.5 (79.7) |
28 (82) |
30 (86) |
32 (90) |
34 (93) |
35 (95) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
30.5 (86.9) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.5 (79.7) |
30.3 (86.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21 (70) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
25 (78) |
| Source: Weather2Travel – Farasan Islands Climate | |||||||||||||
Nature
[edit]
The Farasan Island Marine Reserve is a protected area. It is home to the Arabian gazelle, and, in winter, migratory birds[16] from Europe.[17]
Oceanic animals include manta rays,[18] whale sharks,[19] and several species of sea turtles including endangered and critically endangered green and hawksbill turtles, dugongs,[18] and several species of dolphins and whales with occasional visits by others such as orcas.[20][21][22]
Economy
[edit]After a French engineer investigated petroleum seeps on the islands in 1912, a 75-year concession was granted to the Red Sea oilfields.[23] At the time, the Farasan Islands supported a small fishing industry.[24]
Gallery
[edit]-
Al-Rifai House built in traditional Farasani architecture -
Al-Najdi Mosque in Farsan City -
Ottoman fort on Great Farasan Island -
Bait al-Jarmal on Qummah Island -
Ras Shada in Farasan Islands -
Al-Qandal Forest, Great Farasan Island -
Dumsuk Island
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia". www.plantdiversityofsaudiarabia.info. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Farasan Islands Protected Area". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "List of Inhabited Islands in the Kingdom". Saudipedia. Saudipedia – Saudi Arabia Knowledge Base. 2025-10-11. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ a b Cooper, John P. (2014). "The Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia: towards a chronology of settlement". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 25 (2). doi:10.1111/aae.12046.
- ^ "Farasan Port Ferry". Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ^ "Dedicatory inscription from Farasān al Kabīr". Retrieved 2026-03-06.
- ^ "New inscriptions from Saudi Arabia and the extent of Roman rule along the Red Sea". Tabulae Geographicae. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ^ "Amicitia" (friendship)
- ^ a b Alhazmi, Muhammad (2016). Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast: A Lexical Semantic Stud. doi:10.1515/9783112209264.
- ^ Michael A. Speidel Fernhandel und Freundschaft zu Roms "Amici" an den Handelsrouten nach Südarabien und Indien ....p.155 ([1])
- ^ Tibbetts, G.R (1971). Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the Coming of the Portuguese: being a translation of Ahmad ibn Majid's book The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship. The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland.
- ^ Boelcke, Willi A. (1981). 'So kam das Meer zu uns – Die preußisch-deutsche Kriegsmarine in Übersee 1822 bis 1914 (in German). Ullstein. pp. 207, 225. ISBN 3-550-07951-6.
- ^ Bang, Anne (1997). The Idrisi State in Asir 1906–1934. Hurst Publishers. pp. 104–106. ISBN 9781850653066.
- ^ Beckingham, C. F. 1965. Farasān. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill; Second Edition, II: pp. 787–788
- ^ "The climate and the Farasan Archipelago topography | E-Flora of the Farasan archipelago".
- ^ "Farasan Islands host thousands of migratory birds". Arab News. Saudi Research & Publishing Company. 2025-12-09. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ "Jazan Province – General Information". Archived from the original on 2017-08-20. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
- ^ a b Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. 2006. Science Diary – 8 May 2006. Retrieved on April 14, 2017
- ^ "Farasan Islands". Archived from the original on 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
- ^ Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. 2006. Science Diary – 7 May 2006. Retrieved on April 14, 2017
- ^ Hoyt E. 2012. Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: A World Handbook for Cetacean Habitat Conservation and Planning. The Routledge. Retrieved on April 14, 2017
- ^ Babbington J.. 2013. Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin – Offshore Farasan Islands. Birds of Saudi Arabia. Retrieved on April 14, 2017
- ^ Prothero, G.W. (1920). Arabia. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 99.
- ^ Prothero, G.W. (1920). Arabia. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 18.
