United Arab Emirates - The pearl trading town of Jazirat Al-Hamra

The 45 ha large former island was originally situated inside a lagoon off the southern coast of Ras al-Khaimah. Its south eastern end was almost connected to the mainland and fordable at all times. Towards the east, island and lagoon are bordering on the desert, where the first line of large sand dunes is still crowned by two watchtowers today, which originally defended Jazirat al-Hamra towards the desert. The towers also secured sweet water wells along the foot of the dunes, from where drinking water was brought to the island by donkey, as the marine environment of the town itself provided only brackish water for domestic use.