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A
quiet set of sea side villages are owned partly by the
Sultanate of Oman (Dibba Bayah), Fujairah (Dibba
Muhallab) and Hisn Dibba by Sharjah. A quaint
arrangement and worth a visit to the harbor in the
evening to see the day's catch and to purchase fish
for a campsite barbecue. The fishmongers by the harbor
will gut and fillet your purchase for a few Dirhams.
The old Sharjah fort close to the water front is under
restoration.
Famous in Islamic history, Dibba was the site of one
of the great battles of the Ridda Wars, the re
conquest of Arabia by Muslim Armies in the generation
after the death of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon
him). The Adz tribes and towns which had sworn
allegiance to Islam during the Prophet's lifetime did
not feel themselves bound to the new religion
following his death.
Three armies were sent from Makkah by the Caliph Abu
Baker in 632 AD to suppress this revolt, of which two
reached Dibba and a great battle ensued. There is a
vast cemetery with over 1 0,000 headstones in the
plain, marking the burial sites of the dead. The
victory in Dibba in 633 AD, a year after the Prophet's
death, traditionally marks the end of the Muslim re
conquest of Arabia and the decline of Dibba's
eminence.
The mountains to your left rise an impressive 6,000
feet into the Musandam Peninsula and the famous pass
winds its way across the mountains, through Wadi Bih,
back to Ras Al Khaimah on the West Coast.
From Dibba the coastal drive takes about 40 minutes on
mainly dual carriageway, to Khor Fakkan, the Emirates
main town on the East Coast.
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