Liwa Oasis

The Liwa Oasis (Arabic: وَاحَـة لِـيْـوَا‎, romanized: Wāḥḥat Līwā) is a large oasis area in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.[2]

For other uses of "Liwa", see Liwa (disambiguation).
Liwa Oasis

وَاحَـة لِـيْـوَا
City
A falaj in Qasr Al Sarab, Liwa Oasis.
Country United Arab Emirates
Emirate Abu Dhabi
Municipal regionAl Gharbia
Government
 • TypeAbsolute monarchy
 • EmirKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
 • Ruler's Representative of the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu DhabiHamdan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Population
 (2019)
 • Total20,192[1]
Time zoneUTC+4 (UAE Standard Time)

Geography
The satellite image shows the location of the belt of oases along the northern reaches of the Rub al Khali dune fields. The unmarked border with Saudi Arabia is shown as a red line. To the north, irrigated areas along the highway to Tarif on the coast of the Persian Gulf are visible.
Location in the United Arab Emirates
Date palm trees in Liwa Oasis

Liwa Oasis is about 97.6 km (60.6 mi) south of the Persian Gulf coast and 150 km (93 mi) southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, on the northern edge of Rub' al Khali desert. It is centered around 23°08′N 53°46′E and stretches about 100 km (62 mi) east-west, along an arch curved to the north. It consists of some 50 villages. The geographic and economic center of the oasis is Muzayri`, where the highway from Abu Dhabi enters the oasis and then divides to the east (65 km (40 mi) to the easternmost village, Mahdar Bin `Usayyan) and west (45 km (28 mi) to the westernmost village, `Aradah). According to the census of population of 2005, the population was 20,196.[2] Earlier estimates judging from satellite images which gauged the population at 50,000 to 150,000, were too high.[3] The villages of Liwa Oasis are the southernmost settlements of Abu Dhabi and of the United Arab Emirates. The southern border of Abu Dhabi with Saudi Arabia, which runs at a distance between 16 and 35 km (9.9 and 21.7 mi) to the Oasis, is a straight line in the Rub al Khali desert, which is largely uninhabited. Mahdar Bin `Usayyan is the southernmost village of the Emirates, and also the easternmost of the oasis. 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the border, and 40 km (25 mi) south of the eastern part of the oasis is the Saudi oil facility Shaybah. However, there is no road linking Liwa Oasis and Shaybah, and no border crossing. A modern, multi-lane highway connects the oasis area to the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Villages
Sand dunes in Liwa Oasis.

The USGS Geographic Names Database[4] lists 39 populated places in the area of the oasis, which are listed from west to east in the following table.

Village Arabic Coordinates
`Aradahعرادة22°59′00″N 53°26′00″E
Milqatahملقطة23°04′00″N 53°32′00″E
Al-`Iddالعيد23°04′48″N 53°33′02″E
Al-Mariyah al-Gharbiyahالمارية الغربية23°06′12″N 53°34′48″E
Humarحمار23°05′04″N 53°35′03″E
Khannurخنور23°06′14″N 53°36′05″E
Hamarurحمرور23°06′00″N 53°36′31″E
Taraqطرق23°06′50″N 53°36′41″E
Mujibمجيب23°07′00″N 53°41′00″E
Kayyahكية23°09′30″N 53°41′05″E
Zuwayhirظويهر23°08′22″N 53°41′36″E
Wafdوفد23°06′20″N 53°42′50″E
Umm al Quraynأم القرين23°06′00″N 53°43′00″E
Qutufقطوف23°06′36″N 53°43′29″E
Al-Atirالعاطر23°09′50″N 53°44′07″E
Al-Mariyahالمارية23°08′30″N 53°44′30″E
Dhafeerظفير23°07′50″N 53°45′37″E
Jayfجيف23°09′44″N 53°46′28″E
Muzayriمظيري23°08′19″N 53°47′14″E
Nafirنافر23°06′00″N 53°48′00″E
Huwaylahحويلة23°09′19″N 53°49′26″E
Qurmidahقرمدة23°07′08″N 53°49′42″E
Hafifهفيف \ حفيف23°08′52″N 53°50′29″E
`Attabعتاب23°09′14″N 53°52′46″E
Shahشاه23°08′33″N 53°54′51″E
Huwaytaynحويطين23°06′51″N 53°55′52″E
Sabkhahسبخة23°07′50″N 53°59′11″E
Al-Hadhiالهذي23°06′57″N 53°59′48″E
Tharwaniyahثروانية23°05′00″N 54°01′00″E
Al Mashrubالمشرب23°04′00″N 54°01′00″E
An-Nashshashالنشاش23°05′00″N 54°02′00″E
Dahinداهن23°04′00″N 54°05′00″E
Wadhilواظل23°03′00″N 54°08′00″E
Mawsilموصل23°01′00″N 54°09′00″E
Al-Khisالخيس23°00′00″N 54°12′00″E
Quwaysahقويسة22°59′00″N 54°14′00″E
Hamimحميم22°58′00″N 54°18′00″E
Jurayrahجريرة22°57′00″N 54°19′00″E
Mahdar Bin `Usayyanمهدر بن عصيان22°56′00″N 54°19′00″E

Economy
A road in Liwa

An important traditional branch of the economy is date farming. There is a widespread use of drip irrigation and greenhouses. The importance of tourism is on the rise. There are several hotels in the area including the Liwa Hotel in Muzayri`, Tilal Liwa Hotel, the Liwa Rest House in the same village and run by the government of Abu Dhabi, and the resort Qasr Al Sarab.[5]

The nearby Moreeb dune (22°59′N 53°47′E), 22 kilometres (14 miles) south of Muzayri`, is 300 metres (980 feet) high, and is one of the largest dunes in the world. It attracts people every year during the Liwa festival[6] a large number of international and local visitors coming to see the offroad and camel racing events.

History

The oasis is the place of birth of the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In 1793, the ruling family Al Nahyan moved their residence from Liwa to the city of Abu Dhabi.[7]

Traditionally, men from Liwa (Bani Yas tribe) were pearl divers on the coast during the summer months. Pearl diving offered an additional source of income.

East of Liwa Oasis, in the Rub' Al Khali desert, was the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it was used to represent Jakku, a desert planet.[8]

Desert scenes of Sonic the Hedgehog (film) were filmed in Liwa Oasis.[9]

See also

References
  1. The Report: Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group. 21 March 2019. ISBN 9781907065217 – via Google Books.
  2. "Al Gharbia". The Report Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group. 2010. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-9070-6521-7.
  3. "Liwa Oasis". Lexiorient. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  4. "Complete Files of Geographic Names for Geopolitical Areas from GNS (ISO/IEC 10646 [Unicode UTF-8]". Earth-info.nga.mil. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. Qasr Al-Sarab
  6. "Liwa International Festival / Moreeb Dune". Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Tourism Office. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  7. Motohiro, Ono (March 2011). "Reconsideration of the Meanings of the Tribal Ties in the United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Emirate in Early ʼ90s" (PDF). Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies. 4–1 (2): 25–34. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. "The harsh reality of building a 'Star Wars' fantasy in Abu Dhabi". LA Times. 3 December 2015.
  9. "Watch: Key 'Sonic The Hedgehog' scenes were filmed in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert". The National. 25 March 2020.

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