Dibba Al Hisn
The quiet set of sea side villages are owned partly by the Sultanate of Oman (Dibba Bayah), Fujairah (Dibba Muhallab) and(Hisn Dibba) by Sharjah. Visit the harbor in the evening to see the day’s catch and to purchase fish for a campsite barbecue. The old Sharjah is close to the water front.
Famous in Islamic history, Dibba was the site of one of the great battles of the Ridda Wars, the reconquest 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. The victory in Dibba in 633 AD, a year after the Prophet’s death, traditionally marks the end of the Muslim reconquest of Arabia and the decline of Dibba’s eminence.
The mountains here rise to an impressive 2,000 metres into the Mussandam Peninsula. From Dibba, the stunning Wadi Bih mountain track winds its way through the mountains and over a high pass to ‘Ras Al Khaimah on the Arabian Gulf Coast.
