'ARBITRATION CONCERNING BURAIMI AND THE COMMON FRONTIER BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND SA'ŪDI ARABIA' [With maps] [‎15v] (35/541)

claimed on behalf of the Ruler of Qatar at ^ ^The'so^th^rn
Majesty’s Government takes its departure from the head °f the mlet The southern
side of the Khaur is formed by the ‘Udaid P^ in sV\T S7 ^ 1C 1 h ,i he an dT880<«
(Qubaisat section) occupied a settlement intermittently b et we •
There is still a well-known as Imshash—on the site ^Resettlement and in
1950, two Abu Dhabi guides, who habitually camp in that area Pointed out the
jabal ‘Udaid to a surveyor of Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Ltd as
forming part of the territory of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi Lonmer^ says that
“ fishermen from Abu Dhabi spend some months here [in Udaid] in winter, and
fine mullet are caught by them and, as recently as 1940 before the decline m
the pearl fisheries, Abu Dhabi fishermen used to live on the inland ol Kata i in
summer, and in the Khaur al-‘Udaid in winter. They still visit the Khaur in winter
to fish. In 1950, there was a party of Bani Yas settled for the winter near Imshash
well.
5. ‘Aqal, an area containing a number of wells, extends inland, from the
Khaur al-‘Udaid and Dauhat al-Nakhlah, for about 20 miles,_ and is bounded by
Qatar on the north-west, by the heavy sands of the Jafurah on the south
and south-west, and Mijan on the east. Consequently, the area, to a considerable
extent, is shut in by these natural features to the west and south, and essentially
belongs to the coastal belt.
6. Mljdn is the next area to the east, and is bordered on the south and west
by the Jafurah. On the coast, it extends from Dauhat al-Nakhlah to Dauhat
as-Sila‘. Its average breadth is about 20 miles, its southern boundary being,
perhaps, 70 miles from the sea. It consists of a nearly flat gravel plateau, which
falls in the east to the Sabkhat Matti in an escarpment about 150 feet high. At
about latitude 23° 50' N., this escarpment swings away to the south-west. There
are a number of wells. Scrub is plentiful on the plateau, with large bushes growing
in the hollows. Until recently, there were settlements in the area at Baiyah and
Ra’s al-Khumais, occupied by members of the Bani Yas. Members of the Bani Yas
also use the wells at ‘Uqlat al-Haiz and ‘Uqlat al-Rims, between Saudah Nathil
and ‘Uqlat al-Nakhlah, and are to be found along the coast at Sila‘, Ra’s Mush-
airib, and other places, where they engage in fishing and pearling. In 1937, a
geological party from Petroleum Concessions Ltd. was taken to the area Khumais
Ra s Mushamb—Sila‘ by Abu Dhabi guides, who told them that it formed part
of the territory of Abu Dhabi. Other tribes merely pass through the area, to which,
in accordance with the custom of the desert, no objection is raised by the local
inhabitants, al-Bathah well, in particular, being much used by travellers.
7. The Sabkhat Matti stretches for about 30 miles along the coast from
Dauhat as-Sila to Jabal Barakah, Jabal Wutaid and Nahadain, and inland for
about 60 miles. It is thus bounded by Mijan, the Rub‘ al-Khali and the Dhafrah.
A w ww 8868 t ie , nort j eri l 1 en , d tlie Sabkhat Matti near the coast, and it is pass-
able both to camels and wheels in other places. The Sabkhat Matti is a salt flat
Tfil a ^r eral ar l a \° f hard grave1 ’ and which rises gradually from the
^ ^ ^ haS ^ be “
8.
Sabkhat Mlttf to Abn a nt,ihi tr t P ’ ' C ^l 15 mileS wide ’ which extends from the
buDKnat Matti to Abu Dhabi town. The western end, to a point about 25 miles
east of Jabal Dhannah is sometimes called Taff-Bainunah, although the two foTn a
S7S co S t al b f • s »™ authorities include the irea known as Bainu™h
witnin latt, but this nomenclature is not used bv the Inenl ir.iiQk;+o„+ i,
distinguish between the two. Taff has 4 well-marked landing-pla^ M^fa’ R Ys
Mushamb, Ruwais and Jabal Dhannah—which are mS ko • A?
fishermen and pearlers. The ground rises slightly from the coast • hufth am • ^ aS
sharp topographical division between Talf and tL deSrt to South 1$ n °
9. Khatam, although not adjacent to the coast u^o of -i
corner of Abu Dhabi territory andmav convenient^ L 1 !, t( i , north easter n
area of heavy sand dunes the’ nrecise honnHa • nt J be considered here. It is an
but Khatam has been defined as extending from ^ib Sf h n0t entirely clear;
norih ,o Shaithan and and
P j rt I 11 - Paragraphs 9 and 17 of this Memorial.
J. G. Lonmer, Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , ‘Oman,
and Central Arabia (Calcutta, 1915), ii. 1357 .