One of the most peculiar things that I've noticed on the UAE map is a small, solid circle in Fujairah, facing the Arabian Sea. Ever since I was exposed to maps, I have always wondered about countries that exists within countries. Until I came to the UAE, that is.
One day, I was reading The National (link here), and found out that such countries were called Counter Enclaves. In the article, it explained about how such countries came about; how is it that the whole region around can belong to country A, while it belonged to Country B, or is a country by its own.
Counter Enclave in UAE
So, how did these counter enclaves or counter-counter enclaves came about? Well, because some pledged different political alliance than all its neighbours around it; some - because they wanted to protect their resources; and some, just wanted to remain kings in their own region.
If you think long and hard about it, it's a strange feeling. If I were the citizen of the enclave country, it would be really hard to travel around. Everywhere I go, I can only move within the confined limits of my country's borders. Whenever I want to go out, say, about 10km away from the city centre, I would have to bring my passport with me. Since my country is small, facilities are limited. If I wanted more resources, I would have to venture out into the neighbouring country. Short term, it seems interesting. Long term, it'd be a teeny, weeny bit tedious.
Anyhow, I hope I'd get an opportunity to visit such a place one day. Haha.
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