Need services along Red and Arabian seas Islands have tourism potential [Archives:2003/05/Last Page]
February 4 2003
By Ismail Al- Ghabri
Yemen Times Staff
Marine tourism in Yemen is still in its primary stages, but its future is bound to be prosperous and well-developed after completion of centers and projects by the shore, especially the infrastructure.
Yemen’s seawater is plenty and abundant due to the fact that Yemen sits on two of the most important seas; the Red Sea and the Arabian sea.
There are many Yemeni islands, inhabited by man and animals. Some of these islands are volcanic and others are not.
An island in the Red Sea, Al-Tair Island (The island of the Bird) is one that is frequented by fishers who are skilled and travelers alike.
Old sailors may know of the importance of this Island more than we would.
All that we know through our sea travels or from reading is that island of Al-Tair was of importance. This is due first to its position, the fact that it overlooks a shipping lane.
Second, the Island is suitable for monitoring the sea, which monitors the directions that ships are heading for while they cross the area by day or night.
Al-Tair Island is 47 nautical miles from the eastern shore of the Red Sea and 82 km or 40 nautical miles from the island of Kamaran.
The island has watchtowers for observation, since the biggest warships, cargo ships, oil tankers all pass by it.
It is know that Britain used to administrate the island, but now this right has returned to Yemen.
For further knowledge the ship guides us to the depths to see what is in the deep. We will see marine life of different creations coming and going with all the colors, shapes and size.
This is just a quick view of marine tourism and its significance.
What is needed now is to set the coastline with appropriate services to promote tourism.
We will find it difficult to cover all the sea, even if we continue scouring the Red and Arabian Sea for months. There are areas still unknown by common folks or experts of the sea.
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