Excursion notes:

Site 1 – Corniche.

·         Khalid Port is a natural landform, but has been sculpted by people to suit the purpose of a major port.

·         The port was dredged to 10 to 12 metres, the creek you see right here was dredged to depth of 4 metres.

·         The cranes on the right belong to company called Lamprell who construct, repair and refit oil rigs.

                                        - IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative) factory. Here, it refines vegetable oil

                                     - Tiffany company – manufactures biscuits.

·         Jack-up rig: a floating platform or pontoon that gets floated out over a site suitable for oil drilling.

·         What anti-erosion measures can you see? Rock walls, concrete stairs, breakwater out to sea.

Site 2 – Government Row/Blue Souk.

·         Here, we see government row, flag island and the inlet of Al Majaz Lagoon.

·         Government row was where big offshore supply vessels used to dock, but a government initiative some ten or fifteen years ago said that the creek needed to look ‘nicer.’ Eventually, all industrial activity was halted, buildings like the Ministry of Justice were built and the only boats that were allowed to dock nearly were traditional dhows and of course, Sharjah 1: The personal yacht of the Sharjah Chief of Police.

·         Flag island is 100% man-made.

Site 3 – Al Majaz waterfront development.

·         Straight sea wall – evidence of the sculpting of the land mass.

·         Point out Al Majaz Ampitheatre under construction.

·         Lagoon may have originally been a natural formation, but this far back, it is dredged.

·         Area where Ampitheatre is now was once just a small island.

Through the lagoons. Possibly instruct on the bus:

·         The piles you can see are piles of dredge-spoil from the bottom of the lagoons.

·         Soon, these man-made island will form a massive causeway to alleviate some of the frightful traffic to and from Dubai/Sharjah during rush hour.

·         The two lagoons south of where we just were are almost 100% dredged for human use. Note the different developments coming up – being ‘on the waterfront’ makes them more valuable.

Site 4 – Mall view. Stop near the sign.

·         Point out features: Mall, Aquarium, docked boats, dredge spoil.