Al Khan is a southern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The suburb is located on the Al Khan Bay, which serves as a boundary between

and

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. Until recently, the area was deserted and home to a collection of crumbling traditional coral and adobe houses, but it now houses the Sharjah Aquarium. A number of the older buildings are being restored to create a heritage area.

History

Around the start of the 20th century, Al Khan was administered by a tribal ruler and consisted of some 75 pearling boats and a settlement containing families of the Al Bu Mahair, Mazari and

Manasir The Manasir people () constitute one of many Sunni Arab riverine tribes of Northern Sudan. They are not to be confused with the Manasir (tribe), Manasir of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Persian Gulf region in the Arabian Peninsula-based ma ...

tribes. A British man-of-war was called to the area in 1917 following an argument between the ruler of Sharjah and the headman of Al Khan, Muhammad bin Ubaid bin Jarash, over absconding debtors from other pearling communities taking refuge in the township. The uneasy relations between Al Khan and Sharjah continued until after 1934, when the Ruler of Sharjah appointed his brother, Mohammad, as ''Wali'' over the township. Sharjah Al Khan - Sharafeldin 2

Al Khan was the scene of a firefight between the leaders of the rebellious ''Majlis'' movement and forces loyal to the Ruler of Dubai in February 1940. After several days of fighting, a truce was effected by the mediation of the Rulers of Umm Al Quwain,

Ajman Ajman ( '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ''ʿYmān'') is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Loca ...

and

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

on 29 March. In 2011, archaeological finds of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times were made at Al Khan. Curiously, it seemed that the tradition of using the shoreline of Al Khan for mooring fishing boats and enjoying a cookout, had been kept up for thousands of years from the Neolithic age to the present day. The survey being carried out by the Maritime Archaeology Stewardship Trust, has recovered the remains of houses, courtyards, and remnants. According to the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, the project aims at conserving the UAE's coastal heritage.

Geography

Al Khan lies between the emirates of

and Sharjah.

References

Populated places in the Emirate of Sharjah {{UnitedArabEmirates-geo-stub