Zuqar Island

Zuqar Island (Arabic: جزيرة زقر‎) is an island in the Red Sea that belongs to Yemen. It lies between the coasts of mainland Yemen and Eritrea, near the Bab-el-Mandeb straits which connect the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Despite its proximity to the African continent, Zuqar Island is considered a part of Asia because it sits on the Asian continental shelf.

Ownership of Zuqar Island was long disputed between Yemen and Eritrea, along with the Hanish Islands. In 1995 this led to active conflict in the Hanish Islands conflict. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague settled the dispute in 1996, awarding the larger islands, including Zuqar, to Yemen.

Islands of Yemen
Socotra Archipelago
  • Abd al Kuri
  • Samhah
Other islands
  • Hanish al Kabir
  • Hanish Islands
  • Jabal al-Tair Island
  • Kamaran
  • Saso Island
  • Zubair Group
  • Zuqar Island
Uninhabited islands
  • Darsah
  • Perim
Islands of Yemen at Commons

Famous quotes containing the word island:

    “When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the “big canoe” of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts is soon converted into the bitterest hate.”
    —Herman Melville (1819–1891)