30 Days of Gratefulness-Ramadan Part 19: Gulf Waters Gulf Oil

One of the most critical bodies of water in world politics is right at my door step, here in the heart of the Middle East. My local hotwater whirlpool as I’ve named it; salty, warm and very inviting, the Arabian Gulf creates ripples among us residents and seductively laps the golden sand of Dubai’s coastline tempting us in…

Sunset Rays upon the Burj Al Arab: NIKON D3000 f/16: 1/1000sec; ISO-1600

But not only ripples in me this body of water creates, for the Arabian Gulf critically separates the Arabian Peninsula from Iran (formerly Persia). It connects with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz, only 48 to 96 Km wide. This is where the majority of the world’s crude oil is siphoned out. Here is where our globe’s energy needs are met.

Ponder therefore what powerful naval forces float along its currents in order to protect the flow of oil to the rest of the world…

Bungalows, Al Qasr Private Beach, Jumeira, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/16: 1/1000sec; ISO-1600

Now when we write about Dubai, superlatives assemble easily: you know what I mean: the biggest, the widest, the tallest, the busiest. And there is no exception to this rule in this instance, for the Arabian Gulf, plays host to the world’s largest offshore oilfield: Safaniya Oil Field.

Owned and operated by Saudi Arabia, this floating money spinner measures 50 by 15 kilometres (31 by 9.3 miles) with a producing capability of more than 1.2 million barrels per day. The oil field was discovered in 1951. Black gold has flowed ever since, mercifully however not directly into the waters of the Gulf…

Lifeguard, Al Qasr, Jumeira Beach, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/14: 1/800sec; ISO-1600

But nothing is as it seems here in the Middle East – not even with a bountiful stretch of water. For even the name is in dispute. ‘Arabian Gulf’ for some, ‘Persian Gulf’ for others and neither side will concede defeat. Oil may be merrily traded, but naming rights will not be surrendered. And what contention it has caused among Arab nations since the 1960s, til this very day…

Bridge to Pier Chic, Al Qasr, Jumeira Beach, Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/14: 1/800sec; ISO-1600

Rivalry between Iran and some Arab states, along with the emergence of Arab nationalism, has seen the name Arabian Gulf become predominant in most Arab countries. But if we wander through the annals of time, we would see that in 550 BC, the Achaemenic Empire established the first Persian Empire in Pars (Persis, or modern Fars) in the southwestern region of the Iranian plateau.

The Greeks (who at the time were the credible source of world knowlege) reported that the body of water bordering this province be known as the Persian Gulf. And this variance in names has not abated…

Sunset over Jumeira Beach, Al Qasr Dubai: NIKON D3000 f/9: 1/320sec; ISO-200

But as Juliet exclaimed in Romeo and Juliet , “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” True: what matters is what something is, not what it is called.

My warm salty whirlpool – come on in, dive right in! See? It calls me in. And there’s no denying that calling.