# Masafi

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Place in United Arab Emirates

Masafi مسافي Masafi Fort Masafi Coordinates: 25°18′48″N 56°9′46″E / 25.31333°N 56.16278°E / 25.31333; 56.16278 Country United Arab Emirates Emirate Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah Area • Total 24.25 km2 (9.36 sq mi) Elevation 567 m (1,860 ft) Population (2017-07-01) • Total 7,637[1] Time zone UTC+4

**Masafi** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): مسافي) is a [village](/source/Village) located on the edge of the [Hajar Mountains](/source/Hajar_Mountains) in the [United Arab Emirates](/source/United_Arab_Emirates). It sits at the inland entrance of the [Wadi Ham](/source/Wadi_Ham), which runs down to [Fujairah City](/source/Fujairah_City). The border between the emirates of [Fujairah](/source/Fujairah) and [Ras Al Khaimah](/source/Ras_al-Khaimah) runs through the town, which houses a barracks used by the [United Arab Emirates Armed Forces](/source/United_Arab_Emirates_Armed_Forces).

Before the construction of the [Sharjah](/source/Sharjah) to [Kalba](/source/Kalba) road and the 'truck road' between [Dibba](/source/Dibba) and the 311 highway at [Ras al-Khaimah](/source/Ras_al-Khaimah), the road through Masafi was the only route from the interior to the East Coast of the UAE. The road from the inland town of [Dhaid](/source/Dhaid) splits at Masafi, leading to Dibba to the north and [Fujairah City](/source/Fujairah_City) to the south.[2] The road connecting Masafi, Fujairah and Dibba was constructed in the 1960s by the [Trucial Oman Scouts](/source/Trucial_Oman_Scouts).[3]

## History

A *[Falaj](/source/Qanat)* (man-made underground aquifer) at Masafi Fort

A number of excavations point to Bronze Age habitation in Masafi,[4] as well as a thriving Iron Age settlement with a sophisticated system of irrigation and water resource management,[5] which appears to have been abandoned during the [Iron Age III period](/source/Iron_Age_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates) at approximately 600 BCE.[6]

There is evidence of ritual and community development during the Iron Age at Masafi, as well as of a snake cult which is also seen in many other Iron Age settlements across the UAE, including [Saruq Al Hadid](/source/Saruq_Al_Hadid), [Muweilah](/source/Muweilah), nearby [Bithnah](/source/Al_Bithnah_Fort), [Ed-Dur](/source/Ed_Dur), [Tell Abraq](/source/Tell_Abraq), [Rumailah](/source/Rumailah%2C_UAE) and Qusais.[7]

Masafi has a recently restored (2012) stone and adobe fort, smaller but architecturally similar to the nearby [Al Bithnah Fort](/source/Al_Bithnah_Fort), also restored as part of the same project. The fort encloses an exceptional example of a *[falaj](/source/Qanat)*, an underground waterway constructed to channel water from the mountains to the oasis towns of the interior.[8]

At the turn of the 20th century, Masafi was a village of some 50 houses, with the villagers being split between the *[Sharqiyin](/source/Sharqiyin)* and *[Mazari](/source/Mazari_(Emirati))* tribes,[9] with some 30 cattle, 350 sheep and 5,000 date palms.[10]

Masafi was the site of a rough airstrip used by the Trucial Oman Scouts.[11]

## Climate

Climate data for Masafi, United Arab Emirates Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 83.5 (28.6) 86.0 (30.0) 94.1 (34.5) 105.4 (40.8) 109.2 (42.9) 111.7 (44.3) 109.9 (43.3) 110.8 (43.8) 107.4 (41.9) 101.7 (38.7) 93.4 (34.1) 85.1 (29.5) 99.8 (37.7) Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 45.7 (7.6) 44.1 (6.7) 52.5 (11.4) 56.1 (13.4) 64.4 (18.0) 72.9 (22.7) 78.1 (25.6) 76.5 (24.7) 70.9 (21.6) 64.9 (18.3) 57.0 (13.9) 46.4 (8.0) 60.8 (16.0) Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.85 (21.5) 0.94 (23.8) 0.27 (6.9) 0.58 (14.8) 0.0 (0.0) 0.00 (0.1) 0.02 (0.4) 0.09 (2.4) 0.19 (4.7) 0.31 (7.9) 0.12 (3.0) 0.37 (9.4) 3.74 (94.9) Source: [1]

## Water bottling

Masafi is a branded producer of [bottled water](/source/Bottled_water), juices and other consumer goods such as [tissue paper](/source/Tissue_paper). The company's 250,000 m2 bottling plant is located in the northern part of the town, part of Ras Al Khaimah. Capable of producing 90,000 bottles an hour, the plant produced, until 2017, the only bottled water in the UAE labelled as mineral water,[12] changing its branding to identify as 'Deep Earth Water'.[13]

In 1980, the company was the sponsor of the first Masafi Car Rally, a popular annual event no longer held.[14]

## Masafi Friday Market

The Masafi 'Friday Market' – actually open all week

Located some 5 km West of Masafi (on the Dhaid Road), the Masafi Friday Market (*Souk Al Juma'a*) is actually open week-round and has become a popular tourist destination, consisting of a number of permanent and semi-permanent stalls selling toys, souvenirs, plants, carpets and rugs, pots and fruit and vegetables.[15][16] The market grew around a number of farmers and other vendors using the presence of speed bumps on the road slowing traffic to sell vegetables and accessories from the backs of their trucks and expanded over time to form the present township.[17]

Much of one side of the market (on the Masafi/Dhaid carriageway) was destroyed by fire on 30 May 2015.[18]

## Sports

- [Masafi Club](/source/Masafi_Club)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [City Facts](https://www.city-facts.com/musafi-fujairah-united-arab-emirates/population)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:75_2-0)** McNabb, Alexander (2025). *Children of the Seven Sands*. Dubai: Motivate Media Group. p. 56. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781860635120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781860635120).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:74_3-0)** McNabb, Alexander (2025). *Children of the Seven Sands*. Dubai: Motivate Media Group. p. 344. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781860635120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781860635120).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["French archaeological team discoveries in Fujairah"](http://fujairahinfocus.blogspot.ae/2012/01/french-archaeological-team-discoveries.html). *Fujairah in Focus*. January 24, 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:72_5-0)** McNabb, Alexander (2025). *Children of the Seven Sands*. Dubai: Motivate Media Group. p. 61. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781860635120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781860635120).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:7_6-0)** McNabb, Alexander (2025). *Children of the Seven Sands*. Dubai: Motivate Media Group. p. 70. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781860635120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781860635120).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:73_7-0)** McNabb, Alexander (2025). *Children of the Seven Sands*. Dubai: Motivate Media Group. p. 69. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781860635120](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781860635120).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Al Deberky, Salah (25 July 2012). ["History Rediscovered in Fujairah"](http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationgeneral/2012/July/nationgeneral_July379.xml&section=nationgeneral). *Khaleej Times*. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Lancaster, William, 1938- (2011). *Honour is in contentment : life before oil in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and some neighbouring regions*. Lancaster, Fidelity. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 191. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-11-022340-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-11-022340-8). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [763160662](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/763160662).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list)) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Lorimer, John (1915). *Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Vol II*. British Government, Bombay. p. 619.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Old Airfield in Masafi"](http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/442349-old-airfield-masafi-uae.html). *PPRuNe*. August 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Masafi Production Facilities"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120728063128/http://www.masafi.com/en/corporate/about-us/production-facilities/). *Masafi*. Archived from [the original](http://www.masafi.com/en/corporate/about-us/production-facilities/) on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Khan, Imran Nawab. ["Masafi | Consumer"](https://www.masafi.com/index.php?page=the-place). *www.masafi.com*. Retrieved 2018-08-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Inaugural Masafi Rally 1980"](http://www.dubaiasitusedtobe.com/pagesnew/MasafiRallyDubai1980.shtm#.VDokiGeSy-4). *Dubai as it used to be*. Dubaiasitusedtobe.com. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Friday Market UAE"](http://ae.fridaymarket.com/). ae.fridaymarket.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Masafi Friday Market"](http://www.uaeinteract.com/nature/natu_ems/en40.asp). *UAE Interact*. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Browsing the Masafi roadside market"](http://gulfnews.com/multimedia/framed/general/browsing-the-masafi-roadside-market-1.785557). *gulfnews.com*. Retrieved 21 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Fire guts Friday Market in Masafi"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160822120631/http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/emergencies/fire-guts-friday-market-in-masafi-1.1527165). *[Gulf News](/source/Gulf_News)*. Archived from [the original](http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/emergencies/fire-guts-friday-market-in-masafi-1.1527165) on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2015.

v t e Fujairah Settlements Al Badiyah Al Bithnah Al Qurayyah Dhadna Dahir Dibba Al-Fujairah Fujairah Al Hayl Rugaylat Habhab Hafarah Harrah Masafi Maydaq Mirbah Mukhtaraqah Murbad Mu'taridah Qidfa Sakamkam Tayyibah

v t e Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah Cities Ras Al Khaimah suburbs: Al Hamraniyah Al Kharran Al Maarid Al Mamourah Al Nakheel Al Qurm Al Qusaidat Khuzam Settlements Adhen Asimah Baqal Dafalas Daftah Al Darah Digdaga Al Fahlain Ghalilah Ghayl Hudaibah Huwaylat Al Jeer Al Khari Khatt Khor Khwair Al Jazirah Al Hamra Masafi Munay Musaibat Al Naslah Qada'ah Al Qor Rafaq Rams Ras Ash Sha'am Shairi Shawka Shimal Silay Al Khatami Yinainir Yinas Mountains Jabal Qada'ah Jabal Rahabah Jabal Ar Rahrah

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Masafi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masafi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masafi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.