The Arabian Gulf region is characterized by two main features: the desert and the beaches. The main source of the ancient economy based on agriculture was not popular in the Arabian Gulf countries, which include the six countries: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The total length of the coastlines of the GCC countries is 8,678 km, with Saudi Arabia coming in first place with a coastline of 3,800 km, followed by Oman with a coastline of 3,165 km, then the UAE in third place with a coastline of 700 km, then Qatar with a coastline of 563 km, then Kuwait with a coastline of 325 km, and finally Bahrain with a coastline of 125 km.
The Gulf region is a peninsula, and hence it was necessary to exploit the sea as a resource that would help people build their economy.
- Between past and present:
The luxurious coasts that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries own today, of course, were not like this before, but rather were an indication of the hard-working life that the people of the region lived to earn their living.
At that time, people owned modest boats and simple equipment that sailed to fish for pearls, which were not easy to find at all, Pearl diving was considered one of the most dangerous and challenging professions, as it depended on a nose clip that helped the diver hold his breath for the longest possible period, and a rope tied to his foot on the boat to help him by pulling him after reaching the bottom or to trade by sailing to distant countries compared to the size of those boats for the purpose of trade to bring goods to sell in the markets on a journey that was full of dangers, a journey in which
the sailors did not know whether they would return safely to their families and countries or not.
The news would spread in the city when the boat returned from its sea voyage, if it returned, and when the flag carried by the boat was lowered, this meant that one of the sailors or perhaps more had died on this voyage. These were very difficult moments for the families who were waiting for their children and loved ones on the shore to know if their relatives were well or if the lowered flag was due to their death. It was a journey that was close to an adventure full of dangers from hurricanes, high waves, pirates and much more.
- Shipbuilding art:
For more than 300 years, the wooden shipbuilding industry has provided jobs for many people at that time who worked in building or maintaining ships. There are three types of ships: pearl diving ships, tourist ships for commercial trips, and transport ships for transporting passengers. Shipbuilding requires an integrated work team that begins with people specialized in sharpening wood, then another team specialized in hammering iron nails into the ship's wood, and beginners who help in transporting the wood and assisting the workers. The work is supervised by a supervisor whose most important task today is designing the ship, which is why the people of the Arabian Gulf region excelled in building ships there.
For centuries, the sea remained the primary and main source of income for the people of the Arabian Gulf region until the beginning of the seventies of the last century when oil appeared. This period, despite its difficulty, remains a source of pride and honour to this day for the sons of those heroic ancestors who suffered to obtain their livelihood and daily sustenance.