It is known for its collection of abandoned houses and other buildings, including a mosque, which is widely believed locally to be haunted.

[1][2][3] The town was ruled by the Zaab tribe, which was rehoused in Abu Dhabi following a dispute with the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.

[5] The Sheikh of Jazira Al Hamra in 1820, Rajib bin Ahmed al-Zaabi, was one of four independent signatories to the original 1820 treaty between the Trucial States and the British, following the 1819 punitive expedition mounted against Ras Al Khaimah by the British.

A tidal island, it was split into two sections, the small northern quarter of Umm Awaimir and the southern Manakh.

Director Michael Bay said about the place: "We shot in Al Hamra – an ancient ghost city they called it – that we played for Afghanistan.