Covering 1,700 square kilometers, Ras Al Khaimah or RAK, which means “top of the tent,” is located near the northernmost point of the United Arab Emirates, and shares a mountainous border with the Sultanate of Oman to its south east. His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi has been appointed the new ruler of Ras Al Khaimah on the 27th of October 2010 after the death of His Highness Shaikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, the late ruler of the emirate.
The city of Ras Al Khaimah, the capital of the emirate, is divided into two parts by a creek. The western part, known as "old Ras Al Khaimah", consists of government departments, educational institutions, shopping malls, hotels as well as residential areas and new construction projects. The eastern part, known as Al Nakheel, houses the Emiri Court, markets, Ras Al Khaimah Exhibition Centre, hospitals and residential areas housing the majority of the city's population. Ras Al Khaimah has a rich history and was renowned for its prosperous port and its exquisite pearls, which were famous for being the whitest and roundest in the world.
Today, Ras Al Khaimah’s is reinventing itself as a tourism hub. It is often described as the most scenic of the emirates because of its diverse landscape. On the plains, farmers grow date-palms, while the coastal areas are home to pearl divers, fishermen and traders. Bedouin tribes live in the desert, and the Shihuh and Habus tribes live in the mountainous regions.