Madha in the context of "Emirate of Sharjah"

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman's coastline faces the Arabian Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The exclaves of Madha and Musandam are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, while Musandam's coastal boundaries are formed by the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. It has a population of approximately 5.46 million and an area of 309,960 km (119,680 sq mi). Muscat is the capital and largest city.

Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world, and has been continuously ruled by the Al Bu Said dynasty since 1744. Beginning in the 17th century, Oman became a regional power with an empire that competed with the Portuguese Empire and British Empire for influence in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to present-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, Oman had come under the influence of the British Empire while de jure remaining sovereign.

The Musandam Governorate (Arabic: مُحَافَظَة مُسَنْدَم, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat Musandam) is a governorate of Oman. With the exception of the exclave of Madha, it is located on the Musandam Peninsula, which juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entry into the Persian Gulf, from the Arabian Peninsula. The governorate is also an exclave, separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. Its location gives Oman partial control, shared with Iran, of the strategic strait. In the northern section of Musandam, around Kumzar, the language is Kumzari, which is a southwestern Iranian language closely related to Larestani and Luri. The Musandam Peninsula has an area of 1,800 km (690 sq mi) and, at the 2020 census, a population of 49,062.

Access to the peninsula was formerly difficult, with the only options being limited flights or a ten-hour drive through four immigration posts. The Shinas fast ferry service between Muscat and Musandam was launched in August 2008 to alleviate this problem and make the region more accessible. The governorate is accessible by land only from the United Arab Emirates. Mainland Musandam can be accessed by Ras al-Khaimah near Al-Jeer via Route 2, and an exclave of Sharjah, Dibba Al-Hisn. Oman Air provides an air link between the capital of the country, Muscat, and the main administrative town of the governorate, Khasab.

Nahwa is a territory that forms part of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It is a counter-enclave (or second-order enclave) within the Omani territory of Madha, which is itself an exclave of Oman and an enclave within the United Arab Emirates.

Access to the village of Nahwa is through the northernmost road into the Madha enclave south of Khor Fakkan which leads to New Madha. From New Madha, there is a paved but winding road (about 5 km (3 mi)) leading to Nahwa.