Delma Island

The island

Delma has a long history of pearl diving, fishing and farming, with date farms still worked today. Finds dating back more than 7,000 years include Mesopotamian pottery and early farming tools.¹

Ferries to the island leave from Al Dhannah, a waterfront area about 2.5 hours by car from Abu Dhabi city. Delma is one of the seven main cities of Al Dhafra.^3,7

Heritage

The Delma Museum is housed in the former home of the pearl merchant Mohammed bin Jasim Al Muraikhi. The Department of Culture and Tourism reopened it in 2023.^1,4

The island's three historic mosques were restored in the mid-1990s, and work on their boundary walls was completed in March 2020.⁵

The Dalma 60-foot dhow race starts at the island and sails 80 nautical miles (125 km) past eight islands to Al Mirfa. Its fifth edition was held from 7 to 20 May 2022.⁶

Setting up

Source: UAE Government Portal: Steps to start a business on the mainland; UAE Government Portal: National Economic Register, business licensing authorities; UAE Government Portal: Accessing services for mainland companies^8,9,10

Al Dhafra follows Abu Dhabi's rules: membership of the Abu Dhabi Chamber is required, licence documents must be in Arabic, and applications can be made at ADDED and TAMM branches.¹¹