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View of Feringee
Rocks in 1880 looking northwest over Maalla
Bunder, the Customs Registration Office and
dhow-building yards from Wells Battery at
Main Pass |
Feringee Rocks
500 metres south of the southern tip of
Slave Island
in Western Bay,
midway between
Slave Island and Maalla
wharf, was a diminishing group of small
islands called Feringee Rocks.
Today,
with land reclamation the islands are
very close to shore. The southernmost
island of the group was named Qulfatein
Island1 and next to it, to
the north, Kais-al-Hammal. The third
remaining, and northernmost
island, closest to
Slave Island
was known as Jezret Feringee.
The two
larger islands of the group at one time
had numerous stone buildings though recent
satellite images today show them all
abandoned. |
The
location is significant as being the
arena for skirmishes in late 1838 which
preceded the
capture of
Aden.
Commander Haines had for some time
been aboard the Coote, moored in
Western Bay, whilst protracted
negotiations continued with Sultan
Mahsin of Lahej for the peaceful
handover of Aden.
Haines
had suggested to the Commander of the
Coote, Commander Denton, that they
set up a nine-pounder gun on Jezret
Feringee to exact retribution for a
cowardly outrage performed by the
Bedouin earlier in the day. Under cover
of darkness on November 20 the gun was
positioned on the island by Lieutenants
Hamilton and Western and by daybreak
they were joined by Denton, Haines and
Evans together with 15 European
soldiers, 10 marines and some seamen
with a 5" Howitzer.
In 1838 the
only road into Crater was through the
Main Pass.
With steady bombardment the group
succeeded in preventing parties of Arabs
and laden camels from entering Crater,
and dislodged one of the guns on the
Pass. The Bedouin on the hillsides made
a futile effort in returning fire and in
exasperation attempted to storm Jezret
Feringee at low tide when the island was
joined to the mainland by a sandbank.
Despite coming within 80-90 yards they
were repelled after only a few minutes
of sustained fire, suffering significant
casualties. After nightfall on the 21st,
the British party returned victorious to
the Coote, with their guns,
having suffered no losses.
Feringee
Rocks in 2006
Feringee
Rocks
in 1966 |
