Talk:Dibba (United Arab Emirates)

Just by looking at a map I'd be inclined to say that the two Emirati towns (Dibba Al-Fujairah and Dibba Al-Hisn) should probably be covered by only one article e.g. Dibba (United Arab Emirates)Travelpleb (talk) 16:19, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Travelpleb, i would support your view as from a travellers point of view, they are both in UAE. Will free to do the move. jan (talk) 16:26, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

While Fujairah does have more liberal alcohol laws than Sharjah, I'm not sure that warrants two articles for effectively the same town. Presumably you'd just do your drinking on the Omani side anyway? Plus as the delineation between the emirates doesn't seem precisely marked, you'd be better off not touching anything as accidentally wandering into super-dry Sharjah with alcohol would not be fun. Travelpleb (talk) 16:43, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

I have so far not seen an article that covers a city in two countries (of one, which include two different Emirates with differing legal restrictions). It's a bit unchartered territory... Any ideas to get that kicked off? jan (talk) 16:49, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Given that the difference in alcohol laws is absolutely never vs. not very likely to find it outside a hotel, there isn't too much of a problem here. I think that Dibbah Al-Fujairah is the main town - the Sharjah area is quite small (although I haven't found it exactly on a map) - so Dibba (United Arab Emirates) should be listed as part of Fujairah, which is the main emirate on that part of the east coast.Travelpleb (talk) 17:00, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

That fine for me but i was thinking a bit wider. Would you think it be fine to delete the disamb for Dibba at all and solely write a Dibba article for all three? In the Cope/Getin sections, we could mention the border and alcohol issue? We then wouldn't need the brackets. jan (talk) 17:04, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Border towns usually get two articles, even if they are effectively the same place. I think this is sensible (except possibly in the Schengen area) as national borders are usually significant enough to create distinctions for travelers.Travelpleb (talk) 17:09, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

I can't provide much insight into this particular case, but Lake Tahoe is an example of a region in the US that crosses state borders, Kansas City is an example of a city that crosses state borders, and Niagara Falls covers two cities/destinations separated by the Niagara River and a national border. In all cases, the argument for separating or not separating was based on whether the locations were a single travel destination or not - someone visiting Lake Tahoe doesn't care what state they're in, but someone visiting Niagara Falls can't just stroll across the street to the Canadian side without crossing a bridge and going through customs. I'm not sure which of those examples would be most applicable to Dibba, but hopefully one of them is useful for comparison purposes. -- Ryan • (talk) • 17:12, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

I've never crossed a UAE land border either, so I've no idea. Slightly tangentially, the best map I've found so far is this: [1]. Travelpleb (talk) 17:22, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Land border between Emirates in the UAE are like switching between US states. The colour of some official sign change but nothing else. That's why it is easy to miss the line between Emirates. Oman is a different story, as the border station requires paperwork to walk from Oman to UAE and vv. jan (talk) 17:34, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

I think that two articles makes sense here then. It looks like Dibba is two distinct places at least. Bing seems to have the best map. Openstreetmap.org is terrible, Google Maps does a slightly better job, and Wikimapia is quite good but doesn't mark the borders clearly.Travelpleb (talk) 18:23, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

ok. Maps are a huge issue in the region. I wanted to do a map for Musandam but can't find any good CC-BY SA data as basis for the region, Khasab and Dibba. Bing is by far the best but i fear that they are not compatible with our licences... The main issues are military installations and rapid change due to infrastructure projects. jan (talk) 19:22, 27 March 2013 (UTC)