What is "nahwa"

Nahwa is a village that is 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.

To access the village of Nahwa, one has to take the northernmost road into the Madha enclave south of Khor Fakkan and follow the signs to New Madha. From New Madha, there is a paved but winding road (about 5 km) leading to Nahwa.

Entering Nahwa, there is an Emirati police outpost some 80 metres after the boundary marker. The village itself is further up the road, on the same side as the police outpost. It consists of about 40 buildings and has its own clinic. This part of the village is in fact called New Nahwa, and there are more houses further down the road in Old Nahwa.

While the situation is uncommon, Nahwa is not the only exclave in the world surrounded by another enclave; some exclaves of Dutch Baarle-Nassau are embedded in Belgian Baarle-Hertog enclaves.