Farasan Island

Farasan Island (جزيرة فرسان; transliterated: Jazyrat Farasan) is the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia and is among the largest islands in the Red Sea. It is located at 16.7°N, 41°W. The main town on the island is Farasan. The Farasan island marine sanctuary has been created around the island to protect biodiversity.

Farasan General Hospital
Farasan General Hospital was built in September 1986 by the Saudi government. Chaired under Dr. Ahmed (MBBS, Neurosurgeon), it has 35 doctors for various specialization. Advanced facilities, including x-rays and ultrasounds, are available.

Kunnah
Kunnah is a festive fishing season; the word is derived from kana'ad, the Arabic word for kingfish. Kunnah season starts at the beginning of summer and finishes with the end of June. It witnesses an abundance of different types of fish including but not limited to the kingfish (Scomberomorus cavalla) and parrotfish (Hipposcarus harid). The fishing seasons combined represent 35% of fish production in the Red Sea and 20% of the Saudi Arabia’s fish production.

During the festival, Jazan looks like a floating city due to the large number of fishing boats, and the lights from the ships illuminate the sea at night. The Jazan region produces about 11,000 metric ton of fish annually with over 3,200 fishermen working along the coasts of 17 fishing ports. It uses about 1,657 boats, resulting in the investment in fisheries and helping preserving the fishing profession.

Jizan to Farasan
The distance between Jizan and Farasan is 50 km. Both ferries and flukas (local small boats) are used on this route.

Ferry passage is free. The ferry carries 35–40 cars and can accommodate about 800 people. New ferries were put into service in 2006, cutting travel time between Jizan and Farasan from three hours to one. There are two ferry trips each way daily (Farasan to Jizan at 7:30 AM and 03:30 PM, Jizan to Farasan also at 7:30 AM and 03:30 PM, ).

The flukas carry up to twelve passengers. The flukas take an hour to make the crossing and operate by hire rather than on a fixed schedule, with at a cost of SR50 per passenger with a minimum charge of SR350.