Al Qarin Home Page

Masirah - Tales from a Desert Island by Colin Richardsonis a fascinating account of Eastern Arabia centred on the fascinating island of Masirah.
It so happens that Al Qarin is a place on that very same island famous locally for its fantastic beaches of almost pure white coral sand - an idyllic location in the hot Arabian sunshine.
Masirah is notable for once being the home to the British Eastern Relay Station (BERS) where the BBC programmes were broadcast to the eastern Gulf and the sub-continent on medium and short wave. The transmissions have since moved to a brand new station on the mainland of Oman close to the historic shipbuilding town of Sur
Also on the island of Masirah is a former RAF military airfield now belonging to the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) which has played a vital part in numerous middle-eastern conflicts since it was established - all depicted in graphic detail in Colin Richardson's splendid book.