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A Brief Note on the Weirdest Borders in the World

In this article, you will learn about the weird borders we have in the world.

Borders organise the world; they separate continents, nations, provinces, and cities. This is the way we explain the globe and regulate it. Although most frontiers appear to make logic, there are some spots around the world where they don’t. There are Unique borders in the world; we will see some of the peculiar borders, ranging from topographical ambiguity to time zone concerns to flamboyant performances.

Enclaves

A nation confined inside another nation is known as an enclave. The nation of Lesotho, for example, is a South African enclave, whereas the Vatican is indeed an Italian enclave. These are wonderful, but we need to drill down. There are some cases of 2nd order enclaves all across the globe. Whenever you have two countries, B and C, and some part of country B is encircled by country C, which would be completely encircled by country C, you get a 2nd order enclave. 

The United Arab Emirates

Within the UAE, Oman does have an exclave (a piece of property it possesses that is completely independent of its main territory). The UAE, on the other hand, holds a small amount of land within these Oman exclaves. As a result, we get a bit of the United Arab Emirates surrounded by a portion of Oman geographically different from the Omani landmass and then the United Arab Emirates.

Netherlands and Belgium

Do you feel that’s strange? It is the weirdest city borders. You can find a city called Baarle just on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium. There are dozens of different Belgian exclaves on the Dutch border, and most of these Belgian exclaves contain Netherlands enclaves. The most bizarre element is that not only are each of these boundaries openly marked in the city (several of which cross into cafes and living areas), but distinct laws from the 2 nations are enforced properly within every exclave.

For instance, in the Netherlands and Belgium, multiple laws governing when an eatery might remain open existed for many years. Consequently, because many eateries are cross-border (nearly every street downtown has some form of borderline), guests seated on the side of the nation that is closed for that day have to shift their tables to another side. 

You might be thinking regarding, and in case of boundary crosses via a shop or a residence, it belongs to which country? The response would be that a house is considered a portion of the area in which its entrance gate is located. This is fantastic unless you realise there are homes with an entrance doorway covering both countries’ borders.

But don’t fret: the administrations have agreed on a “simple” remedy. You can see two addresses, two house numbers, and two bells on each side of the door. That means one address on the Netherlands side and one on the Belgium side. And as per the government, it will belong to both countries.

Bangladesh

Things are just going to worsen. The India-Bangladesh boundary is so complicated, so absurd, that only it contains nearly 80percent of the globe’s enclaves: hundred and six Indian and ninety-two Bangladeshi enclaves inside India. 

There are twenty-four 2nd order enclaves and one 3rd order enclave among these merged enclaves. That’s correct. There is an Indian piece within Bangladeshi enclaves, and that’s the globe’s sole 3rd order enclave.

When did this occur? In this region, two brothers, the King of Koch Bihar and the King of Rangpur, could stake many territories as parts of their cards and chess matches. Rangpur and Koch Bihar became greatly split due to this betting, and while India got divided in 1947, Rangpur moved to Eastern Pakistan, whereas Koch Bihar remained in India.

Bangladesh and India, on the other hand, are not buddies as they are in Europe. Consequently, while inhabitants of Weird borders in Europe of Belgium and the Netherlands could afford to travel between the two countries, citizens of the Bangladeshi and Indian communities were imprisoned. 

Border controls are rigorous, and most of these enclaves are impoverished, with residents lacking access to services, education, and other necessities. Things had deteriorated to the point that India and Bangladesh opted to take action. On May 7, 2015, the 2 nations signed an agreement under which India would get 51 Bangladeshi enclaves, and Bangladesh will receive 11 Indian enclaves.

Egypt and Sudan’s Borders

The border conflict between Egypt and Sudan is especially remarkable. Two “disputed” regions of land result from these contentious boundaries: Bir Tawil and Hala’ib Triangle. Keep in mind the consequences of these boundaries and the locations of these land masses: both nations claim ownership of Hala’ib; however, neither nation claims ownership of Bir Tawil.

Surprisingly, Bir Tawil is the globe’s sole unclaimed territory beyond Antarctica. What is the reason for this? Since Hala’ib is a far more attractive area (this one has entrance to the Red Sea, is much more livable, is bigger, and so on), claiming possession of Bir Tawil will undermine either party’s claims to Hala’ib. Consequently, Bir Tawil is virtually deserted – no one lives here, and it’s thought that the landmass is devoid of buildings.

Diomede Islands

The Diomede Islands are a set of islands between the United States and Russia that are only a mile apart. The larger island, “Big Diomede,” is owned by Russia, while the tiny island, “Little Diomede,” is owned by the United States. The IDL separates these islands, which is a rare feature. Consequently, even though these islands are only a mile apart and might be walked across during certain seasons of the year, islands have a twenty-three-hour difference in time.

Conclusion

So, as we’ve seen, the world has many varied and unique borders. And we realised that an enclave is a country’s region located within another country. There are Weird borders in Europe where people live without much constraint, whereas Bangladesh and India have stringent restrictions that cause people to suffer. And coming to Diomede Islands, even the difference of one mile makes a huge difference in the time.

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