Saudi Arabia – Eastern Province (Damman, Khobar, Al Ahsa, Jubail) Nov 2-4, 2021
EASTERN PROVINCE. Covering the Gulf coast, the center of Saudi oil production
Dhahran – the home of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest petroleum company
Empty Quarter (Rub’ al Khali) – one of the largest sand deserts on earth
Al-Ahsa Oasis WHS is a traditional oasis historical region in eastern Saudi Arabia and makes up much of that country’s Eastern Province. The oasis is located about 60 km inland from the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
With an area of around 85.4 km2 (33.0 sq mi), Al-Ahsa Oasis is the largest oasis in the world. There are more than 2.5 million palm trees including date palms in the oasis, which is fed from a huge underground aquifer and irrigated by the flow of more than 280 artesian springs, which allows agriculture all year round in a region that is otherwise sand desert.
Al-Ahsa is part of the region known historically for its high skill in tailoring, especially in making Bisht, a traditional men’s cloak. Al-Bahrain geographical province is in Eastern Arabia, which includes the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula down to the borders of the UAE, and Oman, and also includes the island of Awal (modern-day Bahrain). Historically, Al-Ahsa was the main city in Al-Bahrain province, making up most of its population and providing most of its agricultural output.
The site has become a World Heritage site in 2018.December 2015. The oases of Al-Hasa and Al Ain (in the UAE, on the border with Oman) are the most important in the Arabian Peninsula.
Al-Ahsa has been inhabited since prehistoric times, due to its water in an otherwise arid region. Natural fresh-water springs have surfaced at oases here for millennia, encouraging human habitation and agricultural efforts (date palm cultivation especially) since prehistoric times.
Historically, Al-Hasa was one of the few areas in the Arabian Peninsula growing rice. In 1938, petroleum deposits were discovered near Dammam, resulting in the rapid modernization of the region. By the early 1960s, production levels reached 1 million barrels (160,000 m3) per day. Today, Al-Hasa engulfs the largest conventional oil field in the world, the Ghawar Field.
Al-Hasa is known for its palm trees and date palms. Al-Hasa has over 2.5 million palm trees which produce over 100 thousand tons of dates every year.
12 locations were defined as the Cultural Landscape of Al-Hasa Oasis (the World Heritage site):
1. Eastern Oasis, 2. Northern Oasis 3. As-Seef, 4. Suq Al-Qaysariyah, 5. Qasr Khuzam, 6. Qasr Sahood, 7. Qasr Ibrahim, 8. Jawatha archaeological site, 9. Jawatha Mosque, 10. Al-‘Oyun village, 11. Ain Qannas archaeological site, 12. Al-Asfar lake
Climate. Al-Ahsa has a hot desert climate (Köppen Climate Classification: BWh), with long, extremely hot summers and short, very mild winters. The oasis has a very low annual precipitation of 83.3 mm (3.28 in), but receives a little amount of rain in winter and spring.
Hofuf (pop 860,000). Also known as “Al-Hasa” is the major urban city in the Al-Ahsa Oasis. It is also known for being one of the largest date producers in the world, and for its old souks and palaces.
It is the closest city to the famous Ghawar oil field, one of the world’s largest conventional (land-based) fields. Hofuf is one of the major cultural centers in Saudi Arabia. A lot of well-known families live there. The faculties of agriculture, veterinary medicine and animal resources for King Faisal University are located in the city (the others being in Dammam). The Hofuf campus also has facilities where Saudi women can study medicine, dentistry and home economics.
Historically, Hofuf made textiles out of wool, silk, and cotton. The town was also renowned for its fruit of the date palm, the Arabs consider the khalasi variety of dates, locally grown in Hofuf, and the fardh variety of Oman, among the best. As of 1920, the city was known for making coffee pots from silver and brass.
Al Mubarraz (pop 837,000) is a city located at Al-Ahsa and it’s the north gate of Al-Ahsa governorate. Al-Mubarraz has historical importance because it was the ruling center for the district between 1669 and 1793, before the Saudi rule. There are several springs in Al-Mubarraz,
Khobar (pop 460,000) is a city on the Persian Gulf. Khobar is part of the ‘Triplet Cities’ area, or Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, forming the residential core of the region.
The city was founded alongside Dammam by the Dawasir who moved there in 1923 fearing British persecution with the permission of King Abdulaziz Al Saud.[1] Khobar experienced rapid growth during and after the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia as it served as the port for the oil exports of Saudi Aramco in the company’s early days.[1] Traditionally, Khobar has also been a city of shopkeepers and merchants, and today there are several shopping malls in and around it.
The 16-km long Corniche Road runs parallel to the city’s eastern coast. Khobar is also considered a resort town as its southern suburbs of the city face Half Moon Bay and host several beaches and beach resorts. By night, the quiet city turns into a bustling one, with some of the largest malls in the kingdom, such as the Mall of Dhahran and the al-Rashid Mall.
Half Moon Beach. Drive down a peninsula to its opposite side to access this large beach. On the way, I passed many km of beaches, all packed with cars in lots and people parked next to the water. Here, cars were parked chock-a-block 2-3 m from the water. Beside each, a family had spread out a large carpet and sat beside their cooler, picnic basket, thermos of tea, and charcoal grill. The fully clothed kids were playing in the sand, the women sitting chatting and eating, and the men praying (it was dusk and prayer time). I walked in the 2-3 feet of flat sand beside the water looking at the people. Two men waved me over and invited me to join them for dinner of grilled steaks, garlic bread, and grilled vegetables. They were both engineers from Egypt working in the oil industry and both in managerial positions. After some persuasion, I sat down and dug into the well-done but still tasty steak. They were very pleasant but the conversation was always somewhat limited. They had come in a brand-new Toyota Fortuner (like the old 4-Runner), a perk all managers get for free including all gas and upkeep. I stayed for over an hour before finally departing.
SciTech. In a mammoth modern building, the lobby is larger than more museums. Has an observatory with a telescope (only good at night when the museum is closed), an IMAX, an introductory hall (about the founder of the museum, again larger than most museums), a playground, technology, wonders of science, oceans, the human body, plants and animals exhibit, earth and space. The parking lots and museum were empty, but the beaches were packed. 23 RS
Al Rashid Mall. Another typical 3-story mall. The large food court didn’t have milkshakes anywhere so I left.
King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) is situated in Dhahran. It was built by Saudi Aramco and inaugurated in 2016. It is operated by Saudi Aramco[4] and is currently the company’s main corporate social responsibility initiative with a focus on culture, learning and cross-cultural activities. The Center is where the first commercial Saudi oilfield was found in March 1938. The Center incorporates a museum, children’s museum, library, cinema, theatre, and exhibition halls. It was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. The Center has been listed in Time magazine as one of the world’s top 100 places to visit and attracted one million visitors in 2019.
The building covers 80,000 square meters with its shape being inspired by the internal structural shape of oil-bearing rock formations.
Ithra Theater’s 900-seat auditorium has hosted international and regional performers.
Museums. The museum is situated on four levels and is arranged thematically into four galleries: contemporary art, Saudi heritage, Islamic civilization, and natural history and human ecology.
In the NM Architectural Delights series, this architectural masterpiece looks like a giant man’s genitals – a large oval tower with two testicles on each side – all clad in stainless steel tubing. Despite all the billions spent on it, access is difficult: from the highway with the best distance “view”, it is 2 km through two security checks. I parked on the wrong side and walked up one of the ramps that go through the several concentric circles of gardens to a “plaza” that gives no access. I finally found the lower level entrance, entered, and wasn’t allowed as I had shorts on. I said “f**k you” and returned to my car to be greeted by two police who were going to charge me for my comment. I explained, and apologized, and the very nice cop after phoning the entrance guy convinced him to not press charges!!! The cop said that you have to go in as the museum of the mosques was so good.
I drove around, put on the legs to my shorts and entered the large “lobby” past a theatre, the Children’s Museum and finally the desk to purchase tickets. After 5 minutes of answering the woman’s questions, it was another 5 minutes as she figured out how to thread the paper into the ticket machine. I was finally able to ask the price (35 SR) and left.
Al Khobar is the closest access to Bahrain, reached by a short causeway. Qatar is accessed just south.
DAMMAM
Rayyan Mosque. Like most SA mosques, it is plain inside – a hexagonal dome and big brass chandelier but a simple mihrab. Some stained glass and temple-shaped accents over windows and doors. Empty on a Saturday and heavy day of praying on Friday.
Tarut is a small round island connected to the mainland with a causeway. It appears all residential with primarily apartment buildings.
Qatif. The town on the mainland gives access to Tarut.
The drive here was on the “corniche road”, immediately next to the water. The entire beach has a walk and grass/palm tree area with many families having picnics.
Al Batinah and Abu Ali islands. These two islands connected by causeways are just off the coast and are dead flat. Abu Ali is largely a military base. The “housing” consists of small walled compounds related to oil industries. I didn’t drive as far as Al Batinah and assume it also has a causeway although Google Maps could not find a way there.
Jibail. Another non-descript NM city close to the access to the above islands. It consists of many walled compounds of identical (but quite nice) housing units, each with a garage and a tiny ring of yard.
It was 414 km to Hafar al-Batin. The road initially follows along the Kuwait border. I started just as sundown (4:45 pm) and arrived at Hafar al-Batin at 9 and got a hotel.
