Afif ( ar, عفيف ) is a city in central Saudi Arabia, in the

Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...

region. It is situated approximately halfway between Riyadh and Mecca. The modern town was established in the 1910s as a ''hijra'', or "settlement", for the nomadic tribes of the area, particularly the tribe of

'Utaybah The Otaibah (, also spelled Otaiba, Utaybah) is one of the biggest Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula. Their distribution spans throughout Saudi Arabia, especially in Najd. and the Middle East. The Otaibah are descended from the Bedoui ...

(see Ikhwan). It has since grown into a small city of 39,581 as of the 2004 census, not counting the surrounding towns and villages, which together with 'Afif form the 'Afif Governorate. The city once served as a gateway between the central and western regions of Saudi Arabia. The city is also known to be the first landing site of the first airplane owned by King Abdulaziz the first king of Saudi Arabia. The town was named after an old well in the area called Afif "بئر عفيف - البير العود". People used to pass by this well in their way to Mekkah while performing the Hajj or Omrah, in order to get water for the rest of the way. Eventually, during the month of Hajj, merchants began to congregate around this well to sell their goods to the pilgrims, which led to the first settlements being established. Thereafter, the people from small villages nearby the well started to recognise how profitable it was to live nearby this well, and houses started to be built there, which caused the city to develop over time.

Landmarks

* LORAN-C transmitter Afif

References

Populated places in Riyadh Province Populated places established in the 1910s {{SaudiArabia-geo-stub

Landmarks

See also

References