King Fahd Passport Island, or simply Passport Island, is an island divided between

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. It is and is used for the bridge connecting mainland Saudi Arabia and Bahrain's main island.

History

The

King Fahd Causeway The King Fahd Causeway ( ar, جسر الملك فهد, Jisr al-Malik Fahd) is a 25 km (15.5 mi) long series of bridges and causeways connecting Khobar, Saudi Arabia and Al Jasra, Bahrain. Its five bridges rest on 536 concrete pylons, with ...

opened in 1986 and included the building of the artificial island. Its route was chosen as the shortest path between the island of Bahrain and mainland Saudi Arabia. It is named after

King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...

, then ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Geography

The island is located on the King Fahd Causeway. The artificial island is also named Middle Island, Embankment 4. The buildings of King Fahd Causeway Authority and other government Directorates were erected on the Border Station, as well as two mosques, two Coast Guard towers and two tower restaurants. The border station also has extensive landscaping all around the islands in addition to the services and road stations. The Border Station was designed as two islands connected by an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

, with the west side designated as Saudi Arabian and the east as Bahraini.King Fahd Causeway: Border Station

Demography

The only inhabited place is the staff building on the center of the island. The staff belong to the King Fahd Causeway Authority.

Administration

The island belongs to the

Northern Governorate The Northern Governorate ( ar, المحافظة الشمالية , translit=Al-Muḥāfaẓat aš-Šamālīyah) is one of the four governorates of Bahrain. It includes parts of the former municipalities of Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mint ...

in Bahrain, and the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia.

Transportation

The causeway has two segments from the island: # From the Border Station to Al-Aziziyyah, south of

Khobar Khobar ( ar, ٱلْخُبَر, translit=al-Khobar) is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 457,748 as of 2017, Khobar is part of the 'Triplet ...

. # From the Border Station to Nasan Island in Bahrain.

Economics

The inhabitants on the island are engaged in Ministry duties for the incoming citizens to the country. The Saudi side of the border station has outlets of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

and

Kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

and the Bahraini side of the border station has a McDonald's outlet.

Image gallery

File:Un-bahrain.png, Bahrain Map and the King Fahd Causeway File:Northern Governorate in Bahrain 2014.svg, District Map File:King Fahd causeway satellite.png, The King Fahd Causeway as seen from space File:KingFahdCauseway01.jpg, View of the causeway, facing east. File:King Fahd Causeway (3206595761).jpg, The causeway from the Bahrain side. File:Saudi Bahrain Bridge.jpg, The bridge leading to mainland Saudi Arabia.

References

External links

* Islands of Bahrain Islands of Saudi Arabia Divided regions International islands Artificial islands {{Bahrain-geo-stub