Qaryat al-Ulya ( ar-at, قرية العليا, Qaryat al-‘Ulyā) is a city located in the north-east of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, specifically in the historic area, which consists of more than 30 villages; Qaryat al-Ulya is the capital of this region. The whole Summan area includes a population of more than 50,000 people, 80% of them

Saudis Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...

, according to the 2011 census. They maintain an agricultural area with more than two thousand

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

farms, which ranks it first in Saudi Arabian wheat production.

History

The name Qaryat al-Ulya means ''upper village'' in Arabic. It was established on the location of a well which was traditionally used by nomadic Bedouin as a water source. During the rise to power of Ibn Saud, he created new villages by settling down nomads and indoctrinating them in the

Wahabbi Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, a ...

interpretation of Islam, calling them the

Ikhwan The Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, al-ʾIkhwān, The Brethren), commonly known as Ikhwan min ta'a Allah ( ar, إخوان من أطاع الله), was a traditionalist religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a signif ...

. In 1920, as part of this program nomads from the

Mutayr Mutayr () is an Arab tribe that originated in the northern Hejaz near Medina. The tribe mainly inhabits Saudi Arabia (Najd), Kuwait, Iraq, Morocco, and Tunisia. Genealogy Ahmad al-Qalqashandi who died in 1418 stated that al-Mutayr tribe belongs ...

tribe founded the city of Qaryat al-Ulya, led by . The city occupied a strategic position along the pilgrimage route from

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

and

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 ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

. Because of its proximity to the Kuwaiti and Iraqi borders, Ibn Saud built a fortress there, under the supervision of Prince , who was governor of Al-Ahsa in 1935–36. After the 1920

Battle of Jahra The Battle of Jahra was a battle during the Kuwait–Najd War, fought between Kuwaiti forces and Saudi-supported militants. The battle took place in Al-Jahra, west of Kuwait City on 10 October 1920 around the Kuwait Red Fort. The battle The ba ...

, the poet Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen wrote in reference to the city: وإذكر مآثر قوم جل قصدهم جهاد أهل الردى لله لا السلبُ هم أهل قرية إخوان لهم قدم في الصالحات التي ترجى بها قربُ

Geography

The city is located 350 km northeast of Riyadh, 280 km northwest of Dammam, and 150 km south of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

–Saudi Arabia border. Administratively the city falls under the Eastern Province. The governorate contains 22 villages, the nearest being 15 km away and the farthest, 190 km. The governorate encompasses about 260 km.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the district contains 50,000 inhabitants, of whom 80% are Saudi citizens.

Economy

Qaryat al-Ulya is distinguished by a high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

and fertile land, which makes it well-suited for farming. Around 2,000 farms in the district product 250,000 tons of wheat per year, which provides for about half of Saudi Arabia's yearly needs.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia