Turaif () is a town in

Northern Borders Province The Northern Borders Region ( ' is the least populated region of Saudi Arabia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Iraq and Jordan. It has an area of 111,797 km2 and a population of 320,524 at the 2010 census. The region is s ...

(also known as Al-Hudud ash Shamaliyah),

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 ...

, close to the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

with

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Turaif is located at a bend in Highway 85 as it turns west to Jordan. It is located at around . As of 2010, it has a population of 48,929. The city of Turaif is one of the cities that have been established because of the presence of the

Trans-Arabian Pipeline The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), was an oil pipeline from Qaisumah in Saudi Arabia to Sidon in Lebanon, active between 1950–1976. In its heyday, it was an important factor in the global trade of petroleum, as well as in American–Middle ...

. Highway 85 bisects Turaif into "Old" Turaif to the north and "New" Turaif to the south. The largest hotel in Turaif is the Al-Mudwah Hotel and SWISS SPIRIT located along Highway 85 as it cuts through the town.

Turaif Domestic Airport Turaif Domestic Airport ( ar, مطار طريف المحلي, ) is an airport serving Turaif, a town in Northern Borders Province, Saudi Arabia. The nearest airports are Arar Domestic Airport in Arar and Gurayat Domestic Airport in Gurayat (Qur ...

is located approximately from town and has a daily flight to

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

. Other nearby airports are

Gurayat Domestic Airport Gurayat Domestic Airport ( ar, مطار القريات المحلي, ) is an airport serving Gurayat (also spelled Guriat or Qurayyat), a city in Al Jawf Province, Saudi Arabia. It provides facilities for Saudia scheduled services to both Jeddah ...

in Gurayat (Qurayyat) and

Arar Domestic Airport Arar Domestic Airport ( ar, مطار عرعر المحلي, ) is an airport serving Arar (also spelled ʿArʿar), the capital of Northern Borders Province in Saudi Arabia. It began operations on 1 June 1981. Facilities The airport resides at an ...

in Arar.

Climate

Turaif has

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(Köppen climate classification: ''BWh'') with long, very hot summers and cool winters.

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

is not unheard of in the winter months.

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

may also fall at times .

References

Populated places in Northern Borders Province {{SaudiArabia-geo-stub