Hafar al-Batin ( ar, حفر الباطن '), also frequently spelled ''Hafr al-Batin'', is a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province. It is located 430 km north of

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 ...

, 94.2 km from the

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 Iraq–Ku ...

border, and about 74.3 from the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

border. The city lies in the dry valley of the Wadi al-Batin, which is part of the longer valley of the river Wadi al-Rummah (now dry), which leads inland toward

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

and formerly emptied into the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

History

In the 1st century after hijrah or 638 CE, Hafar al-Batin was just a route in the desert that pilgrims passed through traveling to

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 v ...

for

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

. At that time, there was no water available in this land, so the pilgrims travelled from

to Mecca on a long route without water. During the reign of

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

(644 - 656 CE), many pilgrims complained about the lack of water, and Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad responded by digging new wells along the route in the al-Batin valley. The name of Hafar al-Batin ( ar, حفر الباطن, "the hole of al-Batin Valley") is derived from this.. It was part of Kuwait before the Uqair Protocol of 1922 in which it was given to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Housing announced in August 2020 that they would be including Hafr Al Batin in its program to increase residential ownership by its citizens. The ministry will be providing 759 plots in Hafr Al Batin alone.

Population

In 2010, Hafar al-Batin, had more than 35 villages in its suburban area and the total population reached 400,993 to 600,000 *Hafar al-Batin about +300,642 *Qaisumah about +22,538 *Al-Theebiyah about +14,442 *Ar Raqa'i +5,665 *As Su'ayerah about +3,607 *As Sufayri about +2,481 *Al-Qalt - Ibn Tuwalah about +1,128 *Samoudah about +914 *As Sadawi about +822 *Um Qulaib about +612 *An Nazim about +585 *Dhabhah about +267 *Um Ashar about +73 *Al-Metiahah Al-Janobiyah about +61 *Al-Hamatiyat about +17

Transportation

Airport

For full international service, the city is served by

King Fahd International Airport King Fahd International Airport ( ar, مطار الملك فهد الدولي; KFIA) , also known as Dammam International Airport or simply Dammam Airport or King Fahd Airport, is the international airport serving Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airp ...

with driving distance of 450 km. Nonetheless, Hafar al-Batin has two airports: One with limited domestic flights (

Qaisumah Qaisumah or Al Qaysumah ( ar, القيصومة) is a village belonging to the city of Hafar al-Batin, in Eastern Province (also known as Ash Sharqiyah), Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a countr ...

) airport about 20 km in the southeast, and one for military use only (

King Khaled Military City Airport King Khaled Military City Airport ( ar, مطار مدينة الملك خالد العسكرية, ) is an airport in King Khalid Military City, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is located southwest of Hafar al-Batin. There are a limited nu ...

) about 70 km in the southwest.

Roads

All the downtown roads of Hafar al-Batin are paved. It is connected with an international network of roads, connecting

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 Ara ...

with

in the East and connecting the North with the Eastern Province.

Districts

*Al-Aziziah A *Al-Aziziah B *Al-Aziziah69 *Al-Khalediyah *Al-Rabwah *Al-Muhammadiyah *Al-Baladiyah *Al-Rawdhah *Al-Nayefiyah *Al-Sulaimaniyah *Al-Faisaliyah *Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari

Climate

The weather in Hafar al-Batin ranges from in

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

nights to during

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

days. The climate in general is hot and dry, and it rains only during winter months. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

hot desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...

(BWh).

Gallery

File:Hafar_Al-Batin_in_Spring_001.JPG File:Hafar_Al-Batin_in_Spring_002.JPG File:Hafar_Al-Batin_in_Summer_002.jpg File:Hafar_Al-Batin_in_Summer_004.jpg File:Hafar_Al-Batin_in_Winter_001.jpg File:Hafar_Al-Batin_Truffles_001.jpg File:Hafar_Al-Batin_Truffles_002.jpg

Notes

References

Central Department of Statistics and Informations

Otaishan assigned governor of Hafr albatin 2011

External links

Dammam Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...

Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia The Eastern Province ( ar, المنطقة الشرقية '), also known as the Eastern Region, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh Province and th ...

* al-Batin Club {{Authority control Populated places in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Geography of Saudi Arabia