Afif ( ) is a city in central

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, in the

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

region. It is situated approximately halfway between

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. 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 Arabian tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula. Their distribution spans throughout Saudi Arabia, especially in Najd and Hejaz. and the Middle East. The Otaibah are descended ...

(see

Ikhwan The Ikhwān (, ), commonly known as Ikhwān man Aṭāʿa Allah (, 'Brethren of those who obey God'), was a Wahhabism, Wahhabi religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a significant military force of the ruler Ibn ...

). 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

. 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