Arar (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: عرعر) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

in northern

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 ...

. It serves as the capital of the

Northern Borders Province The Northern Borders Province, also known as the Northern Borders Region ( ' is a province in Saudi Arabia, situated in the northern region, bordering Iraq to the north and northwest, and Jordan to the west. History Historically, the province ...

. The city is located near the border with

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. As of the 2022 census, it has a population of 202,719.

History

The city of Arar was founded in 1951 following the construction of the

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

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...

. Initially, Arar served as an oil pumping station, equipped with a health center and worker housing. The early workforce primarily consisted of individuals from Al-Ahsa, Ha'il, Yanbu, and Al Wajh. In 1954, a summit was held in Arar between King Saud of Saudi Arabia and King Hussein of Jordan during their respective reigns. In 1968, the remains of an ancient city were discovered approximately 30 km from Arar. The site yielded numerous finely crafted sculptures and statues of aquatic creatures such as turtles and fish. Additionally, around 200 inscriptions in the

Safaitic Safaitic ( ''Al-Ṣafāʾiyyah'') is a variety of the South Semitic scripts used by the Arabs in southern Syria and northern Jordan in the Harrat al-Sham, Ḥarrah region, to carve rock inscriptions in various dialects of Old Arabic and Ancient N ...

and

Thamudic Thamudic, named for the Thamud tribe, is a group of Epigraphy, epigraphic scripts known from large numbers of inscriptions in Ancient North Arabian (ANA) alphabets, which have not yet been properly studied. These texts are found over a huge area f ...

scripts were found. Iraqi Airways Flight 163 crashed near the Arar Domestic Airport on 25 December 1986. The plane was flying from Baghdad, Iraq to Amman, Jordan. In 1990 the Arar border crossing with

. was officially closed following the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, except during the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

season. It was partially reopened in 2017 for limited travel and religious purposes, and later fully reopened on November 18, 2020 The

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

had planned to attack the city as part of their 2014 insurgency. On 5 January 2015, two Saudi border guards were killed in a suicide attack by the Islamic State at the Arar Border Crossing. However, thereafter ISIS was diminished militarily by other events elsewhere and could not pursue further attacks in the city. In 2019, King Salman and Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

visited the city.

Geography

Arar is located in the northernmost part of

, approximately 1,100 kilometers northwest of

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 about 60 kilometers from the

i border. It serves as the capital of the

(Al-Ḥudūd Aš-Šamāliyya). Arar lies within a vast rocky limestone plain characterized by arid desert landscapes. The city's elevation is approximately 536 meters (1,759 feet) above sea level. The city is situated along Wadi Arar, a major

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in the central part of the

of Saudi Arabia. The wadi originates about 125 kilometers southwest of Arar, flowing in a southwest-to-northeast direction. It passes through Arar and merges with several other wadis and shaʻibs (dry tributaries) before crossing the border into Iraq. Historically, Wadi Arar supported rich vegetation and native wildlife, and in recent years, environmental restoration projects have been initiated to combat desertification and restore biodiversity.

Climate

According to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system, Arar has a

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 ...

(BWh). Winds in the region generally blow from the east or west, and rarely from the south. Over recent decades, rainfall levels have gradually declined. Although the city is located in a desert region, snowfall is not uncommon and typically occurs every two to three years.

Etymology

The name Arar (

: عرعر) is derived from the name of a nearby valley called '' Wadi Arar''. The term "Arar" is linked to the Arabic verb ''ʿarara'', which means "to cut" or "to tear the earth," reflecting the valley’s distinctive erosive landscape. While the word "Arar" is also the Arabic name for the Juniperus procera tree (''ʿarʿar''), which is native to the southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia, the juniper tree itself does not naturally grow in the northern region where the city is located. The association with the juniper tree is primarily linguistic and historical rather than botanical. Historical Arabic literature, including poetry by

Imru' al-Qais Imruʾ al-Qais Junduh bin Hujr al-Kindi () was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet from Najd in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, and the last King of Kinda. He is sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry. His qaṣīda, or long poe ...

and writings by geographers such as

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

and Al-Hijri, mention ''Wadi Arar'', indicating that the name has long been linked to the region well before the establishment of the modern city.

Sports

Arar is home to Prince Abdullah bin Musaad Sports City, a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

that opened in 1981. The stadium is primarily used for football matches and serves as the home ground of Arar FC, the city's main football club. It has a seating capacity of 6,000 spectators.

Notable people

* Bander Faleh – professional football player. * Ibn al-Khattab – Islamist militant and former commander of the Chechen Mujahideen during the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

References

{{Saudi cities 1951 establishments in Saudi Arabia Populated places established in 1951 Populated places in Northern Borders Province Provincial capitals of Saudi Arabia Cities in Saudi Arabia