Khobar () 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 the Eastern Province of the

Kingdom of 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 ...

, situated on the coast of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. With a population of 409,549 in the city core and 658,550 in the governorate, as of 2022, Khobar forms part of the Dammam metropolitan area along with

Dammam Dammam (Arabic: الدمام ad-Dammām) is a city and governorate, and the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 1,386,166 as of 2022, making it the country's fifth- ...

and

Dhahran Dhahran (, ) is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, Saudi ...

, making up the residential core of

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 ...

region. The city was founded alongside

by the

Dawasir The Dawasir (Arabic: الدواسر) (singular: Al Dosari, Arabic: الدوسري) are an Arab tribe in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and other Gulf states. Their main base is in southern Najd, specifically in Wadi Al-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia. The ...

, who moved there in 1923 fearing

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

persecution with the permission of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Khobar experienced rapid growth during and after the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia as it served as the port for the oil exports of

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 ...

in the company's early days. Traditionally, Khobar has also been a city of shopkeepers and merchants, and today has several shopping malls in and around it. The city is the newest in the Dammam metropolitan area, facing the Persian Gulf with its 16-km long Corniche Road, which runs parallel to the city's eastern coast. Khobar is also considered a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

as its southern suburbs of the city face the

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Mo ...

and host several

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es and beach

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

s. By night, the quiet city turns into a bustling one, with some of the largest malls in the kingdom, such as the ''Mall of Dhahran'' and the ''al-Rashid Mall''. The city is also home to the historic ''Suwaiket Street'', officially known as Prince Bandar ibn Abdulaziz Street, which is home to some of the oldest markets in the city. The same could also be said about King Khalid Street and Prince Mohammed Street. The Khobar governorate is further divided into several municipalities, with Khobar as their capital. 'Issam ibn Abdullatif al-Mulla has been serving as the mayor of the governorate since the

Islamic year The Hijri year () or era () is the era used in the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins its count from the Islamic New Year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina) in 622 CE. This event, known as the Hijr ...

1428 AH (2007 CE).

History

The city shares a similar history with

. In the early 1930s, Khobar was mainly a fishing hamlet inhabited by members of the

tribe, who moved there in 1923, fearing

persecution with the permission of King Abdulaziz. The tribe settled in Khobar for its proximity to

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

as they had hoped to return to their homeland. The Khobar Governorate was incorporated in 1942 and with the discovery of oil in nearby areas, a port was built in the southern parts of the modern city to facilitate the export of petroleum to Bahrain. The Streets of Al-Khobar 1951

The city quickly transformed into a residential hub and a commercial and industrial port. It soon lost these privileges as commercial operations were transferred to the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and the petroleum exports were transferred to

Ras Tanura Ras Tanura (, presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city and semi-governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Per ...

. As a result, Khobar retained its status as the residential core of the area, but over time, its streets slowly became densely packed with markets. Its northern waterfront along the

has been transformed into a

corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising up on one side of the roadway and falling away on the other. The English language has adopted the word from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", itself derive ...

, with beaches and resorts to the south on

. While most of Khobar's districts are built upon the grid system, unlike

, most of the buildings in the city's main districts are a mix of commercial and residential complexes, with

masjids A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

of varied designs and colours adorning its many streets. Islamist militants carried out attacks in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Geography

Climate

Khobar has a

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''), like the majority of the Saudi Arabian desert under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

; with very hot, dry summers and mild to warm, dry winters. Light rain with frequent heavy spells and

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

s is common during winters and spring; with small episodes of

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

taking place during the winters. Much like Dammam, Khobar also experiences the

urban heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...

effect. The average annual temperature is during the day and at night. January is the coldest month with temperatures ranging from during the day to at night. In the warmest month, June, the typical temperature ranges from during the day to about at night. Generally, summer lasts about five months, from May to September. Two months, April and October, are transitional, but the transition between seasons is rather quick. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months.

Transportation

Air

Khobar is served by the largest airport in the world in terms of surface area:

King Fahd International Airport King Fahd International Airport (; KFIA) , also known as Dammam International Airport or simply Dammam Airport or King Fahd Airport, is the international airport serving Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airport is located 31 kilometres (19 miles) north ...

. The airport plot is about 77,600 hectares (776 square kilometers) in area, which is slightly bigger than the country of

. and it is located northwest of

. From Khobar, the terminal is approximately away.

Road

Khobar is connected with the major highways in the region including the Dhahran–Jubail Expressway, Highway 95 and Highway 605 (also known as the Khobar–Dammam Highway) which links Khobar directly to the

via the heart of Dammam. Khobar hosts the

King Fahd Causeway The King Fahd Causeway () is a 25 km (15.5 mi) long series of bridges and causeways connecting Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and Al Jasra, Bahrain. Its five bridges rest on 536 concrete pylons, with seven embankments in the Gulf's shallowe ...

, which links Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. Khobar is also connected to highways to other Middle-Eastern countries such as

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Sea

While the historic port of Khobar was destroyed, a new port is being constructed south of Khobar's South Corniche and is expected to handle civilian port activities.

Rail

The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

to Khobar is the Dammam railway station, which offers connections via its Dammam–Riyadh line to

Abqaiq Abqaiq () is a city in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area, and north of the Rub' al Khali, Rub' al-Khali, the second lar ...

Hofuf Al-Hofuf ( ', also spelled Hofuf or Hufuf, also known as "Al-Hasa", "Al-Ahsa" or "Al-Hassa") is the major urban city in the Al-Ahsa Governorate in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with a population of 729,606 (as of 2022). It is known f ...

and

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 ...

Human resources

Khobar is a city with multiple lifestyle centers and shopping malls, The city also has the

Corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising up on one side of the roadway and falling away on the other. The English language has adopted the word from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", itself derive ...

which is lined with several international and local chain restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques of all kinds. People from the neighboring GCC states and from the rest of the country visit the city to do activities such as fishing, scuba diving, water sports, and shopping. Dhahran0130

Hospitals

Khobar hosts several government-funded public and private hospitals including the Mouwasat Medical Services Al Khobar, AGH Khobar, Mohammad Dossary Hospital (MDH), King Fahd University Hospital (KFUH), and the Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital.

Education

The first school in Khobar was established in 1942.

Primary and secondary education

Today, Khobar is home to more than 100 public and private educational institutes. Saudi Arabian International School Pakistani Section (SAISPS) is one of the most popular and affordable school in Eastern Region for Pakistani community. Indian schools affiliated with the

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

(CBSE) are the most common forms of international schools with countries such as Pakistan and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

also operating their own schools with their own curricula. Private American and British educational institutes are also present. British International School of Al Khobar is in Khobar. Its attendance dropped around 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- ...

Higher education

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a nonprofit research university in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Founded near the earliest local oil fields as the College of Petroleum & Minerals (1963) in response to the ...

and

Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University (Arabic: جامعة الأمير محمد بن فهد ), abbreviated PMU, is a private non-profit university in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. It was founded by Prince Mohammad bin Fahd, former governor of the Ea ...

are two universities that are located within or close to Khobar. Students may also go to other universities in the city of

Culture

Natural landmarks

Being a residential area, Khobar is famous for its many recreational parks which are decorated with different monuments including Prince Ibn Jalawy Park, Eskan Park.

Arts and architecture

In March 2019, the Sharqiah Season, part of the Saudi Seasons initiative, attracted an estimated 730,000 visitors to multiple cities in the Eastern Province including Khobar under the supervision of the General Authority for Entertainment, with 83 events held across 17 days in 9 cities, celebrating the country's diverse culture, Most notable of the events that took place in Khobar was the Bollywood Festival, designed to attract the city's expatriate majority, featuring

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

. Other artists who participated in the Khobar events of the Sharqiah Season include

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

and

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

The Khobar Corniche is a 16-km stretch of parks and a

running parallel to the eastern coast of the city along the

and hosting some of the cities most famous attractions. It has been divided into two parts, the South Corniche and the North Corniche. The

is a series of

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

s and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s between

and the Kingdom of

. The bridge is about 25 kilometers long from the Saudi toll plaza to the Bahraini toll plaza, and 23.2 meters wide. It was officially opened on 25 November 1986 and is named after King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. The bridge has a maximum capacity of 28,000 cars and 1000 trucks. It has achieved many economic and social benefits for both countries. The Khobar Water Tower is situated on a man-made peninsula in the northern reaches of the Khobar Corniche. The Khobar Water Tower is a 90 meter tall, eight-story tower, with a

revolving restaurant A revolving restaurant or rotating restaurant is a tower restaurant designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving wikt:platform, platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on the rev ...

on the top, overlooking the city. It has been called the Eastern Province's "top tourist attraction". The tower hosts fireworks shows on special occasions such as the arrival of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

. The Prince Sultan Science & Technology Center (also known as SciTech) is a science exhibit located directly in view of the Khobar Water Tower and north of the North Corniche of Khobar. The center has five permanent exhibits, known as Scientific Halls, each dedicated to a different branch of science. The center also hosts an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

cinema which generally only shows movies that are scientific and/or non-fictional. The center is open every day of the week from 9 am till 9 pm, except for Friday, where it opens from 4 pm till 9 pm.

Sports

The most popular sport among the Saudis of Khobar is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. The Al-Qadsiah (

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

) and the

Al-Nahda The Nahda (, meaning 'the Awakening'), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Arab Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arab-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia, during ...

(

Saudi Second Division League The Saudi Second Division League, also known as the Second Division League (SDL), is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), ...

) are two of the teams based in Khobar and

, with their home grounds being at

Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City The Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City is a multi-purpose stadium in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The venue is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home stadium of Al-Qadsiah. History In January 2023, the "Saudi 2027" committee, respon ...

and Prince Mohammad bin Fahd Stadium, respectively. Expatriates of the city have brought with them several sports, such as

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

, and kho kho, among others.

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Port cities and towns in Saudi Arabia Port cities and towns of the Persian Gulf Cities in Saudi Arabia