Qurayyat (also Al Qurayat or Gurayat, ) 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 ...

located in

Al Jawf Province Al-Jawf Province, also known as Al-Jawf Region also spelled Al-Jouf ( Minṭaqat al-Jawf, ), is a province in Saudi Arabia, located in the north of the country, partially bordered by Jordan to the west. It is one of the earliest inhabited regions ...

, 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 ...

, inside the King Salman Royal Natural Reserve. It is from the Jordan–Saudi Arabia border. Qurayyat had a population of 167,080 at the 2022 Census. It is a small city with a very big market. Qurayyat is known for its olives and salt.

Al-Hadithah border crossing

Al-Hadithah border crossing is the largest and most important border crossing in Saudi Arabia. It is located 30 km west of the city of Qurayyat, and is one of the largest land crossings in the Middle East, linking to Jordan and indirectly to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, both for people coming for

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 ...

and

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

as well as for cargo export and import.

Climate

In Qurayyat, there is a desert climate. Most rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BWh. The average annual temperature in Qurayyat is . About of precipitation falls annually.

Livelihood of the population

* Grazing: due to natural pastures along the Wadi Sirhan at all times of the year. * Industry: based on agricultural products such as olive oil - and canning salt and olive extract. * Trade: border area direct land trade. * Agriculture: olive cultivation and some crops suited to the quality of the soil

Hospitals

There are two main albeit small hospitals in Gurayat: Gurayat General Hospital and King Faisal Hospital.

Gurayat General Hospital (GGH)

Gurayat General Hospital is 350-bed secondary referral center with a catchment area of almost 400 km area with referrals from seven district general hospitals, each comprising 50 beds, and many primary health centres. It has almost all branches of surgery, namely, general surgery with minimal access surgical facilities, neurosurgery, urology, paediatric surgery, orthopaedics, ENT, maxillo-facial, ophthalmology. There is a very busy accident & emergency (A & E) department, led by a general surgeon, two specialists and 14 residents, having fully equipped resuscitation room, with 5 beds, triage areas, observation rooms, cubicles, plaster and minor surgery procedure rooms (clean and dirty), Ob ER, pediatric ER. The total number of beds in ER is 27. This hospital receives emergency referrals for general surgery, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, urology and other specialties on daily basis. As the number of population is increased in this area, so is the number of attendants in A & E with last year being just above 100,000. A & E is just next to fully equipped radiology department, having two emergency X-rays for male and female patients, with emergency facilities for two helical CT scans, and MRI, portable US, covered by radiologists on call. A & E is backed up by 20 bed fully equipped ICU, with a resident and specialist on duty round the clock, and PICU, NICU. We have a separate burn unit where major burns are treated.

Airports

The city has a

domestic airport A domestic airport is an airport that handles only flights within the same country. Domestic airports do not have customs and immigration facilities and so cannot handle flights to or from a foreign airport. These airports often have short r ...

(IATA: URY, ICAO: OEGT) about 10 km from the center. It operates by

Saudia Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the ...

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

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. The nearest airport is

Turaif Domestic Airport Turaif Domestic Airport (, ) 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 (Qurayyat). The airport was establis ...

Other transport facilities

Other transport include the main bus facilities There is also a railway station operated by Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), connecting Qurayyat with

Buildings and structures

At 31.585774 N 37.900386 E there is a 468 metres high guyed radio mast. Close to this, at 31.583635 N 37.903883 E, there is a 458 metres high guyed radio mas

Schools

There are many Arabic schools in Gurayat. The only English IGCSE school is in

Sakakah Sakākā, often spelled Sakakah () is a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia which is the capital of Al-Jawf Province. located just to the north of the An Nafud desert. Sakakah had a population of 204,174 at the 2022 census. History Sakakah is an oa ...

.Al Jouf international school
/ref> The nearest university is Al Jouf University.

Tourism

Al Qurayyat's most important tourist destination point is Kaf castle. It is located in the Kaf village next to the Mount Saidi castle from the east, which is a historic mansion built in 1338 AH by Sheikh Nawaf al-Shaalan before area subject of Saudi rule, a warship shape castle built of white sedimentary limestone with architectural style unique to the rocky area, and consists of a number of rooms for residential use and other management and some ammunition stores, with four towers at each corner is a square shape.

Archaeological sites

* Mount Saidi Castle: located to the north-west of Kaf castle.

References

External links

Al Jouf School

SAPTCO

Al Jouf University
{{Authority control Populated places in Al-Jawf Province