Hofuf
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| Hofuf | |
|---|---|
  Hofuf
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| Coordinates: 25°23′N 49°35′E / 25.383°N 49.583°E | |
| Country |  Saudi Arabia |
| Province | Hofuf |
| Established | |
| Joined Saudi Arabia 1913 | |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Bin Jalawi |
| - Provincial Governor | Muhammed Bin Fahd |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 400,000 |
| Hofuf Municipality estimate | |
| Postal Code | (5 digits) |
| Area code(s) | +966-3 |
| Website | [3] |
Al-Hofuf also Hofuf or Al-Hufuf (Arabic: الهفوف) is the major urban center in the huge Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The city proper has a population of 287,841 (2004 census} and is part of a larger populated oasis area of towns and villages of around 600,000. It is located inland, southwest of Abqaiq and the Dhahran-Dammam-Al-Khobar metropolitan area on the road south to Haradh. It is the closest city to the famous Ghawar oil field, one of the world's largest conventional (land-based) fields.
Hofuf is one of the major cultural centers in Saudi Arabia. A lot of well known families live there. The faculties of agriculture, veterinary medicine and animal resources for King Faisal University are located in the city (the others being in Dammam). The Hofuf campus also has facilities where Saudi women can study medicine, dentistry and home economics.
Legend places this as the burial place of Laila and Majnoon, the star-crossed pair of the most popular love story in the Arab and Muslim world. The Queen of Sheba is also fabled to have visited this city from her kingdom in Yemen.
[edit] Ethnography
At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Hofuf proper was estimated at 25,000, of whom 75% were said to be Sunnis, the rest being Shi'ites of the Twelver sect.[1] The city remains mixed between Sunnis and Shi'ites today, and has historically been an important center for the Maliki rite of Sunni Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.[2] The surrounding oasis villages are also an important center of Shi'ite Islam in the country.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Airport
Although the city has two airports, it is served by King Fahd International Airport which is 130km away. The local airports; the old one is abandoned, and the new is being used by Saudi Aramco along with limited service from Saudi Arabian Airlines offering only two weekly flights to Jeddah.
[edit] Railway
The town has a railway junction where the direct line from the Persian Gulf to the capital splits from the indirect line.
[edit] See also
- an aerial map showing the location of Al-Hofuf in relation to other towns in the oasis
- Al-Ahsa - or Al-Hasa - Oasis
[edit] External links
- Hofuf on www.The-Saudi.net
[edit] References
- ^ G.G. Lorimer, Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ʻOman, and Central Arabia, Volume 1, Part 2 (1908 - Republished 1970), p. 746 [1]
- ^ Origin and Development of Islamic Law, edited by Majid Khadduri, Herbert J. Liebesny. Originally published: Washington, Middle East Institute (1955). Republished: Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange Ltd. (2008). p. 69[2]
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Coordinates: 25°23′N 49°35′E / 25.383°N 49.583°E
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