Khobar

Al-Khobar
Skyline of Al-Khobar
Coordinates: 26°17′N 50°12′E
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Eastern Province
Established	1940s
Government
• Mayor	Issam Al-Mulla
• Provincial Governor	Muhammed Bin Fahd
Population (2012)
• City	941,358
• Urban	4,140,000
• Metro	5,100,000
	Dammam Municipality estimate
Postal Code	(31952)
Area code(s)	+966-3
Website	e-amana.gov.sa

Al Khobar (also spelled Khobar or al-Khubar ; Arabic: الخبر‎) is a large city located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It has a population of 941,358 as of 2012. Al Khobar forms part of the Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, which together have an estimated combined population of over 4,100,000. Greater Dammam also includes many other smaller cities such as: Al Qatif, Safwa, and Ras Tanura. The complete metropolitan area has an estimated population of 5,100,000; making it the 5th largest populated area in the Kindom. All three urban centers are served by the King Fahd International Airport, the distance to the airport terminal from Khobar is about 50 km (30 Miles). Together, Al Khobar, Dhahran and Dammam are often known as "The Triplet Cities", Dammam, Dhahran and Al Khobar are about 20 kilometers away from each other and essentially form one mega city.

Many of Al Khobar's residents work for Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, Al Khobar also hosts and is preferred by many of the most important regional and international companies as its base. Traditionally, Khobar has also been a city of shopkeepers and merchants, and the city today has many modern malls and boulevards with shops run by international franchises and restaurants.

Al Khobar today is a bustling economic centre with many skyscrapers built and others under construction. The nearby city of Dammam has the second-largest port in Saudi Arabia and embodies the administrative departments of the Eastern region.

History

In earlier days, Khobar was a small port on the Gulf, a fishing village inhabited mainly by Al Dossary tribe members. With the discovery of oil in the 1930s, it was transformed into a major commercial and shopping center and an industrial port. In modern times, the larger port of Dammam has taken over most commercial shipping activities for the Eastern Province, and oil is exported via the dedicated Saudi Aramco port of Ras Tanura. As a result, Khobar has transformed and extended its water front along the Gulf into a scenic Beirut-like corniche with parks, eateries, and family beaches, thus making it one of the most iconic features of the city. Moreover, Khobar's location along the Persian Gulf has made it increasingly popular amongst people traveling from cities within the Kingdom (such as the capital Riyadh which lies approximately 400 km west).

The 16-mile (26 km) King Fahd Causeway connects Khobar to the island nation of Bahrain, previously reachable only by air or sea.

The city is divided into four areas: Khobar, Subekha, Thuqba and Aqrabia. While Khobar, Subekha and Thuqba are mainly commercial areas with not much residential scope, Aqrabia consists of mostly residential complexes, accommodating about 50% of the city's population.

The city used to have a model of the space shuttle Discovery to commemorate the space flight of Sultan Salman Al Saud, the first Saudi in space (on STS-51-G).

The city is also the home of Quran reciter Ahmad Ali Al-Ajmi.

In 1996, the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force housing complex, was bombed by militants, killing 19 US servicemen and one Saudi local.

Transportation

Airport

Khobar is served by King Fahd International Airport northwest of Dammam; the driving distance from the terminal to Khobar city is 55 km (34 mi), but in many cases, people may choose to use the Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain instead because although being in a different country it is in fact closer. Note: the distance from Khobar to Bahrain international airport is 63.5 km.

Infrastructure

Al Khobar is connected with the major highways in the region including Dhahran-Jubail Highway, Dhahran-Dammam Highway as well as Khobar-Dammam Highway, which links Khobar with Dammam directly and links them both to Dammam Airport. Al-Khobar hosts King Fahd Causeway, which links Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

Education

The first school in Khobar was established in 1942. Today, Khobar is home to more than 100 public and private educational institutes. The International Indian School, Dammam (CBSE) is one of the world's largest Indian schools, with more than 17000 students. Countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh also operate their own schools and curriculum. Al Khobar is also home to several Western-oriented schools such as the International Philippine Schools, British and American Schools, which serve a significant number of students from various expatriate communities. Examples include Dhahran Ahliya Schools, AlFaisaliah Islamic School, Saad National School, Jubail Academy International School, KFUPM Schools, Khobar French School, International Programs School, BISAK(British International School Al-Khobar, International Schools Group (which has multiple schools across the country), Al-Andalus International School, and International Philippine School in Al Khobar. Each school provides its own bus services.

Life

Al-Khobar is a vibrant city with multiple lifestyle centers and shopping malls, The city also is famed for the Corniche (Prince Turki St.) which is lined with several international and local chain of restaurants, coffee bars and boutiques of all kinds. Al Khobar has a large number of expatriates who usually come for jobs. The expatriates have their own living units, compounds, that make them have unique community-like areas in the country. Lower-class people who work as labourers live in Al-Thoqba.

Entertainment

Al-Khobar has several malls such as Venecia mall, Fouad center, Al Fanar Mall, Hyper Panda, Alissa Souk, Ramaniah center,Al Goasiabi center, Khobar mall and Al Rashid mall, which is the largest and fanciest in khobar. Al Khobar also benefits from being close to the city of Dhahran, which hosts several malls such as Dhahran Mall, Ikea and Amwaj Center. The Half Moon Bay and Khobar Cornihe are the major tourist attractions in Khobar. People from the neighboring GCC states and Riyadh frequently visit the city to do activities such as fishing, scuba diving and other water sports.

Climate

Khobar has a desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh), with very hot, humid summers and mildly cool dry winters.

Its average annual temperature is 33 °C (91 °F) during the day and 22 °C (72 °F) at night. In the coldest month – January, the temperature typically ranges from 12 to 22 °C (54 to 72 °F) during the day to 3 to 18 °C (37 to 64 °F) at night. In the warmest month, June, the typical temperature ranges from 36 to 50 °C (97 to 122 °F) during the day to about 33 °C (91 °F) at night. Generally – the summer / "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional; sometimes the temperature exceeds 48 °C (118 °F), with an average temperature of 37–50 °C (99–122 °F) during the day and 24–36 °C (75–97 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 11 °C (52 °F) during the day and 5 °C (41 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months.

Al Khobar Climatological Data
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec		Year
Record high °C (°F)	33 (91)	35 (95)	38 (100)	40 (104)	42 (108)	47 (117)	53 (127)	55 (131)	45 (115)	42 (108)	41 (106)	34 (93)		55 (131)
Average high °C (°F)	20 (70)	22 (74)	26 (80)	33 (91)	36 (97)	40 (104)	42 (108)	43 (110)	40 (104)	35 (95)	33 (91)	21 (71)		33 (91)
Average low °C (°F)	10 (50)	12 (53)	15 (60)	21 (70)	23 (73)	24 (75)	26 (79)	27 (81)	25 (77)	23 (73)	22 (72)	11 (53)		22 (72)
Record low °C (°F)	1 (37)	2 (52)	13 (55)	12 (54)	13 (55)	19 (66)	21 (70)	23 (73)	21 (70)	20 (68)	17 (63)	10 (50)		3 (37)
Rainfall mm (in)	5 (0.2)	6 (0.3)	1 (0.1)	1 (0.1)	5 (0.5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	25 (1.0)	31 (1.2)		67 (2.6)

See also

• Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
• Dammam
• Dhahran
• King Fahd Causeway
• Al Rashid Mall