Dammam
Dammam metropolitan area
The Dammam metropolitan area, or Greater Dammam, is the largest metropolitan area in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It consists of "The Triplet Cities" of Dammam, Khobar, Dhahran and their vicinities. It has an estimated population of 1.75 million (2015). It is known for the arts, pearl culturing, entertainment and popular music and sports legacies. The area includes a variety of natural landscapes, parks, and beaches with a recreational coastline to the Persian Gulf. The Greater Dammam area is also known for being one of the cornerstones of the oil industry with the world's largest oil company and most valuable company, Saudi Aramco, being based in Dhahran, as a result of the first oil well being dug in the area.
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Dammam (Arabic: الدمّام ad-Dammām) is the sixth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and Khamis Mushait. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province, in addition to the administrative offices of other minor governmental departments functioning within the province, are located in the city. The word itself is generally used to refer to the city, but may also refer to its eponymous governorate.
Dammam is known for being a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Dammam constitutes the core of the Dammam metropolitan area, also known as the Greater Dammam area, which comprises the 'Triplet Cities' of Dammam, Dhahran and Khobar. The area has an estimated population of 4,140,000 as of 2012 and is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties. The city is growing at an exceptionally fast rate of 12% a year – the fastest in Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and the Arab world. As of 2016, Greater Dammam is the fourth largest metropolitan area by both area and population in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The area that eventually became Dammam was settled by the Dawasir tribe around 1923, with permission of King Ibn Saud. The area was originally a fishing hamlet and was developed into its current state within half a century soon after the discovery of oil in the region, both as a port city and an administrative center. With the unification of Saudi Arabia, Dammam was made the capital of the newly formed Eastern Province.
The Dammam metropolitan area and the rest of the Eastern Province are served by the King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), the largest airport in the world in terms of land area (approximately 780 km2 [300 sq mi]), about 31 km (19 mi) northwest of the city. Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf, its import-export traffic second only to the historic Jeddah Islamic Port in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Dammam is also a member-city in the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP).
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Khobar (Arabic: ٱلْخُبَر, romanized: al-Khobar) is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 457,748 as of 2017, Khobar is part of the 'Triplet Cities' area, or Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, forming the residential core of the region.
The city was founded alongside Dammam by the Dawasir who moved there in 1923 fearing British 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 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 as its southern suburbs of the city face the Half Moon Bay and host several beaches and beach resorts. 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 the Prince Bandar ibn Abdulaziz Street, which is home to some of the oldest markets in the city.
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 from the Islamic year 1428 AH.
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Dhahran (Arabic الظهران Al-Thahran) is a city located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cities of Dammam and Khobar, Dhahran forms part of the Dammam Metropolitan Area, which is commonly known as greater Dammam and has an estimated population of 4,140,000 as of 2012.
Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935, Standard Oil drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now owned by the Saudi government and known as Saudi Aramco. Dhahran has been the home of Saudi Aramco's headquarters for 80 years and is its first and largest gated compound with more than 50,000 residents. Employees and dependents of Aramco, known as Aramcons, have a tendency to use Dhahran to solely refer to the Aramco camp while using Khobar and/or Dammam to refer to the area outside the camp.
Dhahran is unusual in that a large portion of it is made up of gated areas including Saudi Aramco's headquarters and residential camp, the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (built by Aramco) and the King Abdulaziz Air Base. Dhahran is also home to the Mall of Dhahran, one of the biggest shopping complexes in the Eastern Province.
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