Hofuf
Al Hofuf
ٱلْهُفُوف | |
|---|---|
| Sahood Fort in Hofuf Sahood Fort in Hofuf | |
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| Country | File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia |
| Province | Eastern |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Saud bin Talal |
| • Provincial governor | Saud bin Nayef Al Saud |
| Elevation | 154 m (505 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 729,606 |
| [1] | |
| Time zone | UTC+3 |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 |
| Postal Code | (5 digits) |
| Area code | +966-13 |
| Website | www.Hofuf.gov.sa[permanent dead link] |
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Al-Hofuf (Arabic: ٱلْهُفُوف al-Hufūf, also spelled Hofuf or Hufuf, also known as "Al-Hasa", "Al-Ahsa" or "Al-Hassa")[2] 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 for being one of the largest date producing areas in the world, and for its old markets and palaces.
Overview
[edit | edit source]The city proper has a population of 150,000 and is part of a larger populated oasis area of towns and villages, with a total population of around 600,000. It is located inland from the Persian Gulf, 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.
Legend places Hofuf 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 South Arabia.[citation needed] German explorer Hermann Burchardt photographed the city in 1904.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]Hofuf was the headquarters of the Ottoman administration since 1871 when it was captured by the Ottoman Empire. It remained under Ottoman control until 1913, when it was captured by members of the Wahhabi movement, under Ibn Saud. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded and Hofuf has been among the kingdom's cities since.[4]
Economy
[edit | edit source]Historically, Hofuf made textiles out of wool, silk, and cotton. The town was also renowned for its fruit of the date palm, the Arabs considering the khalasi variety of dates, locally grown in Hofuf, and also the fardh variety of Oman, among the best.[5] As of 1920, the city was known for making coffee pots from silver and brass.[6]
Climate
[edit | edit source]Al Hofuf has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, very hot summers and mild, short winters.
| Climate data for Al Ahsa (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.7 (90.9) |
37.8 (100.0) |
41.8 (107.2) |
45.4 (113.7) |
49.0 (120.2) |
50.6 (123.1) |
51.3 (124.3) |
50.8 (123.4) |
48.9 (120.0) |
46.0 (114.8) |
38.1 (100.6) |
33.0 (91.4) |
51.3 (124.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
29.6 (85.3) |
35.7 (96.3) |
41.8 (107.2) |
45.0 (113.0) |
46.1 (115.0) |
45.9 (114.6) |
42.8 (109.0) |
37.7 (99.9) |
29.4 (84.9) |
23.8 (74.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.0 (59.0) |
17.4 (63.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
27.5 (81.5) |
33.4 (92.1) |
36.6 (97.9) |
37.9 (100.2) |
37.3 (99.1) |
34.0 (93.2) |
29.1 (84.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
16.7 (62.1) |
27.4 (81.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.0 (48.2) |
10.9 (51.6) |
14.7 (58.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
25.2 (77.4) |
28.1 (82.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
29.2 (84.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
21.2 (70.2) |
15.5 (59.9) |
10.8 (51.4) |
20.0 (68.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) |
1.0 (33.8) |
0.7 (33.3) |
7.3 (45.1) |
17.0 (62.6) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.8 (67.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
17.3 (63.1) |
13.0 (55.4) |
5.8 (42.4) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 13.1 (0.52) |
11.4 (0.45) |
14.4 (0.57) |
12.5 (0.49) |
3.1 (0.12) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.7 (0.03) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.3 (0.05) |
13.6 (0.54) |
18.7 (0.74) |
88.8 (3.50) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 12 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 55 | 49 | 44 | 38 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 30 | 33 | 39 | 47 | 56 | 39 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization,[7] Meteomanz (extremes since 2021)[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Jeddah Regional Climate Center[9] | |||||||||||||
Education
[edit | edit source]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.
Transportation
[edit | edit source]Airport
[edit | edit source]The city is mainly served by King Fahd International Airport which is 160 km away in Dammam. Hofuf is also home to a small airport of its own, Al-Ahsa International Airport, which mainly offers domestic flights and flights to Dubai. During Operation Desert Shield and the Gulf War in 1991, Al-Ahsa Airport also served as an air base for the French Air Force.
Railway
[edit | edit source]The city has a railway station connecting the city with the capital Riyadh to the west and Dammam to the north. All railways in Saudi Arabia are operated by Saudi Arabia Railways.
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Preceding station File:Saudi Arabia Railways Logo.svg Saudi Arabia Railways Following station Abqaiq towards DammamDammam–Riyadh Riyadh Terminus
Notable people
[edit | edit source]- Samira Islam, pharmacologist and scholar[10]
References
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- ^ Today, photos of Hofuf made by the photographer are held in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin; Hofuf (click on photo to enlarge); Hofuf in 1904.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Western Arabia and the Red Sea, Naval Intelligence Division, London 2005, p. 488 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Hofuf on www.The-Saudi.net
- Jabal Qarah Archived September 13, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes
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