![Trivandrum International Airport[1] (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is the first airport of Kerala, India, located in Thiruvananthapuram. It is approximately 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre[1] and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110828065202im_/http://cdn8.wn.com/pd/6a/c4/9c253e48e799260ac1995f01221d_grande.jpg "Trivandrum International Airport[1] (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is the first airport of Kerala, India, located in Thiruvananthapuram. It is approximately 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre[1] and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach.")
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| Official name | Ad Dammam |
|---|---|
| Flag link | Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia |
| Flag size | 80px |
| Shield link | Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia |
| Shield size | 40px |
| Pushpin map | Saudi Arabia | |
| Map caption | Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia| |
| Coordinates region | SA |
| Subdivision type | Country |
| Subdivision name | Saudi Arabia |
| Subdivision type1 | Province |
| Subdivision name1 | Eastern Province |
| Leader title | Mayor |
| Leader name | Dhaifallah al-'Utaybi |
| Leader title1 | Provincial Governor |
| Leader name1 | Muhammed Bin Fahd |
| Unit pref | Metric |
| Area total km2 | 800 |
| Area total sq mi | 308.9 |
| Population note | Dammam Municipality estimate |
| Population as of | 2009 |
| Population total | 769,000 |
| Population metro | 2,054,710 |
| Utc offset | +3 |
| Utc offset dst | DST not observed |
| Postal code type | Postal Code |
| Postal code | (5 digits) |
| Area code | 03 |
| Website | www.e-amana.gov.sa |
| Coordinates type | region:SA-04_type:city |
| Coordinates display | inline, title |
Dammam (also Ad Dammām) () is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, (the most oil-rich region in the world). The judicial and administrative bodies of the Eastern Province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. It is an important commercial hub and port in Saudi Arabia.
Dammam, and the rest of the Eastern Province, is served by the King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), the largest airport in the world in terms of land area (approximately 780 km2), about 20 km to the northwest of the city.
Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf. Its import-export traffic in the country is second only to Jeddah's port.
Ad Dammam was first inhabited by a clan of Al Dossary tribe and a number of The Howela families in the early 1923. The families led by Sheikh Ahmed Ibn Abdullah ibn Hassan Al Dossary migrated from Bahrain and were given the chance to choose a land where to settle by HRM the late King Abdulaziz. Ad Dammam was immediately chosen for its vicinity to the island of Bahrain as the clan hoped to head back there soon, but the British rule in the region made it very hard for them to move in every sense (dividi et impera) so they finally realized they had to settle there for good. Years later, Sheikh Ahmed's brother moved south where he and his family settled in Al Khobar, which by that time was already inhabited.
However this tiny episode gave to Khobar a population boost and close ties with the bigger city of Dammam. The origins of the name "Dammam" is controversial, some say that it is onomatopoeic and it was given to the area because of a drum positioned in a nearby keep, when sounded for the alarm it produced a melody called "damdamah", others say that the name was given according to the Arabic word "dawwama" (whirlpool) which indicated a nearby sea site that Dhows usually had to avoid.
When the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, the area was the site of several hamlets that depended on fishing and pearls for their survival. Over a span of a little more than half a century, the area has developed into a thriving hub of industry, commerce and science, and home to more than half a million people. The area's transformation was launched with the discovery of oil in commercial quantities. The Eastern Province sits atop one of the largest oil fields in the world, and it was here in Dhahran in 1936 that Aramco, the predecessor of the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, dug the famous Dammam No. 7 well that proved beyond doubt that the Kingdom possessed a large supply of hydrocarbons.
The discovery of new oil fields to the south, west and north of Dammam in the 1940s and 1950s, which now account for a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves, triggered a building boom. Experts and technicians from throughout the Kingdom and the world gathered to help search for new oil fields and bring them on-stream. New pipelines had to be installed, storage facilities built and jetties constructed to handle tankers. The growing number of experts working in Dhahran required the building of housing, hospitals, schools for their children and other amenities. Before long, Dhahran, the corporate headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, was spilling out into the desert in all directions. The growth of the oil industry in the region had a similar impact on the small fishing village of Dammam and the hamlet of Al-Khobar. Within two decades of the discovery of oil, the mudbrick huts of the fisherman that crowded the shore and which constituted the only permanent dwellings in the area had given way to concrete buildings, modern housing, highways and landscaped streets. Located to the east of Dhahran on the Persian Gulf coast, Al-Khobar briefly became the shipping point for Saudi Arabian crude oil to the refinery in Bahrain. In the years leading up to World War II, Saudi Arabian oil production was very limited, and since the company had no refinery of its own, most of the oil was sent by small tankers to Bahrain. With the construction of a pipeline to Bahrain and the subsequent expansion of the oil industry in the post-war years, the focus of the shipping and oil industries shifted away from Al-Khobar northward to Dammam and Ras Tanura, one of the largest oil storage and shipping centers in the world, located 25 km to the north of Dammam. As a result, Al-Khobar gradually found a new role as the commercial center for the entire region.
In the early 1980s Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Region, was a separate city but so close to Al Khobar and Dhahran that the traveler could pass from one to the other in a few minutes. The discovery of oil in Dhahran and nearby fields and the growing importance of the entire region affected Dammam more than any other city in Saudi Arabia. Within three decades, the sleepy little fishing village had become the capital of the Eastern Province. The simultaneous growth of Dammam, Dhahran and Al-Khobar brought the three jurisdictions into physical contact, the three towns inevitably merged into one, creating a single municipality known as the Dammam Metropolitan Area, referred to simply as the Dammam Area. Each of the three towns which compose the Dammam Area retain their own character and some local administrative functions but, in terms of its place in the Kingdom, the Dammam Area forms a single administrative entity.
The growth of the Saudi Arabian oil industry into the largest in the world brought about the rapid development of the region. As oil production increased, so did the number of people required to run the industry. The growing population needed more housing and services. First-rate hospitals and schools provided further incentives for people considering a move to the area. Service industries sprouted up to support the oil industry and meet the needs of people living in the Dammam Area. As a result, a region which had several hundred inhabitants some sixty years ago now boasts a population of well over 1.5 million, growing at a pace of over five percent a year.
The key to the success of the Dammam Area is that unlike oil towns in other parts of the world, it has developed in all spheres. It is now a modern urban and industrial center which happens to be the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian oil industry. As this sector was growing in the early years, the Saudi Arabian government took steps to facilitate the evolution of the Dammam Area. New roads and highways connected the area to other urban and industrial centers in the Kingdom. A railway line connected Dammam to the agricultural center of Al-Kharj and on to Riyadh. Dhahran International Airport was established between Dhahran and Al-Khobar to connect the region to other parts of the Kingdom and the world. To encourage the growth of non-oil industries, an industrial city was established in the open space between the three cities. Now home to more than 124 factories, the industrial complex is completely engulfed by an urban mass. As a result, a second industrial city was established further away from the Dammam Area along the highway to Riyadh. Located on nearly of land, the Second Industrial City is already home to 120 factories, with 160 others under construction. These plants manufacture a variety of consumer and industrial products that are marketed throughout the Kingdom and are exported to other countries around the world. Handling such exports, as well as imports from abroad, is the domain of shipping agents and commercial companies located in Dammam and Al-Khobar, making the Dammam Area not only a major oil producing and exporting area, but also a commercial and shipping center.
The growth of the region has necessitated the construction of a larger and more modern airport to replace the Dhahran International Airport which is now cramped for space. The new King Fahd International Airport, located to the west of Dammam, serves not only the Dammam Area but also the Jubail Industrial City, some to the north.
As it has in other parts of the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health has established several modern hospitals and a network of health care centers in the Dammam Area. These are supplemented by hospitals and clinics set up by the private sector.
Having been built from the ground up, the Dammam Area was designed from the outset on the principles of modern urban planning. Residential areas are separate from commercial sections, roads are broad and straight and buildings conform to a master plan. One of the main features of the development of the area is land reclamation. Vast stretches of the shallow Gulf waters have been filled, with hotels and office buildings occupying what were once marshes. Water for household, urban and industrial use is provided by desalination plants that supply approximately seven million cubic feet of treated water to the area each day. The availability of water underpins the urban and industrial growth of the Dammam Area, and provisions have been made for expanding existing desalination facilities to meet future growth.
The Dammam-Dhahran-Khobar area is a major hub for shipping, oil, commerce and industry. Tankers take on oil at the terminal in Ras Tanura. The Dammam Area is also famous for the wide variety of recreational facilities it offers residents and visitors alike.
In many ways, the Dammam Area has evolved as the link between Saudi Arabia and the outside world, exporting the Kingdom's products and importing its needs and thriving on the interaction between Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Rainfall in Dammam is generally sparse, and usually occurs in small amounts in December. Though some winters rainfall has been comparatively heavy resulting in water logged roads. There have also been several notable incidents of hail. Heavy thunderstorms are not uncommon in winter. (The thunderstorm of December 2008 being the largest in recent memory, with rain reaching around 3 inches.)
Some unusual events often happen during the year, such as dust storms in summer, coming from the Arabian Peninsula's deserts or from North Africa.
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="font-size:90%;width:100%;border:0px;text-align:center;line-height:120%;" ! colspan= "15" style="background: #6688AA; color: white;" | Dammam Climatological Data |- ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" height="16" | Month ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Jan ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Feb ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Mar ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Apr ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | May ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Jun ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Jul ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Aug ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Sep ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Oct ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Nov ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Dec ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | ! style="background: #DDDDDD;" | Year |- ! height="16;" |Record high °C (°F) | style="background: #EF8F0F; color: black;" | 33 (91) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 35 (95) | style="background: #FA9605; color: black;" | 38 (100) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 40 (104) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 42 (108) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 47 (117) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 42 (108) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 42 (108) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 42 (108) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 41 (106) | style="background: #FF9900; color: black;" | 41 (106) | style="background: #EF8F0F; color: black;" | 34 (93) | | |- ! height="16;" |Average high °C (°F) | style="background: #DF8C1F; color: black;" | 20 (70) | style="background: #DF8C1F; color: black;" | 22 (74) | style="background: #DF8C1F; color: black;" | 26 (80) | style="background: #EF8F0F; color: black;" | 33 (91) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 35 (95) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 36 (97) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 37 (99) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 37 (99) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 36 (97) | style="background: #F5930A; color: black;" | 35 (95) | style="background: #EF8F0F; color: black;" | 33 (91) | style="background: #E78D17; color: black;" | 21 (71) | | style="background: #EF8F0F; color: black;" | 33 (91) |- ! height="16;" |Average low °C (°F) | style="background: #BF883F; color: black;" | 10 (50) | style="background: #BF883F; color: black;" | 12 (53) | style="background: #BF883F; color: black;" | 15 (60) | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 21 (70) | style="background: #CF8A2F; color: black;" | 23 (73) | style="background: #CF8A2F; color: black;" | 24 (75) | style="background: #D78B27; color: black;" | 26 (79) | style="background: #D78B27; color: black;" | 27 (81) | style="background: #D78B27; color: black;" | 25 (77) | style="background: #CF8A2F; color: black;" | 23 (73) | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 22 (72) | style="background: #BF883F; color: black;" | 11 (53) | | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 22 (72) |- ! height="16;" |Record low °C (°F) | style="background: #9F845F; color: black;" | 3 (37) | style="background: #A78557; color: black;" | 11 (52) | style="background: #AF864F; color: black;" | 13 (55) | style="background: #A78557; color: black;" | 12 (54) | style="background: #AF864F; color: black;" | 13 (55) | style="background: #BF883F; color: black;" | 19 (66) | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 21 (70) | style="background: #CF8A2F; color: black;" | 23 (73) | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 21 (70) | style="background: #C78937; color: black;" | 20 (68) | style="background: #B78747; color: black;" | 17 (63) | style="background: #A78557; color: black;" | 10 (50) | | |- ! colspan= "15" | |- ! height="16;" |Rainfall mm (in) | style="background: #8CA3B5; color: black;" | 5 (0.2) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 6 (0.3) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 1 (0.1) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 1 (0.1) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 5 (0.5) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 0 (0) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 0 (0) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 0 (0) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 0 (0) | style="background: #94A4B5; color: black;" | 0 (0) | style="background: #84A1B5; color: black;" | 25 (1.0) | style="background: #80A0B5; color: black;" | 31 (1.2) | | style="background: #8CA3B5; color: black;" | 67 (2.6) |}
Two future railway projects connecting Dammam with Jeddah via Riyadh and Mecca in the western region and connecting Dammam with Jubail have been proposed.
Like other Saudi cities, The Nejdi Kabsa is popular among the people of Dammam, often made with chicken instead of lamb meat. The Yemeni Mandi is also popular as a lunch meal. Hejazi cuisine is popular as well and dishes like Mabshoor, Mitabbak, Foul, Areika, Hareisa, Kabab Meiroo, Shorabah Hareira (Hareira soup), Migalgal, Madhbi (chicken grilled on stone) Madfun (literally meaning buried), Magloobah, Kibdah, Manzalah (usually eaten at Eid ul-Fitr), Ma'asoob, Magliya (Hijazi version of Falafel), Saleeig (Hijazi dish made of milk rice), Hummus, Biryani, Ruz Kabli, Ruz Bukhari, Saiyadyia, can be acquired in many traditional restaurants around the city.
Grilled meat has a good market in Dammam such as Shawarma, Kofta and Kebab. During Ramadan Sambousak and Ful are the most popular meals during Dusk. These meals are almost found in Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish restaurants.
International food is also popular in the city. American chains such as Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's Pizza and KFC, among others are widely distributed in Dammam, as are more upscale chains like Chili's, Applebee's and TGI Friday's. Due to the large number of South Asian immigrants, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Japanese, and other Eastern/Asian food are also popular. European restaurants, such as Italian and French, are also found throughout the city.
There are also local fast food chains such as Abu Nawas (serving mainly broasted chicken), Fillfilah and several others.
There are many spots where diving is possible along the Arabian Sea coastline, but few are attractive. South of Khobar at Half-Moon Bay is a site where a diver group has placed old trucks and cars in the water near shore, attempting to create an artificial reef. The spot is about 5 kilometers south of the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Amusement Park in an open coast area just past a public bathroom, and a private marina (shown above left). Pull off the road and park next to the covered picnic structures (shown above right) that have a raised concrete floor. A large tractor tire in the inter-tidal shallow water area marks the spot to begin the dive. This location sports various types of fish and many small shells. There is little if any coral growth here, and the vehicles seem to be covered in barnacles, but it remains an interesting dive. You can arrange diving here through Sharky's in Khobar or Durrah Dive Center in Jubail. There is a group of divers who meet here early on Friday mornings to dive
Besides these, almost every mall in Dammam has a section dedicated to rides and amusements for children. Al Shatea Mall, for example, features an indoor artificial ice skating rink and an amusement park.
Many other malls, complexes and hypermarkets are under construction in the city.
Category:Geography of Saudi Arabia Category:Populated coastal places in Saudi Arabia Category:Port cities and towns in Saudi Arabia Category:Port cities and towns of the Persian Gulf Category:Populated places in Saudi Arabia Category:Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Category:Saudi Arabia articles needing attention
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![Trivandrum International Airport[1] (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is the first airport of Kerala, India, located in Thiruvananthapuram. It is approximately 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre[1] and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110828065202im_/http://cdn7.wn.com/pd/6a/c4/9c253e48e799260ac1995f01221d_thumb.jpg "Trivandrum International Airport[1] (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is the first airport of Kerala, India, located in Thiruvananthapuram. It is approximately 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre[1] and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach.")
