Official name | Qatif |
---|---|
Native name | القطيف |
Pushpin map | Saudi Arabia |
Pushpin mapsize | 300 |
Coordinates display | inline,title |
Coordinates region | SA |
Subdivision type | Country |
Subdivision name | |
Subdivision type1 | Province |
Subdivision name1 | Eastern Province (Ash Sharqiyah) |
Population as of | 2004 |
population total | 474573 |
Timezone | +3 GMT |
Latitude | 26.58° N |
Longitude | 50.08° E |
Footnotes | }} |
Qatif is one of the eldest settlements in the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula, its history back to 3500 BC. Qatifi people used to work as merchants, farmers, and fishers. How ever, in recent days, after the discovery of oil and establishment of Jubail Industrial City, most of Qatifi people are working in Oil, Industry, Public services, education and healthcare sectors.
Qatif functioned for centuries as the main town and port in this region of the Persian Gulf. In fact, it was called Cateus by the Greeks, and some early European maps even labeled the entire present-day Persian Gulf as the "Sea of El Catif". Qatif oasis and the nearby island of Tarout are some of the most interesting tourist and archeological sites in the Kingdom, which reflects the importance of the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula in the past.
Until 1521 and Ottoman rule, Qatif belonged to the historical region known as the Province of Bahrain, along with Al-Hasa and the present-day Bahrain islands.
In 899 the Qarmatians conquered the region with the oases of Qatif and Al-Hasa. They declared themselves independent and reigned from al-Mu'miniya near modern Hofuf until 1071. The Buyids of western Persia raided Qatif in 988. From 1071 until 1253 the Uyunids ruled the region first from the city of "al-Hasa" (predecessor to modern Hofuf) and later from Qatif. In 1253 the Usfurids rose from Al-Hasa and ruled during the struggle of Qays with the Hormuz for control of the coast. Probably at about this time, Qatif became the main port for the mainland surpassing 'Uqair in importance for the trade and thus became the capital of the Usfurids. Ibn Battuta, visited Qatif in 1331 and found it a large and prosperous city inhabited by Arab tribes whom he described as "extremist Shi`is" (rafidiyya Ghulat). Power shifted in 1440 to the Jabrids of the Al-Hasa oasis. In 1515 the Portuguese conquered Hormuz and sacked Qatif in 1520, killing the Jabrid ruler Muqrin ibn Zamil. The Portuguese invaded the island of Bahrain and stayed there for the next eighty years. The ruler of Basra extended his power to Qatif in 1524 but ultimately in 1549 the Ottomans took over the whole region, building forts at Qatif and 'Uqair, though they could not expel the Portuguese from the island of Bahrain. In 1680 the Al Humayd of the Banu Khalid took the by now weak garrison of the Ottomans in Hofuf. In a battle at Ghuraymil, south of Qatif, the Banu Khalid lost their rule to the new "First Saudi State" in 1790. In 1818 the Saudi State was destroyed in the Ottoman-Saudi War and the commander of the mostly Egyptian troops, Ibrahim Pasha, took control of Hofuf, only to evacuate it the next year and return to the west coast. The Humayd regained control until the Banu Khalid were finally defeated in 1830 by the "Second Saudi State" who now took control of the whole region. The Ottomans moved in again in 1871 not to be expelled until 1913 when Ibn Saud finally established the Saudi rule in the Eastern Province.
As of 2009, the total population of Qatif was 474,573 . Qatif has one of the lowest numbers of non-Saudi residents in the kingdom (only 59,808) .
Qatifi people are likely to work in the oil industry (Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes) Some of the employees have moved to Dhahran where these companies are located, but the majority still reside in Qatif and go to Dhahran by cars or Saudi Aramco buses in about 30 minutes journey. others work in Aramco refineries in Ras Tanura. and Others work in the petrochemical companies in Jubail (80km from Qatif), some go everyday and some have moved to Jubail. SABIC is the larget employer in Qatif, However, some Qatifi are also working in other oil, petrochemical, and engineering companies located in Dhahran, Khobar, Dammam, Ras Tanura, or Jubail. Some of Qatifi people work in public services, healthcare and education.
Saudi Aramco (the Saudi national oil company) completed the development of Qatif Project in October 2004, consisting facilities to produce, process and transport 500,000 bpd of blended Arabian Light crude oil from the Qatif field and 300,000 bpd of Arabian Medium crude oil from the offshore Abu Sa'fah field (The total is 800,000 bdp), plus 370 million standard cubic feet per day of associated gas.
It is also close to the causeway that connects the kingdom with the nation of Bahrain (about 35 miles). Air service is provided at the nearby King Fahd International Airport.
Category:Populated places in Saudi Arabia Category:Port cities and towns in Saudi Arabia Category:Port cities and towns of the Persian Gulf Category:Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Category:Former Portuguese colonies Category:Oases of Saudi Arabia
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