This article is about Dhahran, the city. For the Saudi Aramco residential compound, see Dhahran Aramco Camp.

Dhahran الظهران
Dhahran الظهران Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 26°16′N 50°09′E / 26.267°N 50.15°E / 26.267; 50.15Coordinates: 26°16′N 50°09′E / 26.267°N 50.15°E / 26.267; 50.15
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Eastern Province
Government
• Mayor	Bandar Al-Subayi
Area
• City	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
• Land	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
• Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population (2004)
• City	11,300
• Metro	97,446

Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān) is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation) drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now fully owned by the Saudi government as Saudi Aramco.

Geography[link]

Dhahran is a short distance west of downtown Khobar. It is about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Dammam. Both are older Saudi port cities on coast of the Persian Gulf. Looking farther afield, Dhahran is northeast of Abqaiq, and southeast of Qatif and, further north, Ras Tanura, a major oil port. The island of Kingdom of Bahrain is also within easy driving distance to the east (about 20 miles (32 km)), across the King Fahd Causeway, from Khobar.

Geology[link]

The patch of desert on which the city is built is hilly and rocky, and most of the earliest productive oil wells in Saudi Arabia were drilled in the area, such as Dammam Well #7: "Prosperity Well," the first commercially viable oil well in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. This well is still in production 70 years later. This later led to the selection of two barren nearby hills as the place for Aramco to construct its headquarters.[1]

The Dhahran-Dammam area is one of two regions, the other being Jeddah, that were selected as potential sites to build the first Saudi nuclear reactor.[2]

Climate[link]

Dhahran’s climate is characterized by extremely hot, humid summers, and cool winters. Temperatures can rise to more than 50 °C (120 °F) in the summer, coupled with extreme humidity (85-100 per cent), given the city’s proximity to the Persian Gulf. In winter, the temperature rarely falls below 2 °C (35.6 °F) or 3 °C (37.4 °F), being the lowest ever recorded -0.5 °C in January 1964, with rain falling mostly between the months of November and May. The Shamal winds usually blow across the city in the early months of the summer, bringing dust storms that can reduce visibility to a few metres. These winds can last for up to six months.

On July 8, 2003, the dewpoint was 35 °C (95 °F) while the temperature was 42 °C (108 °F), resulting in a heat index of 78 °C (172 °F).

History[link]

Dhahran was settled after 1938, the year oil was discovered in the vicinity.^[2]

During WW II on 19 October 1940 Dhahran was struck by Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) as a part of Bombing of Bahrain, causing little damage. In 1950 Dhahran had a population of about 7,000 people.^[3] During the Gulf War, the city was the scene of the largest loss of life among coalition forces. On February 25, 1991, an Iraqi missile hit a U.S. Army barracks in the city, killing 28 American reservists from Pennsylvania.

Economy[link]

IKEA store in Dhahran

Dhahran has the headquarters of Saudi Aramco.^[4] The company is the largest oil company in the world with the largest oil reserves in the world [3], and it produces about 10 million barrels of oil per day. Most of the oil is exported, since local Saudi needs require about 12 percent of the total production. (See: Saudi Aramco)^{[citation needed]}

Seventy-seven years on, Dhahran is still Saudi Aramco's worldwide headquarters and the center of the company's finance, exploration, engineering, drilling services, medical services, materials supply and other company organisations.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics[link]

The population of Dhahran is mainly Saudi, but also includes many expatriates from Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, as well as countries such as the United States, Canada, European countries, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. There are also many non-Saudi Arab nationals living in Dhahran, such as Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Palestinians, Sudanese, and Syrians. According to a 2004 census the total population of the Dhahran municipality is 97,446.

Many companies that employ relatively large numbers of expatriates have built fenced-in compounds where only expatriates live, however the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran is not one of these. Built originally to allow expatriate oil company employees (mainly Americans) a degree of Western comfort and separation from the restrictions of Saudi and Islamic laws, the community today has shifted somewhat in line with the reduction of western residents into a multi-ethnic mosaic of Saudis, other Arab nationalities (e.g. Egyptian and Jordanian), Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, and a few Americans and British expats. While only employees of Saudi Aramco live on the camp, their nationalities reflect those of the company as a whole. As of 2008, the Saudi Aramco workforce is 85% Saudi, with only 15% expatriates. There are also several neighborhoods, or suburbs just outside the main Saudi Aramco Camp, such as Doha Camp (حي الدوحه) and Dana Camp (حي الدانة), where Saudi Aramco gives home loans to Saudi employees to build their own homes.

Government, law, and security[link]

Dhahran is part of the Eastern Province (Ash-Sharqīyah Province), the largest province in Saudi Arabia. The province is governed by Prince Mohammed bin Fahad bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. Just like the rest of the country, the law of Shari’a, or Islamic law is adhered to. Following the Saudi Arabian municipal elections in 2005, members of the municipal councils were elected.

Dhahran is guarded as it is a high visibility city. The Saudi Special Emergency Forces' Eastern Province headquarters are located in Dhahran near the Saudi Aramco residential camp. There are many security checkpoints throughout the city that have been almost permanently in place since the Riyadh Compound Bombings.

Transport[link]

Road to Dhahran's main gate

As the centre of the nation's oil industry, Dhahran enjoys good transport resources both nationally and internationally, especially after the extensive modernisation of the nations highway infrastructure in the 70's and 80's.

Road[link]

The extensive highway network in the Dhahran, Khobar, Dammam area serves the strategically important national oil industry, led by 'Saudi Aramco', as well as the local population. However, car ownership in the Kingdom has soared which often leaves non-highway roads congested at peak times. An ongoing traffic smoothing project is underway, installing underpasses at major intersections which will help alleviate the congestion.

Airport[link]

Formerly one of Saudi Arabia's three major international airports, Dhahran Airport (DHA), which opened in 1946 as Dhahran Airfield, is now a Royal Saudi Air Force air-base. Today, King Fahad International Airport (DMM), which replaced Dhahran International for commercial and cargo, serves the entire Metropolitan Area of Dhahran, Dammam, and Khobar, the distance to the airport terminal is about 40 km (25 Miles) from Dhahran. Saudi Aramco Aviation has its own buildings and terminal where all Saudi Aramco flights originate.

Railway[link]

Although rail service in Saudi Arabia plays a much more minor role today than 50 years ago, an industrial railroad with a station adjacent to Dhahran still exists, linking it to the capital Riyadh.

Public Transport[link]

Public transport buses are only available in a very limited manner (when off of a Saudi Aramco residential camp), with Taxi services, at reasonable prices and widely available, proving more popular. Large companies such as Saudi Aramco run their own bus transport operations, connecting residential and industrial camps of the company with Dhahran, Dammam and Khobar. Many residential compounds also operate their own bus services which are typically used for transport to places of work or shopping trips by residents.

Communications and Media[link]

Mobile telephone communications are provided mainly by STC, Mobily and Zain, which have launched 3G services to their customers.

STC also provides landlines through its Al-Hatif services, as well as providing internet services through Saudi Data.

There are several Internet Service Providers such as Al-Alamiah, ArabNet, Nesma and others. Both dial-up and DSL services are available.

There are several popular radio stations, such as Radio Sawa, Studio One 91.4 FM, broadcast from Aramco, Bahrain Radio 96.5 FM, and AFRTS.

Satellite television is predominant in the market, with Orbit Showtime being the most popular, as well as the widespread Arabsat and Nilesat satellite channel operators.

Education[link]

Schools in Dhahran come under two sections: public (government-run) and private. Public schools (K-12), open to almost everyone, strictly adhere to teaching the curriculum exactly as provided by the Ministry of Education. Public schools also come under two sections: Aramco Built and government built. The Aramco built schools are usually better in design and last longer due to them being built to higher standards. The Dhahran School and the Dhahran Hills School are the two main schools that are only for the children of employees.They are international schools and are fully accredited. Private schools also teach the ministry’s curriculum, but they have more flexibility often enhancing certain aspects, such as exceeding the ministry’s curriculum when teaching the English language and computer applications. King Fahad University Schools, Dhahran Ahliyyah Schools and Saad National Schools are examples of top private schools in Dhahran.

There are several schools that teach the curriculum of their native countries, such as the Pakistan International School, International Indian School, Dhahran British Grammar School, Dhahran Elementary Middle School, Dhahran High School.

Dhahran is also home to the world renowned King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and the Aramco Training Center (ATC), where many new employees of Saudi Aramco learn useful skills, such as English, Business Mathematics, Physics, and computer skills. University of Dammam and Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University are also located near the city.

Little League World Series[link]

Dhahran, specifically a team drawn from the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp, represented the Middle East-Africa, or "MEA" region (formerly the Trans-Atlantic region), 12 years straight in the running, as of 2011. The city also had 11 teams before that represented them from the first being in 1983 through 1998. Though Dhahran has produced many teams to the Little League World Series, no team has ever won the World Series championship game, nor the international championship game. Aaron Durley is a former Little League baseball player for the team.

Dhahran in popular culture[link]

• In 1998, after the kidnapping and murder of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming college student, the major American news networks would occasionally mention that the student's parents lived in Dhahran and worked for Aramco.
• In Abdelrahman Munif's Cities of Salt novels, the oil-company outpost of Harran is widely believed to be Dhahran's fictional analogue.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dhahran

• Dhahran City
• Aramco expats Official website of Saudi Aramco expatriate life inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Consulate General of the U.S. in Dhahran
• History of Dhahran (1950-51) by Ted A. Morris, Lt. Col., USAF, Retired.
• King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

کریستین امان پور Christiane Amanpour
Amanpour at the 2011 Time 100 gala
Born	(1958-01-12) January 12, 1958 (age 54) London, England
Education	University of Rhode Island
Occupation	ABC Global Affairs Anchor (2010–present) CNN Anchor and Chief International Correspondent (1992–2010, 2011-present)
Years active	1983–present
Notable credit(s)	Amanpour (CNN International) Anchor (2009–2010, 2012–present) This Week (ABC) Anchor (2010–2011) 60 Minutes (CBS) Reporter (1996–2005)
Spouse	James Rubin (1998–present)
Children	Darius Rubin

Christiane Amanpour, CBE (ⁱ/krɪstʃiˈɑːn ɑːmənˈpʊər-/; Persian: کریستین امان‌پور‎; born January 12, 1958) is the Global Affairs Anchor of ABC News. She is the host of CNN International's nightly interview program Amanpour, the network's Chief International Correspondent and runs the website Amanpour.com for the network's digital platform. She is a board member of the International Women's Media Foundation .^[1]

Early years[link]

Raised in Tehran, Amanpour was born in London, England^[2] to Iranian father Mohammad, a Persian airline executive, and British mother, Patricia.^{[3][dead link]}

After completing her primary education in Iran, she was sent by her parents to boarding school in England when she was 11. She attended New Hall School, an all-girls school located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Christiane and her family returned to England not long after the Islamic Revolution began. She has stressed that they were not forced to leave the country, but were actually returning to England when Iraq invaded Iran. The family eventually remained in England, finding it difficult to return to Iran.^[4]

After her graduation from New Hall, Amanpour moved to the United States to study journalism at the University of Rhode Island. During her time there, she worked in the news department at WBRU-FM in Providence, Rhode Island. She also worked for NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, as an electronic graphics designer.^[5] In 1983, Amanpour graduated from the university summa cum laude with a bachelor of journalism degree.^[6]

CNN[link]

In 1983, she was hired by CNN on the foreign desk in Atlanta, Georgia, as an entry-level desk assistant. During her early years as a correspondent, Amanpour was given her first major assignment covering the Iran-Iraq War, which led to her being transferred in 1986 to Eastern Europe to report on the fall of European communism.^[7] In 1989, she was assigned to work in Frankfurt, Germany, where she reported on the democratic revolutions sweeping Eastern Europe at the time. Through this position, she was able to move up in the company and by 1990 served as a correspondent for CNN's New York bureau.

Following Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990, Amanpour's reports of the Persian Gulf War brought her wide notice while also taking the network to a new level of news coverage. Thereafter, she reported from the Bosnian war and other conflict zones. Because of her emotional delivery from Sarajevo during the Siege of Sarajevo, viewers and critics questioned her professional objectivity, claiming that many of her reports were unjustified and favoured the Bosnian Muslims, to which she replied, "There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing."^[8] Amanpour gained a reputation for being fearless during the Gulf and Bosnian wars from parachuting into conflict areas.^[9]

From 1992 to 2010, Amanpour was CNN's chief international correspondent as well as the anchor of Amanpour, a daily CNN interview program that aired from 2009–2010. Amanpour has reported on major crises from many of the world's hotspots, including Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans and from the United States during Hurricane Katrina. She has secured exclusive interviews with world leaders from the Middle East to Europe to Africa and beyond, including Iranian Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as the presidents of Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria, among others.^{[citation needed]} After 9/11, she was the first international correspondent to interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

From 1996 to 2005, she was contracted by 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt to file four to five in-depth international news reports a year as a special contributor. These reports garnered her a Peabody Award in 1998 (she had earlier been awarded one in 1993). Hewitt's successor Jeff Fager was not a fan of her work and terminated her contract.

She has had many memorable moments in her career, one of them being a telephone interview with Yasser Arafat during the siege on his compound in March 2002, during which Arafat hung up on her.^[10]

Amanpour at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos

Bosnian War reporting[link]

On 22 December 1992, during the Bosnian War, Amanpour was reporting from Kiseljak, not far from Sarajevo. Kiseljak was in Croat hands, undamaged, and ostensibly well supplied with necessities. Amanpour reported that, "While people in Sarajevo are dying from starvation, the Serbs are living [in Kiseljak] in plenty," a report that was subsequently criticized by some analysts as spreading "misinformation" and "beautiful lies."[21]

On October 9, 1994, Stephen Kinzer of the New York Times criticized Amanpour's coverage, in general, of the Bosnian War. Kinzer quoted a colleague’s description of Amanpour as she reported on a terrorist bombing in the Markale marketplace of the Bosnian city of Sarajevo:

"[Christiane Amanpour] was sitting in Belgrade when that marketplace massacre happened, and she went on the air to say that the Serbs had probably done it. There was no way she could have known that. She was assuming an omniscience which no journalist has."^[11]

In January 2004, prosecutors in the trial against Stanislav Galić, a Serb general in the siege of Sarajevo, introduced into evidence a report including the testimony of ammunition expert Berko Zečević. Working with two colleagues, Zečević's investigation revealed a total of six possible locations from which the shell in the first Markale massacre could have been fired, of which five were under VRS and one under ARBiH control. The ARBiH site in question was visible to UNPROFOR observers at the time, who reported that no shell was fired from that position. Zečević further reported that certain components of the projectile could only have been produced in one of two places, both of which were under the control of the Army of Republika Srpska. The court would eventually find Galić guilty of all the five shellings prosecutors had charged him with, including Markale's.^[12]

Amanpour has responded to the criticism leveled on her reporting from the war in the former Yugoslavia for "lack of neutrality," stating:

"Some people accused me of being pro-Muslim in Bosnia, but I realised that our job is to give all sides an equal hearing, but in cases of genocide you can't just be neutral. You can't just say, 'Well, this little boy was shot in the head and killed in besieged Sarajevo and that guy over there did it, but maybe he was upset because he had an argument with his wife.' No, there is no equality there, and we had to tell the truth."^[13]

The segment labelled "Democratic Reporting" has been eliminated because it only cited conservative sources critical of Ms. Amanpour or anyone responsible for reporting on issues in ways that conflict with the conservative ideology or narrative.

ABC News[link]

On March 18, 2010, Amanpour announced she would leave CNN for ABC News, where she would anchor This Week. She said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the incredible team at ABC News. Being asked to anchor This Week in the superb tradition started by David Brinkley is a tremendous and rare honor, and I look forward to discussing the great domestic and international issues of the day. I leave CNN with the utmost respect, love, and admiration for the company and everyone who works here. This has been my family and shared endeavor for the past 27 years, and I am forever grateful and proud of all that we have accomplished.”^[14] She hosted her first broadcast on August 1, 2010.

During her first two months as host, the ratings for This Week reached their lowest point since 2003.^[15] On February 28, 2011, she interviewed Muammar Gaddafi and his sons Saif al-Islam and Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi.^[16][17]

On December 13, 2011, ABC announced Amanpour would be leaving her post as anchor of ABC News' This Week on January 8, 2012, and returning to CNN International, where she had previously worked for 27 years, and maintaining a reporting role at ABC News.^[18]

Return to CNN[link]

A day later on December 14, 2011, in statements by ABC and CNN, it was announced that, in a "unique arrangement," Amanpour would begin hosting a program on CNN International in 2012, while continuing at ABC News as a global affairs anchor.^[19]

It was later revealed that in the spring of 2012, CNN International would refresh its lineup, putting the interview show Amanpour back on air.^[20] On-air promotions said she would return to CNN International on April 16. Her 30-minute New York-recorded show - to be screened twice an evening - would mean that the US parent network's Piers Morgan Tonight interview show would be 'bumped' out of its 9:00pm (Central European Time) slot to midnight (CET).^[21]

Personal life[link]

Amanpour is a member of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) along with many other notable journalists.

Amanpour is married to James Rubin, a former Assistant Secretary of State and spokesman for the US State Department during the Clinton administration and currently an informal adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. Their son, Darius John Rubin, was born in 2000. The family resides in New York City.

She shared a house on the east side of Providence with John F. Kennedy, Jr. and some of his friends while he was attending Brown University and she was attending the University of Rhode Island.^[22]

Amanpour speaks English and Persian fluently.^{[citation needed]}

Screen and media appearances[link]

Amanpour appeared in the Gilmore Girls as herself in the television series finale. Throughout the series, Amanpour was an inspiration to aspiring journalist Rory Gilmore. In July 2009 she appeared in a Harper's Bazaar magazine article entitled "Christiane Amanpour Gets a High-Fashion Makeover".^[23]

Amanpour played herself in newscasts in the films Iron Man 2 and Pink Panther 2.

Trivia[link]

• On June 20, 2009, Amanpour was a guest host for Larry King Live, broadcast live from the CNN studio in London. She interviewed her husband James Rubin about the turmoil in Iran. She told the viewers: "Quick disclaimer, that Mr. Rubin is also my husband."

Awards and recognition[link]

• 1992, Livingston Award for Young Journalists
• 1993, George Polk Award for Television Reporting
• 1993, George Foster Peabody awards^[24]
• 1994, Woman of the Year, New York Chapter of "Women in Cable"
• 1994, Courage in Journalism Award, International Women's Media Foundation^[25]
• 1996, George Polk Award for Television Reporting
• 1997, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Emory University
• 1997, Nymphe d’Honneur at the Monte Carlo Television Festival
• 1998, George Foster Peabody awards^[26]
• 2002, Edward R. Murrow Award for Distinguished Achievement in Broadcast Journalism
• 2002, Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism, at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government^[27]
• 2005, International Emmy, International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
• 2006, Honorary citizen, city of Sarajevo
• 2006, Honorary doctorate degree from the University of Michigan for her contributions to journalism
• 2007, CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours^[28]
• 2007, Persian Woman of the Year
• 2008 The Fourth Estate Award (National Press Club)
• 2010 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[29]
• 2010, Honorary doctorate of humane letters degree, Northwestern University
• 2010, Honorary doctorate from Georgia State University for her contributions to journalism
• 2010, Honorary member of the graduating class of 2010 of Harvard College
• 2011, Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• 2012, Honorary doctorate of humane letters, Amherst College
• Director on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists
• Fellow, Society of Professional Journalists
• Nine Emmy news/documentary awards
• Major role in two DuPont awards given to CNN
• Major role in a Golden CableACE award given to CNN
• Honorary Board Member of the Daniel Pearl Foundation
• Sigma Chi Award (SDX) for her reports from Goma, Zaire
• Forbes magazine named her one of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women"
• WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival Gold Award
• POP Award, by "Cable Positive"
• Honorary degree presented by Smith College

See also[link]

• List of famous Iranian women

References[link]

External links[link]

• Amanpour.com official website
• Christiane Amanpour on Twitter
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Christiane Amanpour on Charlie Rose
• Christiane Amanpour at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Christiane Amanpour in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Christiane Amanpour collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Christiane Amanpour: career in pictures, The Guardian
• 2000 Murrow Awards Ceremony Speech, 2000
• Christiane Amanpour's Interview on NPR, December 3, 2008
• Christiane Amanpour, at the Height of the Iranian Election Crisis - Interview by Lesley Stahl, June 23, 2009
• Christiane Amanpour's Class Day speech at Harvard University, May 26, 2010

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christiane Amanpour