Hafar Al-Batin

Hafar al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن‎ Ḥafar al-Bāṭin), also frequently spelled Hafr al-Batin, is a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province. It is located 430 km north of Riyadh, 94.2 km from the Kuwait border, and about 74.3 from the Iraq border. The city lies in the dry valley of the Wadi al-Batin, which is part of the longer valley of the river Wadi al-Rummah (now dry), which leads inland toward Medina and formerly emptied into the Persian Gulf.

For the village in Syria, see al-Hafar, Syria.
Hafar al-Batin
Nickname(s): 
Capital of the Spring
Hafar al-Batin
Coordinates: 28°26′3″N 45°57′49″E
Country Saudi Arabia
ProvinceEastern Province
Established638 CE (17 AH)
Joint Saudi Arabia1925
Government
 • Manager of MunicipalityMuhammad Hmoud AlShaie’a[1]
 • City GovernorAbdulmuhsen Al-Otaishan
 • Deputy GovernorMusliet Abdulaziz AlZugaibi
 • Provincial GovernorSaud bin Nayef Al Saud
Population
 (2010)
 • City300,642
 • Urban
600,000
 • Metro
49,457
 Hafar Al-Batin Municipality estimate
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (AST)
Postal Code
31991
Area code(s)+966-1-3-7

History

In the 1st century after hijrah or 638 CE, Hafar Al-Batin was just a route in the desert that pilgrims passed through traveling to Mecca for Hajj. At that time, there was no water available in this land, so the pilgrims travelled from Iraq to Mecca on a long route without water. During the reign of Uthman (644 - 656 CE), many pilgrims complained about the lack of water, and Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad responded by digging new wells along the route in the Al-Batin valley. The name of Hafar Al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن‎, "the hole of Al-Batin Valley") is derived from this.

The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Housing announced on August 2020 that they would be including Hafr Al Batin in its program to increase residential ownership by its citizens. The ministry will be providing 759 plots in Hafr Al Batin alone.[2]

Population

In 2010, Hafar Al-Batin, had more than 35 villages in its suburban area and the total population reached 400,993 to 600,000

Transportation

Airport

For full international service, the city is served by King Fahd International Airport with driving distance of 450 km.

Nonetheless, Hafar Al-Batin has two airports: One with limited domestic flights (Qaisumah) (IATA: AQI, ICAO: OEPA) airport about 20 km in the southeast, and one for military use only (King Khaled Military City Airport) (IATA: KMC, ICAO: OEKK) about 70 km in the southwest.

Roads

All the downtown roads of Hafar Al-Batin are paved. It is connected with an international network of roads, connecting Saudi Arabia with Kuwait in the East and connecting the North with the Eastern Province.

Districts
  • Al-Aziziah A
  • Al-Aziziah B
  • Al-Khalediyah
  • Al-Rabwah
  • Al-Muhammadiyah
  • Al-Baladiyah
  • Al-Rawdhah
  • Al-Nayefiyah
  • Al-Sulaimaniyah
  • Al-Faisaliyah
  • Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari

Climate

The weather in Hafar Al-Batin ranges from −2–8 °C (28–46 °F) in winter nights to 40–50 °C (104–122 °F) during summer days. The climate in general is hot and dry, and it rains only during winter months.

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).[3]

Climate data for Hafar Al-Batin (1985-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 17.8
(64.0)		 21.2
(70.2)		 26.5
(79.7)		 33.0
(91.4)		 39.0
(102.2)		 43.0
(109.4)		 43.9
(111.0)		 44.5
(112.1)		 40.6
(105.1)		 34.8
(94.6)		 27.0
(80.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 32.6
(90.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 11.5
(52.7)		 14.3
(57.7)		 19.1
(66.4)		 25.4
(77.7)		 31.5
(88.7)		 35.1
(95.2)		 36.4
(97.5)		 36.7
(98.1)		 32.4
(90.3)		 26.8
(80.2)		 19.9
(67.8)		 13.4
(56.1)		 25.2
(77.4)
Average low °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)		 7.3
(45.1)		 11.3
(52.3)		 17.2
(63.0)		 23.1
(73.6)		 26.2
(79.2)		 27.2
(81.0)		 27.3
(81.1)		 23.5
(74.3)		 18.6
(65.5)		 13.3
(55.9)		 7.2
(45.0)		 17.3
(63.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 31.1
(1.22)		 11.4
(0.45)		 12.4
(0.49)		 16.3
(0.64)		 2.1
(0.08)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.1
(0.00)		 0.0
(0.0)		 5.5
(0.22)		 21.9
(0.86)		 19.1
(0.75)		 119.9
(4.71)
Source: Jeddah Regional Climate Center[4]


See also

Notes
  1. http://www.hafrnews.com/albums.php?action=show&id=32
  2. "Saudi's Sakani launches 5 housing plans to provide 2,009 plots of land". Construction Week Online Middle East. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. "Climate: Hafar Al-Batin - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  4. "Climate Data for Saudi Arabia". Jeddah Regional Climate Center. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2015.

References
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