Ash Sharqiyah Province
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Eastern Province (Arabic الشرقية Ash Sharqiyah) is the largest province of Saudi Arabia, located in the east of the country on the coasts of the Persian Gulf, and has borders with Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. It has an area of 710,000 km² and a population of 3,360,157 (2004 census). Its capital is Dammam. A few kilometres from Dammam is the second city, Al-Khobar a commercial center and a vibrant seaport. The King Fahd Causeway, completed in the 1980s, links the Eastern Province to Bahrain. Typically, the causeway is crowded with expatriates and Saudis on a Thursday afternoon as they all head for the clubs and nightlife in Saudi Arabia's more tolerant neighbour. The governor of the province is Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud.
The Eastern Province was conquered by the Saudis in 1914 on the Ottoman Empire. It had been known as Al Hasa (الأحساء) under Ottoman rule.
The Eastern Province is largely Shi'ite. Shi'ites in the country often live in bad conditions because Wahhabism is the State religion, and the classification of shi'ites as kuffar has led to the denial of certain rights for them.
Saudi Aramco, the oil producing company of the Kingdom, is based in Dhahran, which is located in the Eastern Province, and most decisions on oil policy and production that affect the global economy are made there. Saudi Arabia's main oil and gas fields are mostly located in the Eastern Province, onshore and offshore. Petroleum from the fields is shipped to dozens of countries from the oil port of Ras Tanura and is also used as feedstock in numerous industrial plants in Jubail.
The Kingdom's second major product, dates, is also a large part of the Eastern Province's economy. Every year thousands of tonnes of dates are harvested from the date palms in the giant oases of Al Hasa and Al-Qatif.
Major cities
- Dammam: Capital of the Eastern Province, the third largest city of Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah and main seaport
- Khobar: Major center for commerce
- Dhahran: Center of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, home for Saudi Aramco headquarters, and includes a major base of RSAF
- Al Hasa: Largest oasis in the world
- Qatif: Large oasis on the coast of the Persian Gulf, and largest fishing center in Saudi Arabia and the gulf region. Most, if not all, its residents are Shiite Muslims.
- Jubail: One of two major industrial cities in Saudi Arabia
- Abqaiq: Home for major and largest oil and gas processing plants
- Ras Tanura: Major petroleum refining center, home for the largest oil refinery in the world, and many offshore oil platforms. Also main oil exporting seaport
- Udhayliyah: Major oil producing and processing plants, near Shayba in the Empty Quarter, close to the borders of the United Arab Emirates
- Khafji: Main industrial city, very close to the borders of Kuwait. Occupied by the Iraqi forces during the Gulf War. The Marines victoriously engaged in the Battle of Khafji during Operation Desert Storm to free it from Iraqis
- Hafr Al-Batin
| Provinces of Saudi Arabia |
|
|---|---|
| Al Bahah | Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah | Al Jawf | Al Madinah | Al Qasim | Ar Riyad | Ash Sharqiyah | 'Asir | Ha'il | Jizan | Makkah | Najran | Tabuk | |
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