Visit to Al-Khobar and Al-Dahran

Pick up at Dammam port by our guide with the Shorexc sign.

In the 1980s Dammam was an independent city but so close to Al-Khobar and Al-Dhahran that the traveler could pass from one to the other in a few minutes. The discovery of oil in Al-Dhahran, the nearby fields and the related growing commercial importance made the Damman region one of the best known in Saudi Arabia.

Within three decades, the quiet fishing village had become the capital of the province, the simultaneous growth of Dammam, Al-Dhahran and Al-Khobar merged the three cities into one known as the Dammam Metropolitan Area. Our tour will take us to see two of them, getting closer to their history and the industrial and commercial importance they have for the Arab Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Our visit will start in Al-Khobar, a modern and commercial city, famous for its beautiful beaches and design architecture. It is the largest city in the eastern province and home to the famous King Fahd Causeway, a set of bridges and buildings that connect the Kingdom of Arabia with Bahrain.

The growth of the oil industry in the region had a similar impact on the small fishing town of Dammam and the village of Al-Khobar. The adobe huts of the fishermen who populated the coastline and constituted the only permanent dwellings in the area gave way to large buildings, roads and streets with extensive landscaped areas. Located on the Gulf coast, Al-Khobar became a shipping point for crude oil to the Bahrain refinery but the subsequent expansion of industry to the north saw the city gradually take on a new role as a commercial center for the entire region.

We will enjoy a short walking tour of Al-Khobar's Prince Faisal bin Fahd Park, one of the city's main attractions. From there we will drive to Al-Dahran, the administrative center of the region's oil industry. The eastern province sits on one of the largest oil fields in the world, and it was here in Al-Dhahran in 1936 that Aramco, the predecessor of Saudi Arabia's national oil company, drilled the famous Dammam No. 7 well, the starting point of the largest oil field in the region.

We will move to the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, close to the "well of prosperity," a national monument commemorating the place where oil was first found in this Arab state. Opened in 2017 and known as Ithra (Arabic for enrichment), it soon became a symbol, not only for its striking design, depicting a set of oil rocks eroded by the desert wind and covered by a 350-kilometer-long steel pipe, but also for its ambitious vision as Saudi Arabia's first cultural destination.

Inside, a striking 85,000 m² of space, it houses a variety of cultural spaces: a museum, an exhibition hall, an auditorium, a screening room, a library and a center for the preservation of historical archives; as well as leisure areas such as cafes and gift stores. In the central area is the Source of Light, an imposing 90-foot-tall work by Italian master Giuseppe Penone.

We will enjoy an "energy exhibit," a space that introduces visitors to the methods of oil extraction and associated energy resources through multimedia technology and interactive displays.

If time permits, we will make a short stop at a local market and enjoy some free time where we can buy souvenirs or taste some traditional Saudi cuisine if you feel like it.

Return to the port of Dammam for farewell.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• DURATION:  UP TO 4 HOURS.
• NO SUPPLEMENTS

Saudi Arabia is not currently a destination of great tourist development so it only has religious guides trained in their own language, therefore our tours will be with Arabic guide and accompanied by an interpreter in Spanish.

REMARKS

• Easy/Panoramic/Cultural level.
• Comfortable shoes are recommended.
• People with reduced mobility who use wheelchairs must be accompanied by another person who can help them. Please use folding wheelchairs, as the buses do not have lifts or ramps. Shore2Shore is not responsible if the client does not inform us of his or her situation at the time of booking.
• THE ORDER OF THE PLACES TO VISIT MAY VARY WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE DUE TO POSSIBLE EVENTUALITIES (BOAT ARRIVAL TIME, TIMETABLE OF PLACES OF INTEREST TO VISIT, ETC.).
• VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The country you are going to visit has a series of rules that according to its legislation is understood as "good or appropriate conduct". Our obligation is to make them known to our clients and warn them that they are mandatory rules, in no case optional, therefore they must comply with them before boarding the bus and respect them, for their own peace of mind and safety, until the end of the tour so that it can develop properly. It will be under your responsibility that these rules are followed during the development of our excursion.

The accepted dress code for women is long-sleeved shirts and pants, no tight-fitting or transparent clothing and hair must be covered with a scarf. Our staff does not have handkerchiefs to lend so before boarding the bus to start the excursion you must bring it with you. Our staff on the ground reserves the right to deny access to the bus if at the time the tour starts the passenger does not comply with these mandatory dress code.

Amorous expressions of any kind on public roads are prohibited, as well as taking pictures of residents without prior permission.