Jiddah
Jiddah, city in western Saudi Arabia, located in Al ?ijaz (Hejaz) Province, a major port on the Red Sea. Roads connect Jiddah with the larger cities in the country. An international airport is nearby. A commercial center, Jiddah also derives income from port activities. It is the leading Saudi port for importing livestock, especially sheep and camels. Industries in the city include iron and steel plants, oil refineries, and the manufacture of bricks, furniture, and tiles. The residential area is the site of many diplomatic missions and ministries, and thousands of pilgrims pass through the city each year on their way to Mecca. The city radiates with the prevailing white color of its buildings.

Jiddah is about three centuries old. For most of that time it was a quiet spice-trading port and a point of entry for Muslim pilgrims on their annual pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1936 the discovery of oil deposits in Saudi Arabia changed the face of the city. After the discovery, Jiddah became a busy commercial port. Walls surrounding the city were demolished in 1947, ushering in the city’s modern era. Jiddah grew explosively in the 1950s and 1960s. Port facilities were greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s. Population 1,490,000 (1995 estimate).

Riyadh
Riyadh, capital city of Saudi Arabia located in Najd Province, in an oasis in the east-central part of the country. Also called Ar Riyad, it is a commercial, administrative, and educational center and is served by an international airport and by railroad and highway connections to the Persian Gulf coast. Manufactures include construction materials, refined petroleum, and processed food. In the city are the University of Riyadh (1957); the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud (1953); the King Abdulaziz Military Academy (1955); public administration, teaching, and technical institutes; and the National Library. Points of interest include the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, the royal palace, and the mosque of Jamida.

In 1824 the city, situated on a route to Mecca, became the seat of the Saud dynasty. Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, later the first king of Saudi Arabia, began his conquest of most of the Arabian Peninsula from Riyadh in 1902 by organizing the Wahhabis, an Islamic reform group centered here since the early 19th century. The city was made the capital of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Beginning in the 1940s some of the country's great income from foreign sales of petroleum has been used to transform Riyadh from a relatively isolated city to an expansive, cosmopolitan metropolis with many large, modern buildings. Population (1995 estimate) 2,620,000.

Al Khobar
Al Khobar lies in the Dammam Area in the Eastern region of the Kingdom, close to Dammam and Dhahran.
The municipality of Al Khobar was founded in 1942, prompted by the discovery of oil and the ensuing development of commercial activity.

Dammam
In the early 1980s Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Region, was a separate city but so close to Al Khobar and Dhahran that the traveler could pass from one to the other in a few minutes.

With the continuing expansion of all parts of the Kingdom, the three towns inevitably merged into one, creating a single municipality known as Dammam Area. Each of the three towns which compose the Dammam Area retain their own character and some local administrative functions but, in terms of its place in the Kingdom, the Dammam Area forms a single administrative entity.

Makkah
The Holy City of Makkah, which lies inland 73 kilometers east of Jiddah, is the place where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was born - the place where God's message was first revealed to him and the city to which he returned after the migration to Madinah in 622 AD.

Makkah is the holiest city on earth to Muslims. Five times each day, the world's one billion Muslims, wherever they may be, turn to the Holy City of Makkah to pray. And at least once in their lives, all Muslims who are not prevented by personal circumstance perform the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah. Thus each year the Holy City of Makkah is host to some two million hajjis (pilgrims) from all over the world.

The Holy Mosque in Makkah houses the Ka'aba, in the corner of which is set the Black Stone which marks the starting point for the seven circumambulations of the Holy Mosque which every hajji must complete.

The Holy City is served by the seaport and international airport of Jiddah.

Dhahran
Dhahran is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Khobar.

Dhahran, with Dammam and Al Khobar, forms the Dammam Area.

Dhahran was the site of the headquarters of what was Aramco (the Arabian American Oil Company). For obvious reasons, it is also the site of the King Fahd Petroleum and Minerals University.

Dhahran is served by one of the Kingdom's three international airports, a construction of outstanding architectural beauty which combines traditional Islamic design with the most modern building technology.

Taif
Taif (which lies south east of Jiddah and the Holy City of Makkah) stands 1,800 meters above sea-level on the eastern slopes of the Al-Sarawat mountains. Its cooler temperatures have made it a traditional summer resort for both these cities and, in the summer months, the seat of government is moved from the dry heat of Riyadh to the more equable climate of Taif.

Taif embraced Islam in the ninth year of the Hijira. It was amongst the first cities, after Madinah, to accept the word of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Taif is famous for its agricultural produce which includes grapes and honey.

Al Ahsa
Al-Hasa lies in the south of the Kingdom's Eastern region and is bounded by the Al-Dahna and the Al-Daman deserts.

The Al-Hasa oasis is the largest oasis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the municipality of Al-Hasa constitutes the largest administrative area in the Kingdom.

In ancient times, Al-Hasa was at the center of the trade routes which traders followed between the east of the Arabian peninsula and India, Persia and the Far East.

Al-Hasa has a dry, tropical climate, with a five month summer and a relatively cold winter. It enjoys the benefit of copious reserves of underground water which has allowed the area to develop its agricultural potential. Nevertheless, Al-Hasa has to deal with tons of sand which the wind carries and deposits over the land. To counter this problem, the Kingdom has planted large barriers of trees to prevent the wind-borne sand from damaging inhabited and agricultural areas.