The oasis and its name
Al-Ahsa Oasis lies in the Eastern Province. Its fertile land, palms and springs have earned it the description of the largest palm oasis amid the sands in the world. [1]
Locally called al-Hasa, from hisi, rocky ground under sand that stores rainwater reachable by shallow digging, it is mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi in Mu'jam al-Buldan. [1]
Farming
The oasis is the Eastern Province's food basket, known for dates, wheat, fruit and Hasawi rice, which needs the intense summer heat. See date palm cultivation. [1]
Global recognition
The oasis was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the Committee's meeting in Manama on 29 June 2018 as a cultural landscape of human interaction with the environment. In 2020 Guinness World Records named it the largest self-contained oasis in the world, and Al-Ahsa joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. [1]