Arar City

Arar City is a city in the north of Saudi Arabia, the administrative centre of the Northern Borders Region and the seat of its municipality.[1][13]

Its bounds hold the administrative bodies and services of the region, and the institutions of the State expanded there in parallel with the city's growth and its transformation into the region's administrative seat.[1]

Arar City lies in the Northern Borders Region in the north of Saudi Arabia, and the meetings of the region's municipality, its deputies, the heads of municipalities and the directors of departments are held there.[1][13]

Administration in the city began with limited means, then the institutions of the State, their facilities and services expanded until Arar became the administrative centre of the Northern Borders Region.[1]

The modern foundation of Arar is linked to the start of construction of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) in 1948, extending from Abqaiq to the Mediterranean coast, and to the administrative and urban growth that accompanied it in the sites along its route.[1]

In 1949 an order was issued by King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud to establish the Pipeline Governorate, extending from Ras Mish'ab, An-Nu'ayriyah, Al-Qaysumah, Rafha, Arar and Turaif, and appointing Prince Mohammed As-Sudairi as its governor.[1]

The Old Emirate Palace in Arar was built in the reign of King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1373 AH/1954 to serve as the seat of the region's governor, and it was built of dressed stones brought from one of the region's mountains.[1]

The Government House comprised the seat of the governor, the court, the police, the finance office, the telegraph, the post and the telephone, meeting the needs of the population in the city's early years.[1]

The Tapline was registered on the National Industrial Heritage Register as the first industrial heritage site to be officially recorded in the Kingdom, in recognition of its historical importance and its active role in economic development since its establishment by order of King Abdulaziz in 1948, and it extends the course of the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia.[11]

The Heritage Commission organised the Tapline event in Arar City in 2024 to highlight the historical and developmental impact of the project.[11]

Jadidat Arar Crossing was opened on 18 November 2020, and it is the only land crossing linking Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Iraq.[4]

The crossing includes a logistics zone regarded as the economic gateway to the northern part of the Kingdom, boosting trade exchange and the movement of travellers.[4]

The Northern Borders Region forms an overland route for pilgrims coming from the Republic of Iraq to the Holy Sites, along a historical extension that begins with the Darb Zubaydah route and continues today through Jadidat Arar Crossing.[2]

Darb Zubaydah is one of the historical pilgrimage routes that flourished in the Abbasid era; it linked Kufa with Makkah via stations inside the Arabian Peninsula, and it was named after Zubaydah bint Ja'far, who ordered the establishment of service facilities including wells, pools and rest stations for pilgrims along the route.[2]

The total number of arrivals through Jadidat Arar Crossing during the 1439 AH/2018 pilgrimage season reached 16,477 pilgrims, carried by 713 buses.[3]

The Roads General Authority opened traffic on the intersection of the Northern Border University with the Arar–Rafha road in October 2023, at a cost of 41 million riyals, with specifications including four exits with two lanes.[5]

Arar City includes two ring-road projects, a northern one of 73 km and a southern one of 57 km, and the study and design report for the two roads was submitted in 2022.[6]

The length of the Arar–Turaif road is 240 km in one direction, within the project to dual the international road extending from Abu Hadriyah to the Al-Haditha crossing.[7]

The Northern Borders Region Municipality decorated the parks, gardens and squares of Arar City with about 400,000 roses and flowers in October 2022, including the Flower Garden, the Palm Parks and the walking tracks.[9]

The total area of the walking tracks and green spaces within the city is about 2,494,356 square metres, distributed across sites including the Al-Mas'adiyah track and the Al-Mansouria district track.[10]

Arar City hosted the 'Salon Adab' event in May 2024, with support and empowerment from the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission; it included a poetry evening and an introduction to the city's most prominent landmarks, its history and its cultural and human heritage.[14]

The 'Arar Summer 37' festival is held at the Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed Entertainment City on King Abdulaziz Road in Arar City, with the participation of more than 50 entities from the public and private sectors.[8]

The Mayor of the Northern Borders Region, Engineer Awad bin Mukhlif As-Suqairi, approved new investment contracts with a total value exceeding 18 million riyals, covering commercial, service and recreational activities in the cities and governorates of the region, with the aim of strengthening municipal investment, widening private-sector participation and improving quality of life.[12]

Q: Where is Arar City located? A: It lies in the Northern Borders Region in the north of Saudi Arabia, and it is the administrative centre of the region and the seat of its municipality.[1][13]

Q: What is the modern foundation of Arar linked to? A: To the start of construction of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) in 1948, extending from Abqaiq to the Mediterranean coast, and then to the order of King Abdulaziz to establish the Pipeline Governorate in 1949 and the appointment of Prince Mohammed As-Sudairi as its governor.[1]

Q: What are the most prominent land crossings in Arar City? A: Jadidat Arar Crossing, the only land crossing linking Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Iraq; it was opened on 18 November 2020 and includes a logistics zone.[4]

Q: What are the most prominent historical landmarks in Arar? A: The Old Emirate Palace, built in 1373 AH/1954 as the seat of the region's governor, the Government House, and the Tapline, the first industrial heritage site to be officially recorded in the Kingdom.[1][11]

Q: What are the most prominent events in the city? A: The 'Arar Summer 37' festival, with the participation of more than 50 entities from the public and private sectors, and the 'Salon Adab' event in May 2024.[8][14]

Arar City combines its location as the administrative centre of the Northern Borders Region [1][13], its industrial heritage represented by the Tapline, the first industrial heritage site registered in the Kingdom [11], its only land crossing with Iraq [4], a network of roads and service projects [5][6][7], and green spaces, gardens and cultural events.[8][9][10][14]

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