| Al-Qassim | |
|---|---|
| — Province — | |
| القصيم | |
| Map of Saudi Arabia with Al-Qassim highlighted | |
| Capital | Buraidah |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Prince Faisal bin Bandar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 65,000 km2 (25,096.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 1,016,756 |
| • Density | 15.64/km2 (40.5/sq mi) |
| ISO 3166-2 | 05 |
| عقارات وأسواق | |
Al-Qassim Province Arabic: منطقة القصيم Al Qaṣīm [ælqɑˈsˤiːm]), also spelled Al-Qaseem, Al-Qasim, Qassim, or Gassim, is one of the thirteen administrative provinces of Saudi Arabia. Located at the heart of the country, and almost in the center of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a population of 1,016,756 and an area of 65,000 km². It is known to be the "alimental basket" of the country, for its agricultural asset.
It is the seventh populated province in the country after the province of Jizan. It has more than 400 cities, towns, villages, and Bedouin settlements, Ten of which are recognized as governorates. Its capital city is Buraydah, which is inhabited by approximately 49% of the region's total population. The governor of the province is prince Faisal Bin Bandar Al Saud.
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Al Qassim is derived from the word "Qassimah" (Arabic: قصيمة), a reference to قصائم الغضا, meaning the region's sand dunes from which the white saxaul trees grow.[1]
The region is actually known to contain a large group of Calligonum plants such comosum (or Arta between locals).
The province is located in the center of Saudi Arabia approximately 400 km northwest of Riyadh the capital. It is bordered by Ar Riyadh Province to the south and east, by Ha'il Province to the north, and by Al Madinah Province to the west. The region is connected to almost every part of Saudi Arabia by a very complicated highways net. It has a regional airport which also connects Al Qassim (Gassim) to other provinces of the country.
There is not much information known about Al Qassim Province in the times of Pre-Islamic Arabia. Unaizah was repeatedly mentioned as a desert watering hole in the poems of Imru Al Qais (the famous Arabian poet).
Al Qassim Province had some important foyers on the road of pilgrims and traders coming from the east (mainly Persia and Iraq) in the era of the Abbasid Empire.
The Zubeida road, was a long pilgrims road that started from the city of Kufa in Iraq to Mecca in Arabia. The road was constructed in the reign of Harun Al Rashid and was named after his wife Zubeida. It had pilgrims foyers in many of the region's cities including Unaizah.
The Abu Ulayan dynasty from the Banu Tamim tribe has established emirate of Buraydah in the late 16th century by its leader, Rashid Al Duraiby. He built Buraydah and made it the province's capital. However, Unaizah was ruled by Al Sulaim dynasty. The emirate was later captured by Muhanna Salih Abalkhail, the leader of the Abalkhail dynasty. In 1890, the Al Rashid dynasty based in Ha'il annexed the province. In 1904, the Abalkhail recaptured the province in 1904. In 1907, the province was integrated under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The province is Saudi Arabia's most conservative. It is the heart of the Najd region and the centre of the Salafi movement. The province is regarded as one of the key support bases of the Al Saud family, along with Al Riyadh Province, Ha'il province and Al Jawf province. Most of the men in this province have volunteered for armed services. Most families have relatives serving in the Saudi Arabian National Guard, Royal Saudi Air Force and Royal Saudi Land Forces. General Saleh al-Muhaya, Chief of Staff of the Saudi Land Forces and Air defense, is from Al Qassim province. This province has also contributed many notable Salafi ulema and sheikhs.[2]
Al Qassim province is divided by the Wadi Al-Rummah (Rummah Valley). The valley crosses the entire region from the west to the northeast. It is the longest valley in the whole Arabian peninsula, it stretches for about 600 km (370 mi) from near Medina, to the Thuayrat Dunes in the east, and northeast of the region. The land's height in Qassim is about 600–750 meters above sea level, and it is gliding from west to east in general.
Al Qassim region has a typical desert climate, known for its cold, rainy winters, and for its hot and sometimes balmy, aneroid summers, with low humidity.
Along with tourism, agriculture is still the cornerstone of the region's economy. Although the region has been famous for its agricultural assets for a long time, it wasn't until recently that wheat production has been introduced to the local agricultural industry, making Saudi Arabia a net exporter of cereal. The region also produces dates, grapes, lemons, grapefruits, mandarin oranges, oranges, pomegranates, and a large group of vegetables.
Buraydah (the capital of the province) is one of the biggest dates producers worldwide. Each year (in September), a big "dates season ceremony" is celebrated, at which a lot of people come from all over the GCC countries to buy their yearly requirement of dates. It also has the biggest camel market in the world.
Unaizah (the second largest city) has created its own "dates season ceremony", called "Unaizah, the kingdom of dates", the municipality of the city has paired it with other festivals being held annually, to promote a good tourism reputation.
Agriculture in general is considered to be a very important part of the region's natives culture, with special vegetables being linked to every city, for example eating leeks (kurrat) is associated with the people of Unaizah, while adding hot peppers to meals is associated with the people of the city of Rass.
The region is served by schools in every city and town for all three educational levels (primary, intermediate, and secondary), and includes various types of school (public, private, Koranic, international), with international and private schools being mainly concentrated in the cities of Buraydah, and Unaizah.
Although there are many colleges in the region, there is only one university, Qassim University, which is located between Buraydah and Unaizah at the heart of the region.
There are also other nearby rural towns including Al-Bukairiyah, Badaya'a, Al-Khabra, and Nabhaniya.
There is at least one or two general hospitals in every city of the region. In addition to the private health care sector, which has a stronger presence than the governmental one. Private hospitals are distributed everywhere in the cities of the region.
| Ha'il Province | ||||
| Al-Qassim Province | ||||
| Madinah Province | Riyadh Province |
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