| Hafar Al-Batin | |||
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| Nickname(s): The Capital of the Spring | |||
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Hafar Al-Batin
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Saudi Arabia | ||
| Province | Eastern Province | ||
| Established | 17 AH - 638 CE | ||
| Joint Saudi Arabia | 1925 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Muhammad Hmoud AlShaie’a | ||
| • City Governor | Abdulmuhsen Al-Otaishan | ||
| • Deputy Governor | Musliet Abdulaziz AlZugaibi | ||
| • Provincial Governor | Muhammad bin Fahd | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • City | 389,993 | ||
| • Urban | 271,642 | ||
| • Metro | 49,457 | ||
| Hafar Al-Batin Municipality estimate | |||
| Time zone | AST (UTC+3) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | AST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | 31991 | ||
| Area code(s) | +966-3-7 | ||
Hafar Al-Batin (ar:حفر الباطن) is a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province and located in the Northeastern region. It is located 480 km the north of Riyadh, 90 km from Kuwait border and about 70 from the Iraq border. The city lies in the dry valley of the Wadi al-Batin, part of the larger valley of the long, now-dry river Wadi Al-Rummah, which leads inland toward Medina and formerly emptied into the Persian Gulf.
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In the 1st century after hijrah in 638 CE, Hafar Al-Batin was just a route in the desert that pilgrims passed through from Mecca for Hajj. At that time , there was no water available in this land, the pilgrims travelled from Iraq to Mecca on a long route without water. During Uthman ibn Affan's reign (644 CE - 656 CE), complaints of pilgrims reached Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who answered by digging for new wells along this route in the Al-Batin valley. The name of Hafar Al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن) is derived from this which means "the hole of Al-Batin Valley". During the 1991 Gulf War Hafar Al-Batin was targeted by a barrage of Iraqi Al Hussein missiles on February 14, 1991. At least two missiles hit the town. An automobile workshop, two houses and five cars were destroyed. Four civilians were injured.[1]
In 2010, Hafar Al-Batin, had more than 35 villages in its suburban area and the population reached 389,993.
All the downtown and roads of Hafar Al-Batin are paved. It is connected with an international network of roads, connecting Saudi Arabia with Kuwait in the East and connecting the North with the Eastern Province. Hafar Al-Batin has two airports, Qaisumah (IATA: AQI, ICAO: OEPA) airport about 10 km in the east, and King Khalid Military City Airport (IATA: HBT, ICAO: OEKK) about 60 km in the south.
The weather in Hafar Al-Batin ranges from (-3 C to 5 C) in winter nights to (40 C to 49 C) during summer days. The climate in general is hot and dry, and rains only during winter months.
| Climate data for Hafar al Batin | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 17 (62) |
20 (68) |
24 (76) |
31 (88) |
38 (100) |
41 (106) |
43 (109) |
42 (108) |
41 (105) |
34 (94) |
26 (78) |
19 (67) |
31.3 (88.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 7 (45) |
9 (48) |
13 (56) |
19 (67) |
24 (76) |
27 (80) |
29 (84) |
28 (83) |
26 (79) |
21 (70) |
14 (57) |
9 (48) |
18.9 (66.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 28 (1.1) |
41 (1.6) |
48 (1.9) |
30 (1.2) |
25 (1) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
5 (0.2) |
0 (0) |
8 (0.3) |
46 (1.8) |
51 (2) |
282 (11.1) |
| Source: Weatherbase [2] | |||||||||||||
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