Khamis Mushayt or Khamis Mushait ( ar, خميس مشيط, ') is a city in south-west

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

, located east of

Abha Abha ( ar, أَبْهَا, ') is the capital of 'Asir Region in Saudi Arabia, with a population of 1,093,705 as of 2021. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abh ...

, the provincial seat of the

'Asir Province The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...

, 650 nautical miles from Dhahran and from the national capital of

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...

. It is the capital of the

Shahran Shahran ( ar, شهران) is one of the largest tribes in the 'Asir region of Saudi Arabia. Shahrani lands are bordered by Subay' and Al-Shalaowah () from the north, 'Abida and Rofaidah from the east (), Al Njou’ from the South (), and Banou S ...

tribe in the

Asir The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...

region. It is fifth-largest city in

after

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, with an estimated metro population of 1,353,000 as of 2017. Khamis Mushayt is noted for being the fourth largest trading center in

, and is famous for its world-class military airbase.

History

Until the 1970s, Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region. Since then its population has grown dramatically to reach over 1,200,000. The city is surrounded by farms producing agricultural crops.

King Khalid Air Base King Khalid Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة الملك خالد الجوية) (KKAB) is an airbase of Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) sited in the south-west of Saudi Arabia, near Khamis Mushait. History The airbase, with code KMX, has a paved runway ...

(KMX) has a paved runway without customs facilities. The base was designed and built by US Army and Air Force engineers in the 1960s and 70s and has

F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

service facilities. During the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in 1991, the US Airforce had a base here from which they launched bombers on

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. Khamis Mushait was known by that name since the 1760s, it has been named after the market that used to be held on every Thursday of the week which is “Khamis” and it has been referred to Mushait Ibn Salem the head of

tribe and the guardian of the market.

Climate

Khamis Mushait has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BSk)'', although its high altitude of makes it less extreme than most of Arabia. For instance, Riyadh is around hotter on average throughout the year, despite being about further from the equator.

Notable landmarks

Khamis Mushayt has several souks, including Khamis Souk and Silver Souq, both of which are noted for their silver jewellery, and Spice Souk. Notable hotels include Mushayt Palace Hotel and Trident Hotel. Also of note is Al-Hayat Hospital and Khamis Mushayt Mosque. File:ALhayat Hospital.jpg, Al-Hayat Hospital File:Khamis Mushayt Heritage area Statue of coffee.jpg, Statue of coffee in Heritage area of Khamis Mushait File:Mosque in Khamis Mushayt.jpg, King Fahd Mosque

References

{{Authority control Populated places in 'Asir Province