Ḥaʼil ( ') is a city in north-western

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, (north of

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

), Between the

Shammar Mountains The Shammar Mountains () is a mountain range in the northwestern Saudi Arabian province of Ha'il. It includes the Ajā () and Salma subranges. Geology The Aja Mountains are to an extent made up of granite, whereas the Salma are made up o ...

() Aja and Salma, known to be home to the tribe of

Shammar The tribe of Shammar () is a tribal Arab Qahtanite confederation, descended from the Tayy, which migrated into the northern Arabian Peninsula from Yemen in the second century. It is the largest branch of the Tayy, and one of the largest and mos ...

. It is the capital and largest city of

Ḥa'il Province Ha'il Province, also known as Ha'il Region ( ') is a Provinces of Saudi Arabia, province in Saudi Arabia, located in the north-central part of the country. It is named after its capital, Ha'il, and is known for the twin mountain ranges of Jabal ...

, with a population of about 498,575 (2022). Ḥaʼil is largely agricultural, with significant

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

, date, and fruit production. A large percentage of the kingdom's wheat production comes from Hail Province, where the area to the northeast, away, consists of

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

gardens. Historically, Hail derived its wealth from being on the

camel caravan A camel train, caravan, or camel string is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withst ...

route of the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. Hail is well known for the generosity of its people throughout Saudi Arabia and the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

as it is the place where

Hatim al-Tai Hatim al-Tai (, 'Hatim of the Tayy tribe'; died 578), full name Ḥātim bin ʿAbd Allāh bin Saʿd aṭ-Ṭāʾiyy () was an Arab knight, chieftain of the Tayyi tribe of Arabia, ruler of Shammar, and poet who lived in the last half of the si ...

lived. It is also the homeland of the Rashid royal family, historical rivals to

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...

History

The construction of the Hejaz railway between

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, together with new inexpensive steamship routes to

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, undermined the traditional camel caravan economy of Ha'il. The city of Ha'il was the capital of the

Emirate of Jabal Shammar The Emirate of Jabal Shammar (), also known as the Emirate of Haʾil () or the Rashidi Emirate (), was a state in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, including Najd, existing from the mid-nineteenth century to 1921.J. A. Hammerton. ''P ...

from 1836 until the Saudi conquest of the emirate in 1921. The emirate was led by a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

of the House of Rashīd. The first emir, Abdullah bin Ali Al Rashid, took power with his brother emir Obaid and Jabbr's sons. Abdullah bin Rashid continued constructing the Barzan Palace in Ha'il which had been started by Mohammad Ibn Ali. After the death of Abdullah Al Rashid (in 1848) his son and successor, Talal, completed the palace. During the Rashidi period many foreign travellers visited Ha'il and the Rashidi emirs, and described their impressions in different journals and books, including those of Georg August Wallin (1845), William Gifford Palgrave (1865), Lady Anne Blunt (1881),

Charles Montagu Doughty Charles Montagu Doughty (19 August 1843 – 20 January 1926) was a British poet, writer, explorer, adventurer and traveller, best known for his two-volume 1888 travel book '' Travels in Arabia Deserta''. Early life and education Son of Rev. Ch ...

(1888), and

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

(1914). Rashid emirs were considered relatively tolerant towards foreigners, including traders in Ha'il: The last Rashidi emir was ousted from power by

Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

in 1921. Ibn Saud then gave orders to destroy the Barzan Palace and also ordered the leaders of Al Rashid and Al Sabhan to move from Ha'il to

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, and he assigned one person from the mentioned families, as temporary emir Prince Ibraheem bin Salem Al Sabhan in order to assure the loyalty from the Ha'il people and Shammar. After this, Ha'il fell into steep decline, as witnessed by E. Rutter in 1931: Ha'il is the centre of Saudi Arabia's agricultural program, and most of the

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

crops of the kingdom come from the area surrounding the city. There are also a number of dairy farms for the production of dairy products near the city.

Notable people

was a famous

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

ian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who lived before Muhammad's preaching of Islam, and the father of the latter's companion

Adi ibn Hatim Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai () was a leader of the Arab tribe of Tayy, and one of the companions of Muhammad. He was the son of the poet Hatim al-Tai. Adi remained antagonistic to Islam for about twenty years until he converted to Islam in 630 (9th y ...

and Safana bint Hatim. He was a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, and belonged to the

Tayy The Tayy (/ALA-LC: ''Ṭayyi’''; Musnad: 𐩷𐩺), also known as Ṭayyi, Tayyaye, or Taiyaye, are a large and ancient Arab tribe, among whose descendants today are the tribes of Bani Sakher and Shammar. The '' nisba'' (patronymic) of Tayy i ...

Arabian tribe. Stories about his extreme

generosity Generosity (also called largesse) is the virtue of being liberal in charity (practice), giving, often as gifts. Generosity is regarded as a virtue by various world religions and List of philosophies, philosophies and is often celebrated in cultur ...

have made him an icon to Arabs up till the present day, as in the

proverbial phrase A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial e ...

"more generous than Hatim". There is a hill overlooking the city of Hail which has a reproduction of the campfire he lit to welcome his guests, which is turned on every night and can be seen from the center of the town. He was the ruler of his tribe. After Hatim's death, his son Adi became the ruler of Tayy. He also became a Muslim in 628 after a meeting with

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. *

Abdulaziz bin Mitab Abdulaziz bin Mutaib Al Rashid (; 1870–12 April 1906), better known as ''Ibn Rashid'', was the Emir of Jabal Shammar from 1897 to 1906. Biography Abdulaziz bin Mutaib was born in 1870. He was the son of the third Rashidi emir, Mutaib bin Abd ...

was the son of the third Amir of Al Rashid, he was adopted by his uncle Mohammed, the fifth amir, and brought up to be his heir. After Mohammed died of natural causes, Abdulaziz succeeded him unopposed. However, the Rashidi rule was insecure, as their Ottoman allies were unpopular and weakening. In 1904 the young

Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

, the founder of

, returned from exile with a small force and retook

. Abdulaziz died in the battle of Rawdat Muhanna with Ibn Saud

Geography

* As-Samra Mountain overlooks the city. This is where

lit a fire on the summit to welcome guests. Today an asphalt road leads to the summit where a natural gas-powered fire is lit at night. There is a park with a lake at the bottom of the mountain, and on the side of the mountain is the

Emblem of Saudi Arabia The Emblem of Saudi Arabia () was adopted in 1950. According to the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Basic Law, it consists of two crossed swords with a Date palm, palm tree in the space above and between the blades. The two swords represent th ...

(date palm and crossed swords) made from electric lights which are turned on at night. * Aja Mountain ( Jebel Aja) is on the opposite side of Ha'il city from As-Samra. A huge Saudi flag made of electric lights, turned on at night, is located on the side of the mountain. * The

Adayra Valley Adayra Valley () runs roughly from north to south, and divides the northern Saudi Arabian city of Ha'il into eastern and western halves. It starts as a branch of Rimmah Valley in the south, and drains into Qa'a Al-Milh in the town of Baq'a. See al ...

runs roughly along a north–south axis, dividing central Ha'il in two.

Climate

Ha'il has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh'') with hot summers and cool winters with frequent frosts. It has a somewhat milder climate than other Saudi cities due to its higher altitude.

Sights

* Barzan Palace was a historic palace that used to be located in Ha'il up until the 1920s. It was built in 1808 by Prince Muhammad bin Abdul-Muhsin Al Ali over an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The Palace was completed during the rule of the 2nd Rashidi amir, Talal bin Abdullah (1848–68). The Palace consisted of 3 floors, the first had the reception halls, gardens, and kitchens. The second had the diplomatic guest rooms. The third had the royal family rooms. It was demolished at the orders of Ibn Saud after the

conquest of Ha'il Conquest of Ha'il, also referred to as the Third Saudi–Rashidi War, was engaged by the Saudi forces, which received British military assistance and its ally Ikhwan tribesmen upon the Emirate of Jabal Shammar, under the last Rashidi ruler M ...

in 1921. * Barzan Souk is in the place where many years ago stood the Barzan Palace of the Al Rashid extended family who governed the area around Ha'il. * Friday Market is a traditional-style souk, held on Friday because it is a national weekend. * Garden Mall is the largest shopping mall in Hail, it has shops like lifestyle, shoe mart, babyshop, H&M, giordano, iconic etc. "Samah Center" became the second largest shopping center in Ha'il. The third being the " Hyper Panda" shopping mall. * Airif Fort (also spelled Oreif) is on a hill on the edge of the city. It is a mud-brick (

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

) fort built over 200 years ago as a combined observation post and stronghold. There is a view of the city from the main watchtower. * Qishlah Fortress is an impressive sight located in the center of Ha'il. The current building was built in the 1940s while Prince Abdulaziz bin Musa'ad Al Saud held office in Ha'il province. It is the largest traditional mud-brick fortress in Ha'il and is very well restored and preserved both outside and inside. It was used mostly as a barracks. Its two floors are 142.8x141.2 meters high, its walls are 8.5m high, and it has eight large watch-towers along with the wall with two main gates, eastern and western, and has a large inner courtyard with old military items on exhibition. * At-Turathy Restaurant is a large historical mud-brick building located in Ha'il center which is used as a traditional restaurant. Its appearance is half-restaurant, half-museum with a large number of local traditional items used as decorations. The atmosphere is very traditional, food is traditional, and seating is on the floor. * Ha'il Roundabouts are located in different parts of the city. These have large sculptures of traditional items located in the center of the traffic rotaries which are decorative fountains. One has a Gerba (traditional animal skin canteen) built as a fountain, another has a Mabakara (traditional incense burner) with Dellahs (traditional coffee pots) and cups around it built as a fountain. * Ha'il Museum is the museum of the city of Ha'il. It is also one of the places where visitors can buy permits to see the petroglyphs near the oasis of Jubbah, Saudi Arabia, the other place being Ateeq Naif al-Shammari's Jubbah Palace of Heritage museum just off the main street in the town of Jubbah itself. The rock carvings, which are believed to date from 5500 BC are in an area that is about an hour and a half from Ha'il city by car. Tours to the Nafud desert can also be organized there. * Aja Palace is located on the outskirts of the city. It was where the former governor of Ha'il province Prince Saud bin Abdul Muhsin Al Saud lived. It can only be seen from a distance - from the main highway nearby. It is a residential compound and as such is not open to the general public for sightseeing. * Ha'il Desert Life Festival is an annual festival held in the province of Ha'il to celebrate and exchange experiences about desert life and culture around the world. * Ha'il Rally is an important event in Ha'il and even in

as it is the first car rally in Saudi Arabia, which started in 2006 and was approved by FIA in 2008.

Education

Ha'il University

The University of Ha'il (UoH) started as a

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

, called Ha'il Community College (HCC), under the auspices of

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a nonprofit research university in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Founded near the earliest local oil fields as the College of Petroleum & Minerals (1963) in response to the ...

(

KFUPM King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a nonprofit research university in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Founded near the earliest local oil fields as the College of Petroleum & Minerals (1963) in response to the ...

) in September 1998. HCC was the first Community College to open in a planned expansion of educational opportunities for

n high school graduates. HCC started by offering three-year associate degree programs in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

Computer Systems A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

, and

Electronic Engineering Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flo ...

and Instrumentation. Later on, HCC offered three

Bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (d ...

programs in Applied Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Management Information Systems. The University of Ha'il was officially established on 14 June 2006. The university consisted of five colleges: College of MedicineCollege of Pharmacy &

Medical Sciences Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, College of Science, College of Engineering, College of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Computer Engineering Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engi ...

, and

Community College A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

. The first students were admitted on 11 February 2006. In 2007, two existing colleges joined the university, the men's Ha'il Teachers College (now called the College of Education)and the Girls College of Education. These two colleges were originally under the auspices of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. The university enrollment has now grown to more than 32,000 students. The University has several campuses inside the city, and is expanding. It has as a new campus under construction, which is located to the north of the city and covers an area of more than .

Transportation

Ha'il is located on Saudi Arabian highways 65,66,70 and 400, and is connected to 3 main highways,

Madinah Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Buraydah Buraydah or Buraidah (Arabic: بريدة) is the capital and largest city of Al-Qassim Province in north-central Saudi Arabia. Renowned as the agricultural capital of Saudi Arabia and often referred to as the food basket of the Kingdom, the cit ...

, and Jouf Highways, which connect Ha'il with the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. Ha'il has an important logistical role in northern Saudi Arabia's rail system (SAR). In 2008 Ha'il is the site of a

concrete sleeper A concrete sleeper (British English) or concrete tie (American English) is a type of railway sleeper or railroad tie made out of steel reinforced concrete. History In 1877, Joseph Monier, a French gardener, suggested that concrete reinforced ...

plant for railway construction. A railway (the north–south line) was completed in 2015 that extends from Riyadh to Al-Hadeetha in northern Saudi Arabia through Ha'il as part of the expansion of the Saudi railway system railway. A new SAR railway passenger station was completed in 2015. It is planned that commercial operation of this station will start in the fourth quarter of 2017 with trips to Riyadh.

Airport

Ha'il Regional Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: HAS,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: OEHL) is an airport offering both domestic and international flights, located to the southeast of Ha'il city. The airport is served by domestic carriers ( Flynas, Flyadeal, Nesma Airlines, and

Saudia Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the ...

) and foreign carriers ( Air Arabia,

flydubai Dubai Aviation Corporation (), doing business as flydubai (), is an Emirati government-owned airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airline mainly operates out of Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, though some flights fly out ...

, Jazeera Airways and Nile Air). A new international airport was planned to be constructed near Ha'il city, in the Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mousaed Economic City (PABMEC), as Ha'il has a strategic location in the Middle East because it takes only one hour by plane to reach 11

capitals.

Hospitals

* Abeer Medical Center * King Salman Speciality Hospital * Salamat Hospital * Hail General Hospital * Saudi German Hospital * Maternity Hospital

References

* G. A. Wallin (1854): ''Narrative of a journey from Cairo to Medina and Mecca, by Suez, Araba, Tawila, al-Jauf, Jublae, Hail and Negd in 1845'', Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol 24: 115–201. (Reprinted 1979). * Lady Anne Blunt (1881): ''A Pilgrimage to Nejd, The Cradle of the Arab Race: a Visit to the Court of the Arab Emir and `our Persian Campaign`'' (Reprinted 1968) * William Gifford Palgrave, 1865.''Personal Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862–1863)'', 2 vols (London: Macmillan & Co). (Reprinted many times, last in 1985). *

(1888): ''Travels in Arabia Deserta.'' (Reprinted many times) *

(1907): ''The Desert and the Sown'' (Republished 1987) *E. Rutter (1931): ''Damascus to Hâil.'' Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, vol 18: 61–73. * D. G. Hogarth (1905): ''The Penetration of Arabia: a Record of Western Knowledge Concerning the Arabian Peninsula.'' * Madawi Al Rasheed: ''Politics in an Arabian oasis. The Ibn Rashid Tribal Dynasty.'' I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, London -New York 1991 (based on a Ph.D. thesis presented to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 1988). *Lonely Planet: ''The Middle East'', 3rd edition 2000.

External links

University of Ha'il official website

Ha'il city official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hail Populated places in Ha'il Province Oases of Saudi Arabia Provincial capitals of Saudi Arabia Cities in Saudi Arabia