Al Wajh (), also written Al Wejh, is a coastal 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 ...

, situated on the coast of the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

. The city is located in the

Tabuk Province Tabuk Province, also known as Tabuk Region ( '), is a province in Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It also borders Jordan to the north. History The history of Tabuk province ...

. It is one of the largest cities in Tabuk region, with a population of 50,000 as of 2013. Al Wajh played a pivotal role during the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1917, Al Wajh was taken by Prince Faisal's forces and used as a base of operations for a series of attacks on the Hejaz Railway. (See HMS ''Anne'' for the British side of that operation). In the past, it has been known by other names including Al Hijr port,

Mada'in Saleh HEGRA, which stands for High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Astronomy, was an atmospheric Cherenkov telescope for Gamma-ray astronomy. With its various types of detectors, HEGRA took data between 1987 and 2002, at which point it was dismantled in order to bu ...

, Al Yaqoubi and Al Udhri. Al Wajh is a comparatively big city, inhabited mainly by citizens from Al Balawi, Bedaiwi-Alali, Al Huety and Al Johani

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

. Fishing is a primary activity of the city's residents and the port is the central location where this occurs - the Al Wajh port used to be one of the main shipping centres in the region 50 years ago. The town is served by the Al Wajh Domestic Airport and has close links with the city of Tabuk, with a road connecting the two locations. The Al Wajh Domestic Airport is a small airport located on the outskirts of the town. It serves as a gateway to Wajh and the surrounding areas for both tourists and locals. The airport offers flights to several destinations within Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah, Riyadh, and Medina.

In Art and Literature

Al Wajh is the subject of a painting by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, an engraving of which was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832 as along with a poetical illustration by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

that reflects on the slowness of navigation amongst the numerous coral reefs in the area.

Climate

References

{{Portal, Saudi Arabia Wajh Wajh