Al-Ahsa Governorate

Al-Ahsa Governorate

Al-Ahsa (Arabic: الأحساء‎ al-Aḥsāʾ, locally pronounced al-Ḥasāʾ) is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after the Al-Ahsa oasis. The name Al-Ahsa is also given to the biggest city in the governorate, Hofuf. In classic Arabic, Ahsa means the sound of water underground. It has one of the largest oases in the world with Date Palms of the best in the world, the oasis is located about 60 km inland from the Persian Gulf. All urban areas are located in the traditional oasis of Al-Hasa. In addition to the oasis, the county also includes the giant Empty Quarter desert, making it the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia in terms of area. The Empty Quarter has the world's largest oil fields and connects Saudi Arabia to Qatar, the UAE, and Oman. The Governorate's population is over 908,366 (2005 estimate). Though the population is mixed between Sunnis and Shi'ites, it contains one of the largest concentrations of Twelvers (اثنا عشرية) Shi'ite Muslims in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country. In the past, Al-Ahsa belonged to the historical region known as Bahrain, along with Qatif and the present-day Bahrain islands.

One campus of a major Saudi university, King Faisal University, founded in 1975, is located in Al-Ahsa with the faculties of agriculture, veterinary medicine and animal resources, with the other faculties in Dammam. The Hofuf campus also has facilities where Saudi women can study medicine, dentistry and home economics. A big branch of Arab Open University which is a private university is also located in Al-Ahsa.