A Nostalgic Journey to Qatif's Old City

In the last few decades the city of Qatif has expanded in area and population in ways that makes it very challenging for new generations to even imagine the old Qatif, and the life-style Qatifis sustained for hundreds of years, if not thousands. 

According to Captain G. Forster Sadlier, the population of Qatif in 1819 was a little over 25 thousand people (source). 90 years later, the British Resident, John Gordon Lorimer, estimated the population of Qatif to be almost 30,000, specifying the population of "Qatif town" to be around 10,000 (source). Such population estimates indicate that Qatif's fortified city had a significantly high population density (reaching that of modern day Manhattan), especially given the small area of the fortified city and its suburbs (less than 0.4 km²).

Keeping that in mind, we try to go through a nostalgic journey back to the past in the following pictures with the aid of the modern map of Qatif.

The modern city of Qatif consists of Tarout Island, the towns of Al-Awamiyah, Anak, and other villages (Al-Bahari, Al-Qudaih, Al-Taubi, Al-Al-Jaroudiya, Al-Khuwailidiya, Hellat-Muhaish, Al-Malahha, Al-Jish,). The city sits at the heart of the Oasis which extends from Saihat all the way to Safwa, and is the remaining area of what used to be Historical Qatif.

Examining the landscape of Central Qatif, we can clearly observe a major change in the layout of the ruins of Qatif's Fortified City. As mentioned in the previous post, the land that remained after the demolition of Qatif's Fortified City was left as a barren land for more than 20 years, until after 2006 when the municipality began the construction of a public park. 

Above: The demolished area of Qatif's Fortified City was left as barren land for more than 20 years, until it was replaced with a modern park (below).

The current layout of the streets in central Qatif are heavily influenced by the limits of the Fortified City. As an example, let's examine the following area highlighted in red.

Central Qatif, highlighted in red, is known to be Qatif's oldest area.

The selected area includes the neighborhoods of AshShammassiyah, Bab Ash Shamal, Mayyas, Jarrari, Al-Shariah and Al-Gal'ah (the local name for the Fortified City). 

The existing small streets and large roads in Central Qatif correspond to ancient ones, as seen in the red square.

Now, we attempt to trace back the highlighted area to match those neighborhoods accordingly.

A superimposition of Qatif's Fortified City and its dependencies on modern Central Qatif.

Let's look at the city from its southern gate. Notice the area highlighted in the red box.

Central Qatif as viewed from the city's southern gates.

The selected area includes the neighborhoods of Ad-Dababiyyah, Al Kuwaykib, Umm Al -Jizam, Mayyas, and part of Al-Gal'ah (the local name for the Fortified City). 

A superimposition of Qatif's old Qatif on modern Central Qatif.

As we superimpose the images of Qatif's ancient city on the modern one, we notice:

• The complete destruction of the city's ancient buildings, squares, souks, hammams (public bathrooms) and other public spaces and facilities.
• The complete loss of all the palm-tree forests that surrounded the ancient city.

Modern Qatif (with old Qatif superimposed), as viewed form the City's southern gates.

As we zoom-out, we can clearly notice the growth of the city. and the complete loss of green habitat in Central Qatif.

Comparison of Qatif's Fortified City and its dependencies with the size of modern Qatif.

The above comparison allows us to better acknowledge the growth of city's size, and its expansion towards the sea and on agricultural land (see other posts on the extent of Land-reclamation & Urban Encroachment).

The modern Town of Tarout in the center of Tarout Island.

Next we looked at the town of Tarout on Tarout Island, and we attempted to examine the expansion of the town's settlement.

A superimposition of the ancient town of Tarout on its modern map.

Just like the case of Central Qatif, the expansion of Tarout Town came at the expense of agricultural land.

Qatif's mangrove wetlands (source) were destroyed for the development of an urban area, currently known as Al-Nassirah Neighborhood.

Next, we examine the change in the landscape and the complete loss of Qatif's major coastal wetlands, known to be the center of the oasis' mangrove forests. This historical forest area has been destroyed in favor of urbanization, and is currently referred to as Al-Nassirah neighborhood.

The coastal wetlands of Qatif can bee seen in the horizon of this picture. (source)

Qatif's landscape in the last 40 years has been subject to intense urbanization. (source)

A sketch of the Qatif Oasis looking due West. The Qatif  ancient waterfront has been completely urbanized via land-reclamation (source).

The nostalgic trip that these pictures took us through should be an essential historical journey to all residents of Qatif and Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province conurbation of the cities of Khobar-Dhahran-Dammam-Ras Tanura.
The knowledge of Qatif's historical landscape is critical to understanding the identity of this ancient coastal oasis.

Qatif in the 21st Century: An Ongoing Struggle with Urban Encroachment

"The Qatif oasis one of the largest settlements in Saudi Arabia, rivaled in size only by the inland oasis of Al Ahsa", remarked the great world scholar of geography Charles H. Ebert, distinguished professor at the University at Buffalo in an article published in 1965 by the American Geographical Society (source). In his valuable article, Ebert provides a detailed description of the Al-Qatif region and it's geographical limits and topographical landmarks.  He describes Qatif as

"The region is the most intensely utilized irrigated land along the Saudi Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf. The relative ease with which abundant water can be obtained from the aquifers coupled with the availability of a sizable area of level land provides a partial explanation for the notable role this region has come to play as the leading coastal oasis of the Eastern Province."

The Qatif Region as highlighted in Professor Charles Ebert's 1965 article published in the Journal of Geographical Review by the American Geographical Society (source). He specifically indicated that Qatif's influence extends from Jubail in the north all the way to Abqaiq in the south.

He was particularly concerned with the highlighting the risks and solutions to the potential problems surrounding the oasis. He mentioned that

"A clear need exists for a long-range water-conservation policy."

In addition to all the provided detailed recommendations he suggested in the article, professor Ebert emphasized that his suggestions should be implemented in a way to "ensure the smallest amount of communal upset and dislocation in the way of life of the people of Qatif, a factor that should not be underrated".

A colored picture taken in 1952 showing the Hammam of Tarout in Tarout Island. The picture summarizes the "the way of life of the people of Qatif" that professor Ebert was concerned with preserving. (source)

Professor Ebert also emphasized encroachment as an imminent threat to the ancient oasis, highlighting that

"Although time seems to stand still in the quiet palm gardens of Al Qatif, the proximity of rapidly growing administrative and commercial centers cannot be overlooked. One of these is the port town of Al Khobar, near Dhahran, which has grown into an important commercial center that reflects the increasing demand for shopping and other service facilities for the people associated with the nearby oil industry. Other rapidly growing towns are Dammam, capital of the Eastern Province, Safwa and Al Jubail, and the Aramco centers of Dhahran, Abqaiq, and Ras Tanura. These growing settlements, and their increasing requirements for foodstuffs, will place an ever greater demand on the production capacity of Qatif's agriculture".

The growing small settlements and towns that professor Ebert mentioned in his article grew exponentially to become one of the most heavily urbanized areas of Saudi Arabia, as seen below.

The modern Qatif Oasis is under the menace of urban encroachment, as it is situated at the heart of the Eastern Province conurbation of of Khobar-Dhahran-Dammam-Ras Tanura all the way to Jubail.

In the closing of his article, professor Ebert warned that problems of encroachment and water-conservation "must be overcome if the soils, and thereby Qatif itself, are to be saved from eventual destruction". Such warnings were never widely publicized, and therefore failed to resonate among the people of the Eastern province, and in particular the people of Qatif, to whom Ebert made particular reference.
However, Ebert emphasized that it is the responsibility of the authorities in Qatif to legislate and implement policies in favor of his suggestions. The reality of Qatif's "green landscape" seen from the aerial view below reflects the failure of the Eastern Province's authorities and Saudi Arabian government in ensuring the preservation of a vibrant "oasis lifestyle" which has been completely lost as a result of urban encroachment and lack of a water-conservation program.

The green-landscape of the Qatif Oasis has been effectively reduced to narrow areas that are increasingly depleted due to negligence and urban encroachment.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, public awareness of environmental hazards has increased exponentially, especially with the spread of the internet and rise of social media within Qatif. However, despite such environmental activism and public awareness campaigns, the influence of urban encroachment remains the greatest threat on the surviving agricultural areas of the Qatif Oasis. The below images, which compare changes in the area between 2005 & 2012, provide significant evidence on the scale and growing rate of urban encroachment in Qatif.

Professor Charles Ebert recommended that "part of the oasis land" should be allocated "to deep, effective drainage channels" so that Qatif can "be saved from eventual destruction".
Let's look at what happened to the existing ancient drainage channels, re-built by the Ottomans, between 2005 and 2012.

The ancient drainage channel network, re-built by the Ottomans, were systematically buried in the first decade of the 21st century. This picture is for the channel beside what used to be the factories of Al Matrood Dairy Company, now named to UND (United National Dairy Company).

Urban Encroachment around the agricutlural lands between Saihat and Anak.

Urban Encroachment around the agricutlural lands between Saihat and Anak.

Urban Encroachment around the agricutlural lands between Saihat and Anak.

Urban Encroachment around the agricutlural lands between Saihat and Anak.

In 1965, Professor Ebert was very optimistic that "indications are that the people, encouraged by visible success, will follow the new ways that will ensure the continuity of their existence. " However, the sad reality, confirmed by the following satellite images, confirm that the people of Qatif are still actively participating in the reduction of agricultural lands, supported by the Eastern province authorities and the government of Saudi arabia.

The expansion of Al-Qudaih village came at the expense of agricultural lands.

The reduction in agricultural lands between the towns of Al-Qudaih and Al-Awamiyah.

The rural areas around Al-Awamiyah has been subject to urban encorachment from 2005 to 2012.

The rural and agricultural lands around the city of Safwa also suffered urban encroachment between 2005 & 2012.

The Saudi government has actively destroyed all the rural areas of Qatif, including the site of the ancient spring of Ain al kaaba around the Al-Jish village, which was built a thousand years ago by the Qarmatians. This picture is not exactly for the spring, but for the surrounding area.

Notice the reduction and desertification of green-lands.

Loss of agricultural land in the center.

The villages of Al-Mallahah, Umm Al-Hammam and Al-Jish increased their urban area at the expense of agricultural land.

While areas from land-reclamation projects have remained absent of any urbanization due to corruption issues, the agricultural lands became the only alternative for building urban dwellings.

Changes in agricultural lands around the Al-Khuwaildiyah village from 2005 to 2012.

Changes in agricultural lands south of the town of Al-Qudaih from 2005 to 2012.

Urbanization in rural areas.

Agricultural lands turned into urban dwellings around Al-Riyadh street in the village of Al-Jaroudiya.

Little remains of the agricultural lands around the city of Qatif. This image is for the areas south of al-Majidiah commercial & Warehouses area.

Even  the village of Halat Mahish was affected. 

Urbanization in Al-Jaroudiya is taking place at the expense of agricultural land.

Agricultural lands between Saihat and Anak.

Negligence of green areas has resulted in them being converted to barren lands, as clearly marked in the top of the images.

Rural areas around Al-Mallaha village. 

Rural areas around Al-Mallaha village. 

Additional evidence of urban encorachment.

Negligence has reduced most of  the green areas to barren lands.

The area of Qatif's ancient Fortified City and the surrounding palm-tree forests have been converted to urban areas.

Evidently, there exists a desperate need for a well-organized public campaign to push the government to legislate laws and policies for the protection of the surviving agricultural lands of the Qatif Oasis.  In particular, the government of Saudi Arabia should allocate a reasonable part of the green areas as a national sanctuary and a natural reserve. A protected area of the Qatif oasis would preserve the unique wildlife, flora, fauna and geographical features, and would help ensure the systematic conservation of the oasis, providing an ideal environment for study and research.

The Central Coastal Conurbation of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province: Rampant Urbanization on the Expense of Vital Coastal Wetlands

The town of Qatif, labeled as "elKatif", is marked as the largest and most signficant city on the Arabian gulf. Also clearly marked is the peninsula of Ras Tannurah, the city of Hofuf as in "el Hofhuf" and Al-Hasa as in "El Hassa". This map defines the region of "El Katif" as extending from Half Moon Bay south of Dhahran all the way to Ras Al-Khair (Also called Ras Al-Zour, Ras Azzour) labeled as "Ras el-Ghas". This map was published in Paris in 1842 by French cartographer and engraver Pierre M. Lapie. (Source).

Modern Qatif sits in the heart of the Central Coastal Conurbation (CCC) of the Eastern Province (CCCEP) urban area on the shores of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, which includes the metropolitan area of Dhahran-Khobar-Dammam all the way to Ras Tanura and Jubail, an area known to be as Historical Qatif until the end of World War II.

Qatif town labeled as "el Katif", Saihat as "Seihat", Ras Tannurah and Djilla Assagn all included in the region of "el Katif". This 1848 map was made by by the French cartographer and engraver Pierre M. Lapie. (source).

The newly established urban areas were associated with the oil industry, the economic nucleus of the region, and the entire middle east. The growth of the oil industry attracted numerous people from all over Saudi Arabia to satisfy the demand for labor. The growth in job opportunities reflected an increase in the population of the Dammam-Khobar-Dhahran metropolitan area which grew from 3,200 in 1932 to 320,000 in 1982 (source). This is considered to be an explosive population growth of 100 times in just 50 years, compared to the Qatif oasis population which only grew five times in 80 years. Qatif's population in 1904 was 26,000 according to Lorimer, the British Political Resident in Turkish Arabia, compared to 108,000 in 1982 (source). 

Under the modern state of Saudi Arabia, the region defined as "Historical Qatif" became defined as the Central Coastal Region, extending from Half-Moon Bay south of Dhahran all the way to Jubail in the north. (source)

With a population of 2.5 million people (60% of the Eastern Province), the central coastal conurbation (CCC) has developed into a linear multi-nuclear coastal metropolis, in which the component settlements became highly interrelated.

The Central Coastal Conurbation of the Eastern Province has been subject to one of the highest urbanization rates in Saudi Arabia, resulting in major changes in the coastal layout of the area.

Saudi Arabia's national development policies has encouraged the growth of the coastal region's population and economic activity, leading to the extension of urban boundaries towards the sea rather than looking toward the rural hinterland. The trajectories of the economic expansion of the the coastal cities were coupled with organized land reclamation master-plans for the whole region. 

Map showing all former and current mangrove sites as well as areas of reclaimed land around the Qatif Oasis and the Qatif-Tarut Bay in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. (KFUPM, 1990, source) 

Professor Faez Al-Shihri at the Department of Urban & Regional Planning, College of Architecture & Planning at the University of Dammam has dedicated several years of his graduate research to studying the impact of development on the Qatif Oasis. His research can be reviewed in his PhD thesis (here). Dr. Al-Shihri along with professor John Benson at the school of Architecture in the University of New Castle, summarized some of the impacts on Qatif's vital coastal lands in a study published in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (source), as follows:

Agricultural land, however, was not the only terrain to be affected by urban development; even the configuration of the coastline was altered, resulting in the loss of 1750 ha to landfilling over the last three decades. Al-Qatif, Sayhat, and Anak in particular have experienced urban development because of their coastal locations, as has the island of Tarut. Tarut, indeed, has been especially affected by urban growth and by the construction of the corniche road. The loss of sub-tidal habitat in Tarut bay is of particular concern. The seagrass beds and mangrove strands of the bay are known to be spawning and nursery grounds for commercially important fish and shrimps. Dredging and landfilling in Tarut bay are undoubtedly reducing the extent of the seagrass biotope, with unknown consequences for the total marine ecosystem or the sustained yield of local fisheries. Some of the last stands of mangroves are located in Tarut bay and some have already been eliminated by landfilling. Mangrove strands help to form a complex ecosystem since the roots of these trees trap sediment and provide a habitat for many minute organisms during all or part of their life cycles. Mangrove strands also supply a unique biotope for specialised macro-invertebrates and fish. Clearly, when their habitat and communities are covered by landfilling, these creatures are lost forever to the marine ecosystem. Landfilling consequences may also stretch far beyond the area of immediate impact because of effects on water flow patterns, levels of salinity, temperature, oxygen supply, the suspension of sediment, increases in turbidity, and the possible release of sediment-bound toxicants. 

As a result of land reclamation from the seabed, the size of Tarut Island increased from 1260 ha in 1958 to 2850 ha in 1993. The alteration of the coastline has already eliminated many employment opportunities in prawn and lobster fishing and carries a similar threat to pearling activities. The long-term ecological consequences are yet to be studied. Landfilling has also resulted in blocking the flow of water and has slowed the natural flushing action, which can make the area more susceptible to water pollution. Because of tides and other water movements, litter and other material has spread along locations like Tarut and Al-Qatif. This can interfere with the movements of animals, such as turtles, across beach areas. 

The scale of Reclamation around the coastal oasis of Qatif in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (source).

Indeed, under the guise of developing the region's coastline, the Saudi government has actively expanded the complex interrelated urban area of the CCC through massive land-reclamation projects.

Although the consequences of such projects are still under-reported, they were still mentioned in Saudi Arabia’s “First National Communication” in fulfillment of Article 12 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (source). The report, submitted in 2005, mentioned

"The land reclamation processes have contributed to destruction of some environmentally sensitive areas, threatening many coastal natural resources which have been considered as the essential primary food web for marine living organisms. Accordingly, fish catch yields and reserves are likely to be affected."

Although the 2005 report claims that  Coastal Land Reclamation "projects of any alteration and negative affect either sea-ward and/or land-ward along the coastal line is prohibited by regulation, however it is permitted under special conditions", land-reclamation projects continued to take place, as evident from the comparison of satellite images between 2005 and 2012 (see below).

The city of Qatif was subject to intense land reclamation. You can see major changes in the coatal areas from 2004 (top) & 2012 (bottom).

The gradual reduction of the Qatif Bay from 2004 (top), 2005 (middle), 2012 (bottom)

Land reclamation to the coast of the town of Sanabis in the north of Tarout island. Urban encroachment can be detected too in the right of the picture.

Land reclamation in the west of Tarout island resulted in the drying of the largest area of wetlands in the island.

Land reclamation in the town of Darin in Tarout Island 2005 (top) & 2012 (bottom).

The land scape of Darin, which consisted of an island, has been completely changed via land-reclamation.

A bridge is being currently built in the Bay of Safwa , bridging the town of Safwa to the  Rahima and Ras-Tanura peninusla. The environmental consequences on fishery and vegetation are still unknown.

From 2004 to 2012, the coast of Qatif, Anak, Saihat and Dammam has been subject to additional land-reclamation.

The mangrove wetlands on the coast of Dammam has been completely lost due to additional reclamation projects for the sake of urbanization. 

Old land-reclamation projects in Dammam have been expanding in recent years.

The “Second National Communication” in fulfillment of Article 12 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), claims that there exists a National Coastal Committee which has an advisory role to government authorities with the power to grant or withhold approvals for coastal development. If such committee has an active and vital role in the approval of such land-reclamation projects, then it is their responsibility to provide detailed justification to the public regarding to all the past and future land-reclamation projects. Especially that the government report to the UNFCCC clearly highlights land-reclamation as a major factor impacting biodiversity (source).