Dhahran Area Guide
The 22.5-square-mile sized Dhahran forms part of the triangle of the Dammam area. It is accessible from both Dammam (15 minutes) and Khobar (less than 10) by a 6-8-lane expressway. Dammam railway station is 18 km outside its 'centre'.
This is the administrative hub of Saudi Aramco, and your connection (direct or indirect) to this misplaced Californian town will be the reason you're trying to find out about the area. Some 50,000 employees of the company reside in the city (meaning one in five people you see). 'Aramcons' refer to the city as the Aramco Camp. Khobar and Dammam are considered areas "outside the camp".
The modern Dhahran 'arrived' with the discovery of oil and has served as the nation's administrative hub for the oil industry ever since. The industry (in the widest sense) dominates everything - from how you're paid, to what you'll end up talking about. Unsurprising then that the city has made itself look and feel very comfortable to the expats drawn to serve it.
With its palm trees, pastel-pink architecture and sprawling sports fields, Dhahran could be any Californian town. The only thing that sets it apart is its location. Huck Magazine
You could be in the suburbs of any big America city — rows of clapboard houses, most of them single-story, some with a small porch where you might enjoy your barbecue at weekends. You drive down main street — King’s Street — past neat gardens, grocery stores, medical facilities and a cinema. Arab News
The three cities of Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam are collectively known as the greater Dammam or the Dammam Metropolitan Area. The area offers beaches, a maritime museum, a water park, resorts, and parks...
There is no direct bus service in many parts of central Dhahran but fret not: Saudi Aramco provides its own service, linking up the network. The service is for Aramco employees and their dependents only.
The nearest airport is now 65 km away, Dammam King Fahd Int'l Airport (DMM). You'll need to take a taxi (US$20, 15 minutes). The second option is Bahrain and a bus over the causeway connecting the island of Bahrain to Al Khobar (60 minutes).
For schools, it's likely you'll be taking a trip to Dammam or Khobar, where there are a number of excellent US, UK and IB curricula schools. Click here for the full listing of international schools in the Dammam spread.
For accommodation, we suspect that Aramco will have that covered for you. If you're not an Aramco employee, you should call in a relocation guide to help you. Click here for a listing of Saudi based relocation companies.
Dhahran is the kind of place the creeps up on you, and if you end up being there long enough really gets under your skin and takes hold. That applies particularly to kids that grow up in the safety of its suburbia who can never quite shake the place, even after finally getting away to the likes of London or New York - cities they have dreaming of escaping to throughout their trouble-free adolescence.
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