Unaizah

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Unaizah محافظة عنيزة
Governorate
The internal ring road in Al-shrimyah district and Unaizah Mall
UTC+3
• Summer (DST)	UTCDST not observed
Postal Code	51911
Area code	+966-16
Website	um.gov.sa

Unaizah (

Historically, Unaizah was an important stopping point for Muslim pilgrims coming from Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Persia (now Iran) on their way to

.

Geography

Unaizah is in the south of

(or Sabkha), which is considered an official part of the city.

Climate

Unaizah has a hot desert climate (Köppen Climate Classification BWh), with long, extremely hot summers and short, very mild winters. The average high temperature in August is 43.6 °C (110.5 °F). The city experiences very little precipitation, especially in summer, but receives a fair amount of rain in March and April. It is also known to have dust storms during which the dust can be so thick that visibility is under 10 m (33 ft).

Agriculture

kurrat

) farm in Unaizah

Unaizah is an agricultural area and produces

.

) are a very important part of the local culture of Unaizah. They are popular among the locals and comprise a significant portion of the local agricultural industry.

An annual Date Season Festival has been held in September since the early 2000s, giving Unaizah the distinction of hosting the second largest date festival in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The festival rivals the date festival of neighboring Buraydah's, which is sometimes known as "Buraydah, the City of Dates".^[3][4]

Unaizah's 2008 (4th) annual Date Festival was known as the "Unaizah International Date Festival", though the city's title "Unaizah, the Kingdom of Dates" was retained as a motto. Many people from different places of the Middle East come to see this festival and buy dates because they know there is a good quality of dates.

Government

The Unaizah Municipality (

for the Metropolitan area of Unaizah. The municipality was established for the purpose of maintaining villages, regulating construction projects and systematizing public health, safety measures and the construction of the infrastructure of the city such as roads, the stormwater drainage network and street lighting. The Unaizah Municipality has 3 main agencies:

• Services Agency : Responsible of maintenance and operation of facilities in the city.
• Project Management Agency: Responsible of managing and regulating the construction projects in the city.
• Urbanization and Planing Agency: Responsible of urban planning and administrating lands and properties in the city.

The municipality has had 16 mayors since it was founded.

Unaizah Municipality Mayors

n	Mayor	From	To
1	Abdullah bin Saleh Al Muhaimid	1381 AH	1388 AH
2	Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Bassam	1388 AH	1389 AH
3	Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Dahman	1389 AH	1390 AH
4	Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Humaidi	1390 AH	1396 AH
5	Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jamaan	1396 AH	1396 AH
6	Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Hammad	1396 AH	1403 AH
7	Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Bassam	1396 AH	1409 AH
8	Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Naeem	1409 AH	1413 AH
9	Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Nadawi	1413 AH	1413 AH
10	Fahd bin Muhammad Al-Jubeir	1413 AH	1420 AH
11	Abdullah bin Suleiman Al-Attiyah	1420 AH	1421 AH
12	Eng. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mazrou’	1421 AH	1426 AH
13	Eng. Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Khalil	1426 AH	1432 AH
14	Eng. Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Bassam	1432 AH	1440 AH
15	Eng. Khalaf Hamdan Al-Otaibi	1440 AH	1442 AH
16	Eng. Faris bin Muhammad Al-Qahtani	AH 1442 (2020/2021)	Incumbent

there is 18 villages and offices within the range of Unaizah Municipality.

Alhufayrah	Albuaiten	Al'awniyyah	Wadi Aljanah
Alrawghani	Alwahlan	Wadi Abu Ali	Aldal'ah
Manzelt Abu Ali	Aladaen	Alfardah	alanbaryah
alrafiah	Alghabshyah	alaushazia	Almubarkiya
Albarbk	Alnaam

Education

Unaizah is home to some pioneers in

One of the first cities to embrace female education in

Today, there are many

Western travelers

The people of Unaizah are well known for their hospitality and acceptance for people from other races and religions. The famous Charles Montagu Doughty lived in the city during his odyssey and wrote highly about the city.

Tourism

There are twelve tourist

, and a calendar has been made for these events.

Unaizah, has renewed its status as a trailblazer of Tourism in the Qassim Province

— 

Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud (the Governor of Al-Qassim and Chairman of the province's Tourism Council)^[10]

The

festivals

to private meetings in family ranches. Some of the most notable venues in which festivals are held are the following:

• Almusawkaf
• Onaizah Mall
• Othaim Mall
• Al-Ghada Park
• Al Bassam Mansion, a traditional house and a private museum
• Al Hajeb Parks
• Al Hamdan House, a traditional house and a private museum
• Asia Resort and Park
• Dream Land, the largest
  theme park in Al Qassim Province and reportedly the Central Region
• Judaida Local Market
• King Fahd Cultural Center
• The Roman amphitheater
• Salih Bin Salih Cultural Center
• The Unaizah House for Traditional Legacy
• Caravanserai Museum, a little museum of antiques, family memories, traditional things, and historical stories

There are five

distributed all around the city:

• Al Fahd Crown (under construction)
• Golden Tulip (under construction)
• Radisson Blu Hotel (under construction)
• Onaizah Hotel
• Boudl

Although Unaizah is thought to be relatively more accepting of visitors than its neighbors, its tourism industry faces criticism for a number of reasons. One such criticism is its disregard for infrastructure maintenance.[11]

Culture

Religion

All of the Saudi

was born and raised in Unaizah. He lived in Unaizah where many mosques have been built and named after him.

Cuisine

The

cuisine in general, and the cuisine of Unaizah is very famous for its delicious food, and for its renowned and tasty traditional meals such as Jereesh, Margoug, Gersan, and Metazeez.

As for sweets, along with other

.

Like other Saudi cities, the Najdi Kabsa is the most traditional lunch. The Yemeni Mandi is also popular as a lunch meal.

Western origin

among others are widely distributed in Unaizah.

Sports

Unaizah is very active in terms of

, and it is very popular in Unaizah, it is played in school's P.E. (i.e. Physical Education) lessons, and it is common to see a group of kids playing it in the streets.

There are two local clubs in Unaizah, the Saudi Al Najmah club,[12] and the Al Arabi club.

Population

The city has experienced very high rates of population growth. Unaizah officially counted population in the city limits in 2010 was 163,729.

Media

Unaizah is served by six major

of Unaizah. In addition to many other national and international magazines distributed everywhere in the city's markets.

and hundreds of cable, satellite and other specialty television providers.

Ruling dynasty

The city has been ruled by the Al Sulaim family (Sons of Sulaiman Al-Zamil) since 1818. They came to power when Prince Yehya Al-Sulaim in 1822 killed the governor appointed by the Ottoman emperor, Abdullah Al-Jamei. This dynasty still rules the city according to a written treaty between them and the Saudi royal family. Some of the most famous families in Saudi Arabia originate from Unaizah, including Al Juffali, Al Saikhan, Al Ohaly, Alsmaeel, AlGarawi, Al Abalkhail, Al Ghothami, Al Hatlani, Al Ghumayz, Al Sulaiman, Al Hamdan, Al Akeel, Al Fadl, Al Tamimi, Al Zamil (ALZamel), Al Olayan, Al Bassam, Al Gadhi, Al Matrody, Al Salloum, Al Saheel, Al Subaiee, Al Senany, Al Mansour, Al Yahya, Al Thukair, Al Turki, Al Dubayan, Al Shoshan, Al Shubaili, Al Shebel, Al Damigh, Al Othaimeen, Al Malloohi, Al Marzooki, Al Manei, Al Se'di, Al Abeeki, Al Houthi, Al Khwaiter, Al Sowayil, Al Daffaa, Al Jaffali, Al Dukhayyel, Al Dakheel, Al Abdeli, Al Suhaimi families and many others.

• Mohammad al-Yahya, first Saudi Arabian CEO at the bank of HSBC
• Heythem Abdullah ALZamel, one of the First Saudi Trauma/Acute Care Surgeons; educated and trained in the United States.
• Abdullah al-Senany, poet, educator, and calligrapher
• Azzam al-Kadi, laparoscopic and trauma surgeon, public figure, and assistant professor at Al Qassim University
• Mohammad al-Sebayel, the first Arab surgeon to perform a human liver transplant
• Abdulaziz al-Hazzaa, comedian notable for his different voice levels.
• Musa'ad al-Senany, Saudi Minister of Labor and Social Affairs
• Khalid Al-Mansour, Saudi retired footballer
• Abdullah al-Nuaim, Riyadh city manager, vice president of King Saud University, founder and President of the Board of Trustees, King Fahd National Library
• Abdulaziz al-Nuaim, member of the Saudi Shura Council.
• Saudi Air Force
  general
• King Abdulaziz
• Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University
• Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al Zamil
  , industrial engineer and politician, Minister of Industry and Electricity
• Saudi Arabia National Guard
• AbdalRahman Abalkhail, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and Saudi Ambassador to Egypt
• Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs
• Mohammad Al-Sowayel, President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
• Ahmad Al Dubayan, director of the Islamic Cultural Centre in London
• Ali Al Khayat, poet and writer
• Abdullah Al Shoshan, poet
• Abdullah Al-Houthi, Former General Manager and Controller of Sabick Inc ^{[13][14][15][16]}
• Saleh Al-Dabibi, Lawyer ^[17]
• Muhammed Al-Houthi, Former Goalkeeper for Al-Najma SC and the Saudi International Team.^{[18][19][20][21]} Featured on the "Coke Collectible Cans" that featured various "Gold Star" players on the Saudi Arabia National Team. He is seen in the first row, third can.^[22][23]
• Abdul Rahman Al-Dabibi, Former Captain of Al-Camel Milk FC.^[24]
• Saudi Ambassador to the United States
• Ebraheem Alsuleiman (Alakeel), former chief of Crown Prince Faisal's Royal Court and former Saudi Ambassador to Egypt
• Yusef Al-Bassam, President of the Saudi Development Fund
• Lubna Olayan, prominent businesswoman^[25]
• Muhammad Al Shubeili, former Saudi Ambassador to Iraq and Malaysia
• Muhammad Al Zughaiby, Minister of Transportation
• Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on STS-51-G
  .
• Nassir Al-Salloum, Minister of Transportation
• Military Attaché
  to the United Kingdom.
• Saleh Al Abbad, former chief of the Saudi Royal Court.
• Saleh Al Nugaidan, draughtsman, painter, and photographer.
• Sulaiman S. Olayan, one of Saudi Arabia's leading businessmen whose autobiography is titled "From Unaizah to Wall Street."^[26]
• Sulaiman Al Sulaim, former Minister of Commerce and Finance and Chairman of Saudi American Bank
• Abdulrahman Rashed Alkhayat, Royal Saudi Navy admiral
• Saad Al-Sowayan, anthropologist and writer
• Abdul-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sa'di, a Sunni Muslim scholar and former imam of the city's Jami' mosque
• Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen
  , a Sunni Muslim scholar and former imam of the city's Jami' mosque

In the news

Unaizah is well known for its hospitality, hence, there are a variety of tourism Festivals in the year. These include dates, and healthy crops festivals. There is also a bi-annual cultural festival which is a trademark for this city. It was the only city of the

]

Gallery

• 
  Bin Uthaimeen Mosque
• 
  Al Gadhi Mosque
• 
  Al Gadhi Mosque and The Municipality Building
• 
  Onaizah Hotel
• 
  Aerial view of Al Ghadha Desert Festival 2007
• 
  King Abdulaziz Road

See also

• Unaizah Municipality
• Najd
• `Anazzah

References

External links

• Information about the city
• Unaizah's Department of Education
• Municipality website