Hail is largely agricultural, with significantgrain,date, and fruit production. A large percentage of the kingdom's wheat production comes from Hail Province, where the area to the northeast, 60 to 100 km (37 to 62 miles) away, consists ofirrigated gardens. Historically, Hail derived its wealth from being on thecamel caravan route of theHajj. Hail is well known for the generosity of its people throughout Saudi Arabia and theArab world as it is the place whereHatim al-Tai lived. It is also the homeland of theRashidi dynasty, historical rivals to theHouse of Saud.[2]
The first emir,Abdullah bin Ali, took power with his brother Emir Obaid and Jabbr's sons. He continued constructing theBarzan Palace in Hail, which had been started byMuhammad bin Abdul Muhsin of theEmirate of Al Ali, the predecessor state that ruled Hail between 1489 and 1834. After Abdullah bin Ali's death in 1848, his son and successor,Talal bin Abdullah, completed the palace.
During the Rashidi period many foreign travellers visited Hail and the Rashidi emirs, and described their impressions in different journals and books, including those ofGeorg August Wallin (1845),Gifford Palgrave (1865),Lady Anne Blunt (1881),Charles Montagu Doughty (1888), andGertrude Bell (1914). Rashidi emirs were considered relatively tolerant towards foreigners, including traders in Hail:
"Many of these traders belonged to theShiyaa sect, hated by someSonnites, doubly hated by theWahabees. But Telal affected not to perceive their religious discrepancies, and silenced all murmurs by marks of special favor towards these very dissenters, and also by the advantages which their presence was not long in procuring for the town."[4]
The construction of theHejaz railway betweenDamascus andMedina, together with new inexpensive steamship routes toJeddah, undermined the traditional camel caravan economy of Hail.[5]
The last Rashidi emir was ousted from power byIbn Saud in 1921. Ibn Saud then gave orders to destroy the Barzan Palace and also ordered the leaders of the Rashidi dynasty and Al Sabhan dynasty to move from Hail toRiyadh, and he assigned one person from the mentioned families, as temporary emir Prince Ibraheem bin Salem Al Sabhan in order to assure the loyalty from the Hail people and Shammar. After this, Hail fell into steep decline, as witnessed by E. Rutter in 1931:
"Hail seems like a city marooned among the sand...the population of Hail was plainly in decline. Numbers of houses in the northern quarter of the town were in ruins...many people of Hail had fled to the comfortable realms ofKing Faisal of Iraq."
Hatim al-Tai was a famousArabianpoet wholived before Muhammad's preaching of Islam, and the father of thelatter's companionAdi ibn Hatim and Safana bint Hatim. He was aChristian,[6] and belonged to theTayyArabian tribe. Stories about his extremegenerosity have made him an icon to Arabs up till the present day, as in theproverbial phrase "more generous than Hatim". There is a hill overlooking the city of Hail which has a reproduction of the campfire he lit to welcome his guests, which is turned on every night and can be seen from the center of the town. He was the ruler of his tribe. After Hatim's death, his son Adi became the ruler of Tayy. He also became a Muslim in 628 after a meeting withMuhammad.
Abdulaziz bin Mutaib was the son of the third emir of theRashidi dynasty, he was adopted by his uncle Mohammed, the fifth amir, and brought up to be his heir. After Mohammed died of natural causes, Abdulaziz succeeded him unopposed. However, the Rashidi rule was insecure, as theirOttoman allies were unpopular and weakening. In 1904 the youngIbn Saud, the founder ofSaudi Arabia, returned from exile with a small force and retookRiyadh. Abdulaziz died in thebattle of Rawdat Muhanna against theHouse of Saud.[7]
Samra Mountain overlooks the city. This is whereHatim al-Tai lit a fire on the summit to welcome guests. Today an asphalt road leads to the summit where a natural gas-powered fire is lit at night. There is a park with a lake at the bottom of the mountain, and on the side of the mountain is theEmblem of Saudi Arabia (date palm and crossed swords) made from electric lights which are turned on at night.
Aja Mountain (Jabal Aja) is on the opposite side of Hail city from As-Samra. A huge Saudi flag made of electric lights, turned on at night, is located on the side of the mountain.
TheAdayra Valley runs roughly along a north–south axis, dividing central Ha'il in two.[8]
Hail has aHot desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWh) with hot summers and cool winters with frequent frosts. It has a somewhat milder climate than other Saudi cities due to its higher altitude.
Barzan PalaceCorridor with rugs off courtyard of Barzan
Barzan Palace was a historic palace that used to be located in Hail up until the 1920s. It was built in 1808 by Prince Muhammad bin Abdul-Muhsin Al Ali over an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The Palace was completed during the rule of the 2ndRashidi emir, Talal bin Abdullah (1848–68). The Palace consisted of 3 floors, the first had the reception halls, gardens, and kitchens. The second had the diplomatic guest rooms. The third had the royal family rooms. It was demolished at the orders ofIbn Saud after theconquest of Hail in 1921.
Barzan Souk is in the place where many years ago stood the Barzan Palace of the Rashidi extended family who governed the area around Hail.
Friday Market is a traditional-style souk, held on Friday because it is a national weekend.
Garden Mall is the largest shopping mall in Hail, it has shops like lifestyle, shoe mart, babyshop, H&M, giordano, iconic etc. "Samah Center" became the second largest shopping center in Hail. The third being the "Hyper Panda" shopping mall.
Airif Fort(also spelled Oreif) is on a hill on the edge of the city. It is a mud-brick (adobe) fort built over 200 years ago as a combined observation post and stronghold. There is a view of the city from the main watchtower.
Qishlah Fortress is an impressive sight located in the center of Ha'il. The current building was built in the 1940s while PrinceAbdulaziz bin Musa'ed Al Saud held office in Hail province. It is the largest traditional mud-brick fortress in Hail and is very well restored and preserved both outside and inside. It was used mostly as a barracks. Its two floors are 142.8x141.2 meters high, its walls are 8.5m high, and it has eight large watch-towers along with the wall with two main gates, eastern and western, and has a large inner courtyard with old military items on exhibition.
At-Turathy Restaurant is a large historical mud-brick building located in Hail center which is used as a traditional restaurant. Its appearance is half-restaurant, half-museum with a large number of local traditional items used as decorations. The atmosphere is very traditional, food is traditional, and seating is on the floor.
Hail Roundabouts are located in different parts of the city. These have large sculptures of traditional items located in the center of the traffic rotaries which are decorative fountains. One has a Gerba (traditional animal skin canteen) built as a fountain, another has a Mabakara (traditional incense burner) with Dellahs (traditional coffee pots) and cups around it built as a fountain.
Hail Museum is the museum of the city of Hail. It is also one of the places where visitors can buy permits to see the petroglyphs near the oasis ofJubbah, Saudi Arabia, the other place being Ateeq Naif al-Shammari's Jubbah Palace of Heritage museum just off the main street in the town of Jubbah itself. The rock carvings, which are believed to date from 5500 BC are in an area that is about an hour and a half from Hail city by car. Tours to theNafud desert can also be organized there.
Aja Palace is located on the outskirts of the city. It was where the former governor of Hail province PrinceSaud bin Abdul Muhsin lived. It can only be seen from a distance - from the main highway nearby. It is a residential compound and as such is not open to the general public for sightseeing.
Hail Desert Life Festival is an annual festival held in the province of Hail to celebrate and exchange experiences about desert life and culture around the world.[11]
TheUniversity of Hail (UoH) began as Hail Community College (HCC), established in September 1998 (27 years ago) (1998-09) under the supervision of theKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). HCC was the first community college launched as part of a national initiative to expand higher-education opportunities for Saudi Arabian students. It initially offered associate-degree programs inBusiness administration,Computer Systems, andElectronic engineering and Instrumentation, later expanding to bachelor’s degrees in Applied Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Management Information Systems.
The University of Hail was officially founded on 14 June 2006.[13]
In 2007, the men’s Hail Teachers College (now the College of Education) and the Girls College of Education were incorporated into the university. Both institutions were previously affiliated with theMinistry of Education.
Hail also hosts several colleges and institutes affiliated with theTechnical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), offering technical and vocational diploma programs for both men and women.[14]
G. A. Wallin (1854):Narrative of a journey from Cairo to Medina and Mecca, by Suez, Araba, Tawila, al-Jauf, Jublae, Hail and Negd in 1845, Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol 24: 115–201. (Reprinted 1979).
Lady Anne Blunt (1881):A Pilgrimage to Nejd, The Cradle of the Arab Race: a Visit to the Court of the Arab Emir and `our Persian Campaign` (Reprinted 1968)
William Gifford Palgrave, 1865.Personal Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862–1863), 2 vols (London: Macmillan & Co). (Reprinted many times, last in 1985).
Saudi Arabia
