Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JEDDAH385
2006-05-23 14:43:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTHERN ARABIAN CITY OF TABUK

Tags:  KISL PREL SA SCUL 
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VZCZCXRO4516
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0385/01 1431443
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231443Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9192
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1399
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1477
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6524
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000385 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP;
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KISL PREL SA SCUL
SUBJECT: OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTHERN ARABIAN CITY OF TABUK

REF: A. JEDDAH 379

B. JEDDAH 384

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000385

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP;
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KISL PREL SA SCUL
SUBJECT: OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTHERN ARABIAN CITY OF TABUK

REF: A. JEDDAH 379

B. JEDDAH 384


1. SUMMARY: During a visit to Tabuk on May 16, the CG and
Pol/Econ Chief were able to meet with the Governor and
leading members of the Tabuk Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(reftels). The trip included a tour of the city of Tabuk
which provided a chance to form some general impressions.
Tabuk is a growing community. It is the center of a major
agricultural area, and is experiencing rapid industrial
expansion. The region also hosts a very substantial military
presence. A community with a very long history, very little
of the historic parts of the settlement still exist. Tabuk
is a socially conservative area. While in Tabuk, the
Consulate group did not see a single woman. END SUMMARY.

TABUK GOVERNATE


2. Tabuk is the capital and largest city in the
northwestern-most province of Saudi Arabia. The province has
an area of 104,000 square kilometers. It is bordered on the
north by Jordan. Its western border is the Red Sea. The
province has more than 700 km of coastline, extending from
the Jordanian border in the Gulf of Aqaba, south to a point
just north of the major industrial city of Yanbu. Both
Israel and Egypt are neighbors across the narrow Gulf of
Aqaba. To the south is the province of Medina, which
contains not only the industrial center of Yanbu, but the
religious city of Medina. Its eastern borders are the
provinces of Hail and Jouf.

HISTORY OF TABUK


3. The region was important in ancient times. Major
civilizations have existed there since at least 1500 B.C. It
is commonly believed that Tabuk was the land of Madyan and
Dadan mentioned in the Bible. During the Roman era, Tabuk
constituted much of the ancient Nabatean state, popularly
identified with Petra in Jordan. There are numerous
archaeological sites in the region, including: Al Bidaa, Al
Khuraibah, Rawwafa, Al Muwailih, Al Muzim and Taima.
Numerous ancient inscriptions and pictographs have been found
on rock outcroppings throughout the area.


4. In modern history, before the founding of the Saudi
state, Tabuk was an important outpost of the Ottoman Empire.
The Red Sea and the narrow coastal plain were important

routes for pilgrims and traders. Ottoman forts and
watchtowers are common along the trade routes and ports on
the coast. The Hejaz Railway, designed to cement Ottoman
control over the Muslim Holy Cities passed through the middle
of the province. A major station and repair facility were
built in Tabuk. Destruction of this railway, disrupting
Turkish control of western Arabia, was a major achievement of
the Arab Revolt during the First World War.

THE MILITARY IN TABUK


5. Tabuk houses the Northwest Area Command at King Abdul
Aziz Military City. It is the headquarters of the Royal
Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) 7th Armored, 8th Infantry, 12th
Armored, and 14th Infantry Brigades. Tabuk also is home to
the RSLF Airborne School and Brigade, the RSLF Armor
Institute, and King Faisal Air Base with the 2nd Squadron,
flying F-15 aircraft. A substantial portion of the regional
economy is directed towards providing support and services to
the military.

ECONOMY OF TABUK


6. A major source of agricultural produce since ancient
times, Tabuk remains the breadbasket of Saudi Arabia, growing
over 180,000 tons of wheat each year. Other important crops
include grapes, alfalfa, and fruit. Recently, greenhouses
have been constructed and the area grows and exports large
numbers of cut flowers. Additional economic information is
provided in reftel B.

SIGHTS AROUND TABUK


7. During the flight into Tabuk and the drive from the
airport to the city center, it was possible to see the
substantial agricultural development in the valley containing

JEDDAH 00000385 002 OF 002


the city. Numerous large irrigated fields were visible.
Most of the irrigation seen employed center-pivot irrigation
systems. Tabuk itself is a sprawling, new development
consisting of cement brick structures, little different than
those found in other modern Arabian cities. The streets were
lined with many small shops and businesses.


8. It was evident that rapid growth is continuing. In
several places, one or two new buildings were surrounded by
large tracts of undeveloped land. In one notable instance,
about a quarter of a mile off one of the major traffic
arteries, a large, new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant sat
in the middle of a network of empty streets, at least 500
yards from any other structure. The long-serving governor
(reftel A) has overseen substantial "official" development.
Not only did he sponsor a convention center and recreation
center, but an impressively large Municipal Palace where he
met the CG and Pol/Econ Chief. The CG commented that the
streets were noticeably cleaner than those she had seen in
the other cities she had visited in the Consular District.

OLD TABUK


9. Although Tabuk has been settled for at least 3,000 years,
little associated with the historic settlement exists. It is
true that Tabuk was never a very large community. The
British traveler H. St. John B. Philby during a visit in the
early 1950s noted only the Ottoman fort and wells surrounded
by a few streets of mud-brick hovels and the railway station.
The facades of the station buildings in the center of the
city have been restored, but are fenced off and forsaken in
unkempt grounds. A few hundred yards away are the wells and
castle complex observed by Philby. The fort, or castle,
remains unrestored and locked. The surrounding streets have
been replaced by non-descript modern buildings, with the
exception of a few partially demolished walls of old
buildings immediately adjacent to the castle grounds.


10. The historic wells, which justified Tabuk's existence
throughout the millennia, were choked with sand and debris to
within a few feet of the top of the stone-lined shaft. One
of the guides reverently showed the CG the spot where the
Prophet Muhammed reputedly drank from the well. Now, the
revered spot was littered with cigarette butts, crushed
soft-drink cans and the detritus one associates with places
where bored young men congregate on week-end evenings. In
view of the fact that Saudi Arabia's Wahabi doctrine rigidly
opposes venerating places associated even with the Prophet
lest one fall into idolatry, one briefly wondered if the
deplorable state of this historic spot was simply
indifference to the past or perhaps an impudent way some
Saudi youths employed to demonstrate their adherence to
Wahabi principles. The palm trees of the "oasis" were fenced
off and also used as a dump for trash. Indeed, it was noted
that the monuments of old Tabuk were the dirtiest parts of
the other-wise well kept city. Even the famous mosque where
the Prophet is said to have prayed after victory at the
battle of Tabuk appeared rather forlorn.

NO WOMEN IN SIGHT


11. Tabuk is described as a very conservative Muslim
community. This was apparent during the drive from the
airport and meetings and tour of the city, when not a single
women was seen on the streets, in the hotel, or employed in
the government offices. The few men passed on the streets
during the afternoon tour glanced at the passing motorcade
with looks of surprise and curiosity.

Gfoeller