Dhahran

Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān, meaning "the two backs") is a city in Saudi Arabia located in the country's Eastern Province not far from the Persian Gulf a short distance south of the larger port city of Dammam. Dhahran is, technically speaking, a fenced-in company compound, and only Saudi Aramco employees and their dependents may live inside. However, because the town's name is also used for the international airport (DHA) and US consulate, both located outside the Saudi Aramco compound, "Dhahran" is often used for convenience to refer to the larger metropolitan area that includes (Al-)Khobar, (Al-)Dammam, and many private residential compounds, all of which have grown together into a single megalopolis of over 1 million inhabitants.

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Dhahran proper (Aramco code: DH) is one of three original expatriate oil company compounds in the east of the country (now four), which also include Ras Tanura (the refinery and port), and Abqaiq (also Buqayq) - and more recently Udhailiyah. Dhahran was the first of the group, founded in the late 1930's, and is still the largest, with 11,300 residents, including approximately 6,200 North Americans. The town consists of two main divisions: Dhahran "main camp" (the oldest section) and Dhahran Hills. Among Aramcons, "Dhahran Hills" is sometimes used to refer to any or all Saudi Aramco compounds rather than just one section of the Dhahran compound.

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Dhahran is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), the forerunner to the modern Saudi Aramco (now fully owned by the Saudi government).

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In the first Gulf War, a significant number of United States military personnel were stationed at and around the long-standing US airbase at Dhahran airport. Some of these personnel remained after the conclusion of the war, operating under Army Forces Central Command – Saudi Arabia (ARCENT-SA). On June 25, 1996, 19 U.S. servicemen died in a terrorist bombing at Khobar Towers, a U.S. military complex near Dhahran which eventually led to the departure of US forces in 2003, after an agreement was reached on April 29 between the United States and Saudi Arabia, one day before major combat operations were declared over in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced that U.S. military operations were moved from Prince Sultan air base to Qatar's al-Udeid air base. A small number of U.S. troops stayed in the kingdom to train Saudi forces and participate in joint exercises. (See: Khobar Towers bombing).

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Arabic: redirect Arabic language...

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Dammam: Dammam (Also Damman or Ad Dammām) is the capital of the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia....