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.

Government and law

Also see: Saudi Aramco Health Maintenance Organization

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Laws in Dhahran are completely distinct from the rest of Saudi Arabia, law enforcement forces (in addition to health care and fire protection) are all responsibilities of Saudi Aramco, thus most Saudi government laws are not applicable in Dhahran. Women can drive freely in Dhahran and have no special code of clothes (unlike the rest of the kingdom). Safety is an extremely serious issue and can lead to termination or other severe consequenses if safety rules are not obeyed.

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The de facto government of Dhahran consists of some departments of Saudi Aramco that are related, such as Loss Prevention Department, Industrial Security Department, Community Services Department, Fire Protection Department, etc.

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Saudi Special Emergency Forces Eastern Province headquarters are located 1km away from the main gate of Dhahran, however they do not enter the city unless some serious security issue has occurred (which has never happened). The Saudi Aramco's Industrial Security Department is the traffic, sercurity, and safety enforcement service. In addition to regular law enforcement forces, it operates K-9; the Special Search Unit. It is notable that the K-9 has been active since terrorist attacks hit other parts of the country.

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Although most terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia (1998-2004) have targeted Westerners, no single incident has so far occurred in the Dhahran compound itself, due perhaps to constant vigilence by government and corporate security. (See: List of terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia.) During the Six-Day War in June 1967, however, a small-scale riot erupted outside the compound due to anger at perceived US support of Israel, and some rioters managed to gain entrance to the town, inflicting minimal harm (overturned vehicles, broken car windows) but scaring US employees and their families enough that the company saw fit to evacuate most dependents and repatriate them for several months at company expense.

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