Eastern Province
The Eastern Province (ash-Sharqiyah) is the largest province in Saudi Arabia, covering the entire Gulf coast of the country as well as the Saudi parts of the vast Empty Quarter.
Cities
The three main cities of the Eastern Province are all tightly clustered together and no more than a 15-min drive apart from each other.
- 1 Dammam — the capital of the Eastern Province
- 2 Dhahran — headquarters of Saudi Aramco
- 3 Khobar — the gateway to Bahrain
The rest are scattered around the coast:
Other destinations
- 1 Empty Quarter — the largest sand desert in the world
Understand
Get in
By plane
Dammam's airport (DMM IATA) has services from around Saudi Arabia and limited international flights to major cities in the region. Flying in via Bahrain is also a viable option.
By train
There are four trains a day from Riyadh to Dammam via Hofuf.
By car
Get around
Public transport is very limited, so having your own wheels will really pay off here.
See
Do
Eat
You can find all kinds of cuisine here. You find a lot of Indian and Pakistani restaurants. Finding standalone vegetarian restaurants is impossible. A delicacy in Saudi Arabia that you should try is dhub. Dhub is a delicacy among the Arabian Bedouins. You can either boil it or roast it and serve it with rice. Most of the meat can be found in its armored tail. In English it's commonly referred to as the spiny tail lizard (Uromastyx microlepis).
Drink
Stay safe
Carry your passport/work permit all the time. You can asked to produce your documents any time of the days and night. Do not point your camera at a lady. Do not carry alcohol/drugs into Saudi Arabia. Avoid carrying medicines unless you have a prescription along with it. Do not carry any pornographic material with you.