19 Facts About Qatif

Qatif or Al-Qatif is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

Qatif is one of the oldest settlements in Eastern Arabia, its history going back to 3500 BC, more than 5000 years ago, and was part of the Bahrain Region which was called Dilmun at that time and the Sumerians knew it as the land of Paradise, immortality, and life.

However, Since the development of the oil fields in the late 1940s, Qatif has lost its status as an important port to Ad-Dammam and from the 1990s they tend to work in the oil industry, public services, education, and healthcare sectors.

Qatif functioned for centuries as the most important trade port in Eastern Arabia.

The term Qatif is derived from what translates to "harvest" or "grain", signifying the area's past agricultural history.

Related searches

Until the advent of Ottoman rule in the 18th century, Qatif belonged to the historical region known as the Province of Bahrain, along with Al-Hasa and the present-day Bahrain islands.

Probably at about this time, Qatif became the main port for the mainland surpassing 'Uqair in importance for the trade and thus became the capital of the Usfurids.

In 1551 The Portuguese conquered Qatif maintaining domain of the gulf allied with the Pasha of Basra.

Economy of Qatif witnessed a sharp decline in the 1920s, initially due to the invention of cultured pearls which severely impacted the Gulf pearl trade, then due to World War I The decline was accelerated by a special "Jihad" tax imposed by the Saudis, which was used to fund military campaigns.

The governor of Qatif responded with intimidation and mass imprisonments.

Qatif eventually met with the governor and some citizens, pardoned past-due taxes, and reduced new taxes.

The Saudi government responded by imposing a curfew on all the towns in the Qatif area, sealing off the area with tanks and armoured vehicles.

Activists in Qatif first took to the streets in March 2011, demanding the release of political prisoners.

Qatif is the centre of the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia.

Qatif has one of the lowest numbers of non-Saudi residents in the kingdom.

Some of the employees have moved to Dhahran, where these companies are located, but the majority still reside in Qatif and go to Dhahran by cars or Saudi Aramco buses in about 50 minutes' journey.

Qatif coastline is rich with shrimp and many varieties of fish.

Qatif villages are known to have many date palms and other fruits.

On 8 March 2020 Qatif was put into lockdown by Saudi Arabia until 29 April 2020 because of cases of COVID-19.