I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a number of Saudis who happen to hail from Hail. These indviduals have all the most charming, kind and hospitable individuals. As a result, they stimulated my interest to learn more about Hail and its history.
First of all I refered to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha%27il where I found a plethoria of information. Ha’il (also spelled Hail, Ha’yel, or Hayil Arabic: حائل) is an oasis city in Nejd in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of the Ha’il Province. The city has a population of 267,005 according to a 2004 census.
Ha’il is largely agricultural, with significant grain, date, and fruit production. A large percentage of the kingdom’s wheat production comes from Ha’il Province, where the area to the northeast, 60 km to 100 km away, consists of irrigated gardens. Traditionally Ha’il derived its wealth from being on the camel caravan route of the Hajj. Ha’il is well known by the generosity of its people in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world as it is the place where Hatim al-Tai lived.
Now normally I do not extract so much from another site for one of my posts, but as I continued reading what was in wikipedia about Hail, I knew I had to share the full information:
History
Ha’il was the center of the emirate of Al Rashid, a clan of the Shammar tribe, from 1836 until 1921. The first emir, Abdullah bin Rashid, took power with his brother emir Obaid and their distant cousin and close friend emir Zamil (1st) Al Sabhan in 1836 from the former ruler of Ha’il, Mohammad Ibn Ali, who was a fellow member of the Jafaar linage of the Abde section of the Shammar tribe. Abdullah bin Rashid continued constructing the Barzan Palace in Ha’il which had been started by Mohammad Ibn Ali. After the death of Abdullah bin Rashid (in 1847 or 1848) his son and successor, Talal (or Telal), completed the palace.
During the Al Rashid period many foreign travellers visited Ha’il and the Rashidi emirs, and described their impressions in different journals and books, including those of Georg August Wallin (1854), William Gifford Palgrave (1865), Lady Anne Blunt (1881), Charles Montagu Doughty (1888), and Gertrude Bell (1907).
The opening of the Hejaz railway between Damascus and Medina, together with new inexpensive steamship routes to Jeddah, undermined the traditional camel caravan economy of Ha’il.
Today Ha’il is the center of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural program,[citation needed] and most of the wheat crops of the kingdom come from the area surrounding the city.
And among Hail’s more famous resident’s is Mohamed Al-Deayea:
Main article: Mohamed Al-Deayea
A Saudi Arabian football (soccer) goalkeeper. He played in four World Cups for the Saudi Arabia national team, and as of early 2007, he is the world record holder for most international appearances by a male footballer, with 181 caps for Saudi Arabia. He is the current captain of local club Al-Hilal.
Sightseeing and Events
*an old photo of the Barzan souk.
Barzan Souk
Ha’il has a market or souk near the location of the Barzan Palace. Now it’s not like a bazar or souk, it is a well developed shopping place.
Main article: Barzan palace
Barzan historical palace was built in 1808 by prince Muhammad bin Abdul-Muhsin Al Ali over an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The Palace was completed during the rule of the 2nd Rashidi amir, Talal ibn Abdullah (1848–68). The Palace consisted of 3 floors, the first had the reception halls, gardens, and kitchens. The second had the diplomatic guests rooms. The third had the royal family rooms. It was near Barzan souq. 
*Qishlah palace in Ha’il
Qishlah
Main article: Qishlah
Made in the 1940s while prince Abdul-Aziz bin Musa’ad Al Saud held office in Ha’il province. It is a two-floor mud palace, 142.8×141.2 meters, its walls are 8.5m high, and it has eight watch-towers along with the wall with two main gates, eastern and western gates.
Ha’il Rally
Is an important event in Ha’il and even in Saudi Arabia as it is the first Rally in Saudi Arabia which started in 2006 and approved by FIA in 2008.[3]
Is an annual festival held in the province of Ha’il to exchange experiences in desert life around the world[4].
Ha’il University
History
The university of Ha’il (UOH) started as a community college, called Ha’il Community College (HCC), under the auspices of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in September 1998. HCC was the first Community College to open in a planned expansion of educational opportunities for Saudi Arabian high school graduates. HCC started by offering three-year Associate degree programs in Business Administration, Computer Systems, and Electronic Engineering and Instrumentation. Later on, HCC offered three Bachelor degree programs in Applied Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Management Information Systems. It was officially established on 14 June 2006.[5] The university consists of five colleges: College of Medicine & Medical Sciences, College of Science, College of Engineering, College of Computer Science & Computer Engineering, and Community College. The first students were admitted on 11 February 2006. In 2007, two existing colleges joined the university, which are Teachers College and Girls Education College. These two colleges were originally under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. The university enrolment has grown to more than 16,000 students.
The University has several campuses inside the city, as well as a new campus under construction, which is located to the north of the city and covers an area of more than 9,000,000 m².
Transportaion
Highways
Ha’il is connected to 3 main highways, Madinah, Buraydah, and Jouf Highways, which connect Ha’il with the northern borders of Saudi Arabia.
Rail System
Ha’il has an important logistic role in northern Saudi Arabia’s rail system. In 2008 Ha’il is the site of a concrete sleeper plant for railway construction.
Airport
Main article: Ha’il Regional Airport
Ha’il Regional Airport (IATA:HAS, ICAO:OEHL) is a domestic airport located to the southern-east of Ha’il city and is served by three airlines: Sama Airlines, NAS Airlines, and a few flights by Saudi Arabian Airlines. It should be noticed that a new International airport will be constructed near Ha’il city, in The Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed Economic City (PABMEC), as Ha’il has a strategic location in the Middle East because it takes only one hour by plane to reach 11 Arab capitals.[6].
The Saudi Embassy also has posted an excellent document http://www.saudiembassy.net/Publications/MagWinter98/hail.htm with magnificent photos which I am confident will further whet the appetite on why one would want to visit Hail. Hotel choices in Hail include Hotel Geblain and Hotel Hail Bayoudi. I certainly hope that I can make it to Hail sometime in 2009. And who says there is nowhere to go or nothing to see in Saudi Arabia?
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Filed under: Saudi customs, travel, Uncategorized
what did happen with the al rashid emirate?
did they voluntarily submitted under al saud’s rule?
when and how?
I will have to follow up on that and get back to you Crispy!
Crispy,
Al Rashid’s were allied with the Ottoman’s. With the fall of the empire they started to weaken and were over taken by King Abdul Aziz and his Akhwan forces in 1921.
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=wk_mvSp1xmA
important video about hail.
6 parts
Excellent program! thanks!
The “Canadian FBI” referred to in part 1 in the story about vacationing in Vancouver is CSIS (Canadian security and intelligence service). They have operated under new rules since 9/11 at the “urging” of the USA, and have committed some notable gaffes eg. Maher Arar in the rush to terrorist judgment. At least they finally admitted them.
I am considering a move to Ha’il to teach at the University of Ha’il. I’ve been trying to find out more information about the international housing community that is near a national park (or something of that sort). I’m considering bringing my wife and two small daughters. Any thoughts or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the insightful history outlined above.
Big Daddy,
I hope that someone who is more knowledgable than me about Ha’il can respond to your query. While it certainly would not be the same as living in a city such as Riyadh or Jeddah, I would encourage you to bring your wife and daughters to KSA if you are able to do so.
Thank you for this information on the Mount Shammar Hail
Thank you for this Information from Jabal Shamar Hail
Hello Big Daddy
Hail can be beautiful and to live in ease and that the population of good
Hello. I am being hired as a dentist in Hail. well, as for my colleagues who has been to KSA are actually discouraging me. But form all the articles i ve heard i think the city has so much potential. If you could help me how do women live there i understand the cultural back ground. But i would like specifics please if you could feed me more information about this. i would like to be sure before i sign a contract.
Thank you very much
Dr. Anj,, I do hope one of my readers will respond to your query since I do not have firsthand knowledge of Hail which I can share.
Salam alikum. Thank you so much for the post. I first found your site when I wonted to know more about ha’il 2 months ago. I did not read more Intel tonight after looking up Saudi and foreign women getting married. Reading is helping me understand what I may be in-store for if thing keep going as they are. Thank you.
@Canuck,
Salam Alaikum and Welcome! Glad that my blog has been useful and informative to you.
salam, do you know the dates and time of the ha’il desert festival?
w’alaikum salam,
No, I do not know, Umm Abdullah.
Regards, Bedu
Hi Americanbedu!
! I live up here in Hail- on my second “tour” . First here in ’97 with the Community College and now the Uni.
If you want to visit and need a contact drop me a line.
Hi Nick and Welcome!
Please…do share more about life in Hail!!
Best Regards, Bedu
Hail itself is pretty unremarkable- there are a couple of forts in town as mentioned on your website; a couple of museums (which rarely seem to open; an old style souk as well as a small modern mall. All amenities one could reasonably expect are available to one degree or other. Whilst Hail cannot compete with Jeddah or Riyadh for shopping and things to do we quite like it that way.
The real appeal of Hail to me is the number of interesting places to visit within an hour or so drive and, of course, the people who are quite welcoming.
Jubbah, Jannayn, Uraija, Richmaneya, Joe, the craters at Tabah. Tuwarin and Fayd are all within easy reach.
Riyadh is a mere 6 hour drive away Al-Ula and Madain Saleh can be “done” in a long day although the drive back to Hail can be a bit tough as most of the road is not lit.
Of course there are frustrations but Hail is doing its best and offers an interesting mix of old and new.
Hail is quite conservative and women are expected to wear the abaya and there have been minor run-ins with the Muttawa about women not wearing the niqab. Generally though these issues have been minor and we have found people quite tolerant of us.
Apologies for the lack of detail but I would be happy to answer any direct questions.
Thank you for the great snapshot Nick!
That’s wonderful Al Ula and Maidan Saleh can be done in a long day. I think anyone in Saudi, expat or Saudi, should have Maidan Saleh as a must-see! I did a series of earlier posts all about my own trip there with photos.