page_title: Khobar
section_title: Arts and architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Khobar / Culture / Arts and architecture
caption_attribution_description: Khobar water tower
context_page_description: Khobar, is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It ranks 19th by population overall in the kingdom, behind Yanbu' and ahead of Arar, with an estimated population of 165,799 as of 2020. Khobar is part of the 'Triplet Cities' area, or Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, forming the residential core of the region.
  The city was founded alongside Dammam by the Dawasir who moved there in 1923 fearing British persecution with the permission of King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Khobar experienced rapid growth during and after the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia as it served as the port for the oil exports of Saudi Aramco in the company's early days. Traditionally, Khobar has also been a city of shopkeepers and merchants, and today has several shopping malls in and around it.
  The city is the newest in the Dammam metropolitan area, facing the Persian Gulf with its 16-km long Corniche Road, which runs parallel to the city's eastern coast. Khobar is also considered a resort town as its southern suburbs of the city face the Half Moon Bay and host several beaches and beach resorts.
context_section_description: In March 2019, the Sharqiah Season, part of the Saudi Seasons initiative, attracted an estimated 730,000 visitors to multiple cities in the Eastern Province including Khobar under the supervision of the General Authority for Entertainment, with 83 events held across 17 days in 9 cities, celebrating the country's diverse culture, Most notable of the events that took place in Khobar was the Bollywood Festival, designed to attract the city's expatriate majority, featuring Salman Khan. Other artists who participated in the Khobar events of the Sharqiah Season include Tiësto and Sean Paul.
  The Khobar Corniche is a 16-km stretch of parks and a corniche running parallel to the eastern coast of the city along the Persian Gulf and hosting some of the cities most famous attractions. It has been divided into two parts, the South Corniche and the North Corniche. The King Fahd Causeway is a series of causeways and bridges between Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The bridge is about 25 kilometers long from the Saudi toll plaza to the Bahraini toll plaza, and 23.2 meters wide. It was officially opened on 25 November 1986 and is named after King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. The bridge has a maximum capacity of 28,000 cars and 1000 trucks. It has achieved many economic and social benefits for both countries. 
  The Khobar Water Tower is situated on a man made peninsula in the northern reaches of the Khobar Corniche. The Khobar Water Tower is an 90 meter tall, eight-story tower, with a revolving restaurant on the top, overlooking the city. It has been called the Eastern Province's "top tourist attraction". The tower hosts fireworks shows on special occasions such as the arrival of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The Prince Sultan Science & Technology Center (also known as SciTech) is a science exhibit located directly in view of the Khobar Water Tower and north of the North Corniche of Khobar. The center has five permanent exhibits, known as Scientific Halls, each dedicated to a different branch of science. The center also hosts an IMAX cinema which generally only shows movies that are scientific and/or non-fictional.
caption: The Khobar Water Tower, located on the Khobar Sea Front, is a major tourist attraction.
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