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  Saudi Arabia / Cities and Towns /
Yanbu
Arabic: yanbu¢
Also called: Yanbu al-Bahr
Other spellings: Yanbo, Yenbo, Yenbu, Yambo
City and port in western Saudi Arabia with 170,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate), on the Red Sea.
The full name is Yanbu al-Bahr, meaning "Spring on the Sea". Originally, Yanbu is a small oasis.
Yanbu is the main port of Madina on the Red Sea, involving many pilgrimage related service activities (see Islam; Hajj; and Umra). Yanbu port also exports and imports different products, including the export of dates. It is also the terminus of a petroleum pipeline, and there are three oil refineries, a plastics facility, and several other petrochemical plants. There is also a naval base here.
Yanbu is excellently connected to other urban centres of Saudi Arabia by road and for some destinations, by air. Madina is 160 km east, Riyadh 1000 km east, Jedda 400 km south and Mecca 450 km south.
Yanbu is divided into two major sections, 18 km apart. The northern circulates around the main port, the second is more dominated by residential quarters.
History
Middle 1st millennium BCE: A trade port for spices and incense uses the natural harbour here.
1914-1918: Yanbu is a supply and operational base for British and Arab forces in the war on the Ottomans.
1975: The small port of Yanbu is designated one of two new industrial centres of the country. This results in strong growth.
© Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved
By: Tore Kjeilen
Photos: Tor Eigeland (second), Nik Wheeler (bottom)/PADIA/Saudi Aramco
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