Travel Guide

Highlights : Qatif Thursday Market (Souq Al Khamis)
Qatif Fish (Samak) evening Market
Portugese Fort in Tarut Island.

Getting There : Take the Jubail Highway north,  take exit signposted for Qatif (After Airport).

15 to 20 million years ago, most of the eastern part of Saudi Arabia was covered with ocean. In this area around Khurais you can find fossilized remains of marine life, especially sharks teeth.  A tooth becomes a fossil when it is buried in sediment (or other material) soon after being lost from a shark’s mouth.  The sediment precludes oxygen and harmful bacteria from reaching the tooth and destroying it. The general fossilization process varies greatly depending on the exact situation.  In general, it takes approximately 10,000 years for a
tooth to become a true fossil.
Bahrain – Tree of Life, Quran & Bahrain Museum, Fort

Some 50km north of AlKhobar is the town of Qatif, one of the centres of the Eastern Province’s large Shiite Muslim communities. The town was first settled about 3500BC and for centuries was the main town and port in this area of the Gulf. In fact, some early European maps label the present-day Arabian Gulf as the “Sea of Elcatif”. Qatif and the nearby island of Tarut are historically some of the most interesting sites in the Kingdom.
The Thursday (khamis) market in Qatif  is  the highlight of activities of the  area.  Everything from pigeons to carpets is sold. The sounds, smells and the chatter are indeed a welcoming sight.  During the summer months it is advisable to come in very early, as the market is cleared by 9 O’clock.  It is more pleasant to visit the market during the winter months.  The fresh vegetables are indeed very cheap here.

During the shrimp season (July – October),  a visit to the Qatif fish market is a must in order to experience the sheer amount of shrimps and other local fishes.   The markets open after the Magrib prayers. Mountains and mountains of shrimps are traded here,  wearing of wellies is a must !  This is the best opportunity to stock up your supplies as the prices come down to less than SR 12 per Kilo.  Nearby, gangs of enterprising young boys will peel/devein your shrimps for SR 2 per kilo.
The Tarut Island lies in the sheltered bay of the same name, near Qatif. The island is now approached by a short causeway. Formerly trips had to be made by Dhow. The island is somewhat circular in shape and has four villages located on it. On the southern end is Darin, on the northern coast is Zor, a mile or two south is Sanabis while a mile or so inland is Tarut itself.

The history of this area makes a very interesting reading, especially the wars between the Portugese and Turks.
The most prominent landmark is the old Portuguese fort built in the 16th century, and situated on the jebal overlooking the village. The rounded towers are particularly interesting. On the side of the jebal  is an artisan spring that used to be restricted to women only. Fencing and young men on the outside discouraged any other visitors. The spring is free flowing and deep enough for swimming if you care to jump the five to eight feet down to the water level. About 8 feet under the surface of the water large blocks of quarried stone are in place, apparently to form a retaining wall.

The maze of narrow streets on the island show the close knitted community. The streets end up one way or other to the seaside.  There are a couple of good  picnic spots here, we normally buy fresh fish from the Qatif fish market and have  a  fish barbeque here. We have seen large flocks of flamingoes and other large birds here, with a pair of binoculars lotos of these migratory birds can be seen.
You can take a more scenic route back to Alkhobar by staying on the seaside road, this road will eventually bring you to the rainbow roundabout.

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