Unaizah Governorate

Unaizah Governorate is a Category (A) governorate in al-Qassim Province in the center of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the second-largest by population in the province. Unaizah Governorate has four administrative centers and is located about twenty-eight km from the city of Buraydah, the seat of the Emirate of al-Qassim Province.

Unaizah has a long history, as it is considered the oldest governorate in the Kingdom and the oldest city in al-Qassim. It is a historical governorate that has gained prominence since ancient times due to its distinctive geographical location, situated in the central northern part of the Najd Plateau south of al-Rummah Valley. It is surrounded by dunes from the north and west called al-Ghumais Sands, and from the south by al-Ghada sands and forests in al-Shaqiqa It is located at latitude 26°N and longitude 44°E.

Its geographical location made it a transit point and a rendezvous for commercial and pilgrim convoys from Iraq heading to Makkah al-Mukarramah to perform Hajj and Umrah. To this day, some historical relics of this period survive, as well as archaeological remains evidencing the existence of stopovers used by pilgrims and commercial convoys in al-Ayariyah, al-Qaryatain, and Ramah.

Roughly 184,644 inhabitants live in Unaizah Governorate, equivalent to 13.8 percent of the population of al-Qassim Province, according to the 2022 Saudi Census, and it is the second governorate by service level in the province. It occupies an area of 1,800 km.

Unaizah keeps its historical archives in several locations, most notably al-Bassam Heritage House in the western part of the city, built in 1958, whose design reflects ancient Najdi architecture. The governorate is also home to al-Musawkaf Traditional Market and the heritage village of al-Ghada west of Unaizah, and both venues are used to host cultural performances and festivals.

Awshaziya Lake is the province's most important natural tourist attraction in Unaizah; it is the largest lake in the Arabian Peninsula, replenishing its water from three main valleys in the province. It is also known as Sabkhat al-Awshaziya and is famous for salt extraction.

The governorate is served by Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Buraydah, the nearest airport to Unaizah, forty-three km away, which can be reached by car within thirty minutes.

Unaizah is home to a branch of one of the Kingdom's leading higher education institutions, Qassim University. The university branch in the governorate includes many colleges that receive students from within the governorate and nearby areas, namely the colleges of Science and Arts (both genders), Engineering (males), and Sociology (males), in addition to the colleges of Medicine and Pharmacology (both genders).

Unaizah Governorate organizes an array of touristic and promotional events, including al-Ghada Festival in the tourist city of al-Ghada, which aims to encourage domestic tourism and create economic activity for participants, sensitize al-Ghada tree as a symbol of the Kingdom, encourage farming, and provide an opportunity for young people of both genders to work, express their talents, and promote themselves.

Al-Hanaini Festival at al-Musawkaf Traditional Market is another highlight featured in Unaizah; it aims to support productive families and entrepreneurs of both genders and promote the product of al-Hanini, which is an innovative, date-based popular snack in the winter. Al-Hanini is well-known in al-Qassim Province as an economic product of productive families.