Yanbu

Yanbu' Al Bahr
NASA photograph of Yanbu' al Bahr
Yanbu' Al Bahr
Coordinates: 24°05′N 38°0′E / 24.083°N 38.000°E / 24.083; 38.000Coordinates: 24°05′N 38°0′E / 24.083°N 38.000°E / 24.083; 38.000
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Al Madinah
Governorate	Yanbu Al Bahr
Established	491 BC
Government
• Provincial Governor	Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Population (2004)
• City	188,430
• Urban	250,000
	Yanbu Municipality estimate
Postal Code	(5 digits)
Area code(s)	+966-14

Yanbu' al Bahr (Arabic: ينبع البحر‎‎, Yanbuʿ al-Baḥr, "spring by the sea"), also known simply as Yanbu, Yambo or Yenbo, is a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Jeddah (at 24°05′N 38°00′E / 24.083°N 38.000°E / 24.083; 38.000). The population is 188,430 (2004 census). A large number of the residents are foreign expatriates working in the oil refineries and petrochemical industry, mostly from Asia, but there are also large numbers from the Middle East, Europe, United States, and Canada.

Yanbu's history dates back at least 2,500 years, when it was a staging point on the spice and incense route from Yemen to Egypt and the Mediterranean region.

The Invasion of Dul Ashir took place in Yanbu. Two or three months after Prophet Muhammad's return from Buwat, he appointed Abu Salamah Ibn Abd al-Assad to take his place in Medina while he was away commanding another raid. Between 150 and 200 followers joined this operation to al-Ushayra, Yanbu in either the month of Jumada al-awwal or Jumada al-Thani.

They had 30 camels that they rode upon by turns. When they arrived at al-Usharayh, they expected to raid a rich Meccan caravan heading towards Syria led by Abu Sufyan. Prophet Muhammad already had the knowledge of this caravan’s departure from Mecca and waited for about a month for this caravan to pass. But the Meccan caravan had already passed.