Dhahran is the headquarters of Saudi Aramco and essentially a company town — most residents are employees or their families, with some contract workers alongside. It is a fenced, access-controlled compound, self-contained in the way a military base is, and visually it looks surprisingly like parts of Arizona: low buildings, desert landscaping, wide roads.
The compound is split into two sections. Main Camp dates from the 1950s and has the older, more established feel. The Rolling Hills was built during the 1980s hiring boom. Inside the perimeter you will find pools, tennis courts, a golf course, a cinema (films arrive late), a private beach and more desert for motorcycle riding than you could explore in a year.
For visitors without compound access, the main reason to come to Dhahran is Ithra — the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, a striking Snøhetta building on the compound edge that is open to all. Just inside the compound perimeter, Dammam Well No. 7 marks the spot where Saudi Arabia's oil age began in 1938.
Outside the gates lies Khobar, where you can experience Saudi city life — though American fast food chains and international stores have made deep inroads there too.