Ain Najm

Ain Najm is a warm sulphur spring to the west of the town of Al-Mubarraz in the Al-Ahsa oasis, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. It is one of the many natural springs on which the oasis grew, but it differs from most of the others in its warm, sulphur-bearing water, which for generations drew people who came to bathe in it for rest and for its supposed healing qualities.

The spring is tied to the history of Al-Ahsa over the last few centuries. It was a known stopping place for travellers and caravans, and at various times a domed structure and bathing pools stood over it. Local accounts record that these buildings were pulled down and rebuilt more than once as political control of the region changed hands. In recent decades the fall in groundwater levels across the oasis has weakened the flow of many of Al-Ahsa's springs, this one included.

Today the site is surrounded by a public park, with planted areas and places to sit, and local families go there in the evenings and at weekends. Ain Najm remains part of the collective memory of the people of Al-Ahsa.