In this jet age, a flat, arid parcel of Saudi Arabian real estate near the Persian Gulf is becoming an increasingly vital link connecting Europe and the West with India and the East. The presence of oil in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia has stepped up the tempo of local urbanization and commerce, and with it, air traffic from outside. More and more Saudi Arabs are traveling by air over the vast stretches of desert which separate Jiddah, Medina and Riyadh from the Kingdom's east coast population centers. The Dhahran International Airport, as it is now called, recently acquired a magnificent new terminal building befitting the importance of the landing field on world air routes. Designers of the structure tried to combine modern functionalism with a traditional Arabesque appearance appropriate to its setting. As the photographs on these pages demonstrate, they have been eminently successful in their efforts.
