Yanbu's history dates back at least 2500 years, when it was a staging point on the spice and incense route from Yemen to Egyptand the Mediterranean region. Yanbu served as a supply and operational base for Arab and British forces fighting the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It remained a small port town until 1975, when the Saudi government designated it as one of the country's two new industrial centres (the other being Al Jubayl on the Persian
