Khamis Mushait  Khamis Mushayt or Khamis Mushait (, "") is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province, 650 nautical miles from Dhahran and from the national capital of Riyadh. It is the capital of the Shahran tribe. The largest city in ‘Asir, and the 8th largest in Saudi Arabia with an estimated population of 1,300,000. Khamis Mushayt is noted for being the fourth largest trading center in Saudi Arabia, and is famous for its world-class military airbase. Until the 1970s, Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region. Since then its population has grown dramatically to reach over 1,200,000. The city is surrounded by farms producing agricultural crops. King Khalid Air Base (KMX) has a paved runway without customs facilities. The base was designed and built by US Army and Air Force engineers in the 1960s and 70s and has F-15 service facilities. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US Airforce had a base here from which they launched bombers on Baghdad. Khamis Mushait was known by that name since the 1760s, it has been named after the market that used to be held on every Thursday of the week which is “Khamis” and it has been referred to Mushait Ibn Salem the head of Shahran tribe and the guardian of the market. Khamis Mushait has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification "BWh"). Khamis Mushayt has several souks, including Khamis Souk and Silver Souq, both of which are noted for their silver jewellery, and Spice Souk. Notable hotels include Mushayt Palace Hotel and Trident Hotel. Also of note is Al-Hayat Hospital and Khamis Mushayt Mosque.