From a distance it may seem as if some mad geyser is pounding from under the ground with all its might. But the scene is not very suitable - Saudi Arabia. In addition, it happens in one of the largest and most modern cities in the country.This giant stream of water is the work of human hands. It's hard to believe, but this fountain beats records of many other world sights.


It is difficult to say why the authorities of Jeddah (Jeddah) - a large city in Saudi Arabia - decided to make the main attraction a fountain. But, one way or another, in 1980-1983 they built it in the vicinity of some administrative palace building.

That fountain hit right into the sky, but did not represent something special. They say that he was very much like the Swiss Jet d'Eau. And in general: its flow rose in the air at the unfortunate 120 meters, which somehow did not impress the people and did not really correspond to urban architecture. Therefore, the authorities decided to install a new attraction. It must have been a fountain again.And very large: preferably more than any other fountains and, perhaps, even the famous buildings.

For work, the Arabian company SETE Technical Services, engaged in the development of various engineering structures for the city, water supply, energy, environmental projects, undertook. The fountain, which they built, really, a lot of things surpassed. Now the fountain works excellently. However, only a couple of years after installation, experts found that its steel pipes suffer from corrosion. At the end of 1987, it was quickly decided to install an anode protection to prevent the destruction of the metal. Now this seemingly pernicious process has stopped.

In SETE Technical Services quickly set to work and launched a new fountain in 1985. But this development for some reason did not shock the world, although the guys also designed the machine, which throws water into the air at a dizzy height: 312 meters! The total mass of water that constantly "hangs" above the fountain is about 18.8 tons. This engineering masterpiece was created during the reign of the King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, and is therefore often called the fountain of King Fahd. Sometimes it's just a Jeddah fountain.

There is something to compare it with! Even the Eiffel Tower recedes into the background, because its height, short of the antenna crowning the construction, barely reaches 301 meters. However, it is not good to compare fountains with antennas. But with other fountains - easily.

The diameter of the pipes of the system is different. Pipes that feed water have a cross section of 80 centimeters. And where the water flies into the atmosphere, their diameter is only 12.6 centimeters - this is done so that the "outlet" pressure is maximum.

The technical part of the Fahd fountain consists of a pumping station and a power plant that feeds it. First they were both built on a barge 90 meters long, which was then partly flooded - simply to ensure that all this ugly part of the structure was not conspicuous. For the construction of a pumping station alone, the height of a five-story house took seven thousand tons of cement. One of the parts over which the developers are particularly overzealous are the nozzles, from which the water enters the air. They are designed to last many more years.

At a tremendous height, water is thrown by two powerful pumps, emitting at 625 liters per second at a speed of 375 kilometers per hour. There is also a third, inoperative, pump - in case one of the two suddenly breaks.

Another amazing thing: the Jeddah fountain works continuously. Turn it off for just two reasons. The first is a routine inspection of equipment, which is held about once a year. And the second is an "abnormal situation". If suddenly a strong wind blows from the south. At the same time, water can deviate and fall on the gardens and lawns of that same communal administration building. Which is very bad: because of this, all the vegetation will perish, because the water is salty, for it is pumped out directly from the Red Sea, on the bank of which the city is located.

The authorities are not particularly keen on various tricks of the type of light, laser and other complex illumination of the fountain. He looks fantastic even in the daytime and at night.

Currently, the state of the fountain and all its communications is constantly monitored with the help of modern computer technology. Perhaps, due to this, he will someday get to the Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records). And while the official world record for some reason holds on to a similar fountain in Arizona, raising water only 171.2 meters and working only 15 minutes a day