Jazan, formerly al-Tihamah, is a town and port in southwest Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea, opposite the Farasan Islands. Jazan is a region rich in culture, and history and placed on an ancient caravan route. The history of the region is greatly influenced by its location on the coast of the Red Sea. Jazan…
Tag: saudi arabia
Al-Rajajil, the Stonehenge of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia encloses heritage, history, culture, and ancient archaeological sites. Placed near the ancient oasis town of Sakakah in al-Jawf province in northwestern Saudi Arabia, mysterious finds have been discovered, a collection of some 50 groups of stone columns erected called al-Rajajil standing stones that represent a very enigma that very few have heard of….
Al-Nafud, Saudi Arabia Sands
Doughty, Thesiger, and Burton fascinated us with their tales about Arabia and its deserts in their books Travels on Arabia Deserta, Arabian Sands, and Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Makkah. In my library these books are always in the foreground, ready to be read again and again. The desert is the most…
Al-Uqair, by the Uqair Protocol the Modern Saudi Arabia
Al-Uqair, located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, is an ancient port—the first seaport in the Arabian Gulf, dating back to the Ottomans period but the site’s history extends back at least 4.500 years; it is the gateway to Al-Ahsa from the Arabian Gulf. The importance of Al-Uqair is testified by the fact that…
Unayzah, the “Paris of Najd”
Unayzah is an ancient city located in Central Arabia, in the historical region of Najd, in the south of Al-Qassim province and of the Wadi al-Rummah (Rumma Valley), which is the longest valley on the Arabian Peninsula. Historically, Unayzah was an important stopping point for Muslim pilgrims from Mesopotamia and Persia on their way to…
Al-Diriyah, where it all began
The Al-Masmak Fortress, (Masmak means a high, strong and thick building), a clay and mudbrick fort located in the center of Riyadh, occupies a place of honor in the history of Saudi Arabia. From a military stronghold in the past, it was converted in 1959 into a museum showcasing one of the most important landmarks…
Zubala, reviving the Darb Zubaydah Hajj Route
Zubala is one of the most important historical villages in the Arabian Peninsula (the word “zubala” literally means a place that keeps water in it). It is an old station on the way from Hijaz to Kufa in which Banu Ghadira, a clan of the Banu Asad tribe, had several strongholds and a mosque. It…
The biased interpretation of pre-Islamic inscriptions by Haaretz
Today I decided to take the tram to go to work. Sitting there I started to have a look at Twitter, as most of the people around me were doing. It was then when my attention was caught by a title: “Before Islam: When Saudi Arabia was a Jewish Kingdom“. Saudi Arabia was…what? When? Am…
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