​History of Qaryat Al-Faw

​The city of Paradise

In the South Arabian inscriptions, Qaryat al-Faw is referred to as “Qaryat dhat Kahl”, Kahl being the name of the town’s god, but it was also named:

• ​The City of Paradise (in reference to Dhat al-Jnan) as the palms and greenery must have created a vision of paradise ​in the middle of ​a desolated desert
• The Red City (Qaryat Talu or Qaryat al-Hamra’), probably because of the red clay palaces that stood at the centre of the oasis.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE the frankincense trade roads originating from the ancient Yemeni kingdoms started developing across the Arabian Peninsula. For more than  one and half millennia caravans carried this priceless commodity along two main routes to the major empires of those times: the western one going to the Roman Empire and the eastern one going to Mesopotamia and Persia. If the western route could benefit from the numerous oases watered by the wadis of the huge Sarawat mountains, the eastern route crossed the desolate plateau at the center of the Arabian Peninsula along the largest sand dune desert in the world, the Rub' Al-Khali. It is on this second road that Qaryat Al-Faw developed from the end of the 4th century BCE, as the only major oasis city for more than 1000 kilometers between Najran, in the southwest, and Gerrha, on the east of the Arabian Peninsula.

​An incredibly cosmopolitan oasis

It is unclear when the city was founded and by whom but an interesting aspect of the history of the city is told through the numerous temples that were excavated at the archeological site. The inscriptions they carry and the artifacts found in them show that the remote oasis was well connected with the whole Arabian Peninsula, and all the way to the Levant.

Two of the oldest remains of Qaryat Al-Faw - the temple of Shams and the altar of Aabit - seem to indicate that a city was built around the end of the 4th century BCE. Around the middle of the 3rd century BCE, the Mineans from Yemen, who were heavily engaged in the caravan trade, settled in Qaryat al-Faw and built a sanctuary as an offering to the divinity Athtar Wadd.

Another major ancient oasis of Arabia from where settlers originated is Dedan, capital of the kingdom of Dedan and later Lihyan, located in the northwest of the Peninsula. The Lihyanites that ruled Dedan for at least two centuries left in Qaryat Al-Faw two major inscriptions on a stela and a lintel. And people from the Hanikain tribe, who were also present in Dedan during the first years of the reign of the state of Lihyan, settled in Qaryat Al-Faw at the same period.

During the 1st century BCE, the most important traders of northwest Arabia, the Nabateans, whose most important city in the Arabian Peninsula was Hegra (also known as Maddain Saleh) were present at Qaryat al-Faw at least until the 2nd centry CE.

Another temple excavated in Qaryat Al-Faw showed strong links with Gaza in the Levant, meaning that despite its remoteness it was connected with the Mediterranean world.

The first capital of Central Arabia

During the first two centuries CE two tribes shared the power in Qaryat Al-Faw and their kings bore the name of both tribes with the title "King of Kindah and Qahtan".  During the 3rd century Qaryat Al-Faw endured a series of military expeditions carried out by Sabean and Himyarite kings from ancient Yemen: first Sa'irum Awtar, and later Ilsarah Yahdub and his brother Ya'zul Bayn.

At the end of the third century Qaryat Al-Faw was a vassal city of Himyarite Kings and the leader of the city held the title of "King of Kindah and Madhij", showing that despite the political changes the tribe of Kindah still played a great role. From its capital in Qaryat al-Faw the famous tribe dominated the area of Central Arabia and reached its elevated status at the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th centuries CE.

The power of Kindah, along with the importance of Qaryat Al-Faw, weakened during the 4th century, but still attested to as allies of the Himyarites in the oldest inscription of Wadi Massal dating from the beginning of the 5th century CE. Kindah provided two of the most prominent pre-Islamic Arab characters: Hujr Bin 'Amr, considered as the first king of the Arabs, and his grandson, the famous poet Imru' Al-Qays.

The archeological site

​Water management and ​agricultural activities

It is often said that the presence of such a large city proves that the center of the Arabian Peninsula was once covered with lush vegetation thanks to much more humid weather. But if such a climate existed in the past, it was millennia before the foundation of the city of Qaryat Al-Faw that probably took place in the 4th century BCE, a time when the climate was quite similar to what it is today. Hence the only way for the trade city to thrive was to exploit the underground water, which the population of that time did with great skill.

The twenty wells that have been excavated at the archeological site testify of the capacity of the people of Qaryat Al-Faw to extract water from the ground and supply it to the population and the farms. Today the channels that directed the water to the heart of the oasis where palms, vines and various cereals were grown are still visible. The trunks of palms and other trees were used to make the roofs of the houses, while planks made from local or imported wood were used for doors and windows and household tools, such as combs. Animal breeding was an important activity: the inhabitants owned herds of cattle, sheep, goats and camels, and used their manure to fertilize the fields.

​The ​residential area

​The fact that Qaryat al-Faw was so remote possibly explains why the population didn't feel the need to build any wall or fortress ​to protect it. It was an easily accessible trading town and a staging point for travellers, merchants and pilgrims. ​The residents constructed several large gateways on the north, south and west sides of the town. The building walls were constructed with sun-baked brick but the foundations, tombs and funerary towers were all made of cut stone. The filler used was made from a mixture of plaster, sand, and ash.

All the buildings were characterized by the care with which they were constructed and the thickness of their walls, reaching up to 1.8 meters in width. The doors and house frames were made of wood. Almost all the houses had a floor reached by stairs (the shell of the stairway was used as a storage place and for grinding grain). They were equipped with a system of water supply and outdoor pits for waste. We can also suppose that latrines existed on the upper floor.

​The residential area comprises also the main palace of Qaryat Al-Faw that used to be the residence of the Kings of Central Arabia.

​The market (souq)

The market lay to the east of the residential district, on the west bank of the wadi that separates the Tuwaiq cliffs from the edge of the town. With a length of 30.75 metres running east-west and 25.2 metres north-south, the massive enclosure wall was composed of three parts: the central section built from limestone blocks, and the internal and external facings made from sun-baked brick.

​The temples

​Three temples and an altar have been found at Qaryat al-Faw. ​South Arabian inscriptions have revealed which divinities they were dedicated to​, such as Al-Ahwar, Shams, Athtar, Wadd, and also dhu Ghabat of the kingdom of Lihyan.

​The necropolises

​Artefacts

​The archeological site of Qaryat Al-Faw has provided some of the finest pieces of ancient Arabian art including wall paintings, statues, jewellery, coins, glass, pottery, ceramic,... Some of those unique masterpieces are part of the famous exhibition Roads of Arabia.

How to visit Qaryat Al-Faw

​Tour operators organizing trips ​at Qaryat Al-Faw

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an incredibly rich architecture heritage with dozens of styles throughout the whole country. Each region has its own architectural characteristics. That of Riyadh Province is the Najdi style with brilliant examples like Dir'iyah and Ushaiger. 

Located 250 kilometers from the capital city Riyadh and close to Qassim Province is one of the largest and best conserved traditional villages of Saudi Arabia, Al-Ghat. Located on the northern bank of the Wadi Al-Ghat the heritage village stretches over 1,5 kilometers.

​An ancient oasis

The valley where the town lies is fed by rain water running down the nearby the Jebel Tuwaiq, the same escarpment that has the famous Edge of the World close to Riyadh.

The regular presence of water in Al-Ghat made its soil fertile and still today many farms produce delicious dates that make the city proud.

A brilliant example of Najdi architecture

One of the most special features of Al-Ghat is the gentle slope of the valley on which part of the town is built. Each street going up the hill leads you to many fascinating viewpoints over the town and its elegant architecture.

The main street that runs along the wadi bed will bring you to the iconic buildings of Al-Ghat: arriving from the east (where the modern city is) you will see the triangular shapes of the arches of the old souq on your left. On your right is the Ousherza mosque. To the eastern side of the old town stands the impressive Emara Palace that is now a museum.

This museum used to be the palace of the late Prince Nasser bin Saad Al-Sudairy. It was donated to highlight Al Ghat's social life and history throughout the ages and the contribution of its residents in the foundation of the Saudi State. 

One of the most famous sand dune deserts around Riyadh,  the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is named Ad-Dahna. This desert is in fact a great arc of reddish sandy terrain, extending about 1 300 kilometers from north to south, linking the two greatest deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, from the northeastern edge of the Nefud-al-Kebir to the northwestern borders of the Rub al-Khali (the Empty Quarter).

The dunes of Ad-Dahna that are found just 80 kilometers east of Riyadh along the Dammam highway are about 30 meters high, although the part of Ad-Dahna desert which is 200 kilometers north of Riyadh hosts some of the most impressive dunes in the Riyadh Province. Indeed, along the ranges (veins) of 'Urayq As-Siru Al-Aswat, the 'Urayq As_Siru Al-Gharbi, and the 'Irq Al-Kannasiyah are some massive star-shaped dunes that peak at up to 100 meters. The fact those dunes stand in a flat plain emphasizes their mountain-like massive shapes.

In addition to the landscape, the Star Dunes offer some great sand driving with all kinds of difficulties from the easy sandy track to the impassable mountains of sands. Thanks to the tracks created by the local Bedouins it is relatively easy to progress along the ranges of Star Dunes but once engaged in one of the "corridors" between two ranges of dunes the only way to change direction is to come back on one's tracks.

How to go to the Star Dunes?

By yourself

The Star Dunes area is definitely for experienced sand dunes drivers only, and requires complete sand recovery equipment, not only because of the difficulties inherent to the sandy terrain but also because the area is quite remote, therefore drivers need to be independent in case of issues.

With one of our tour guides

The safest option is to rely on our guides that can ensure that all requirements for such trip is met.

The study of Saudi Arabian rock art is quite recent therefore the date of the carvings is still debated and many questions are yet to be answered (the reason why I remain cautious with the information provided in this article). But it appears quite clearly that Graffiti Rock 1 saw people carving on its walls through a wide span of time, probably from the Neolithic era (10 000 to 3 000 BCE) until recent times.