Welcome to Tabuk, the capital city of the Tabuk region in northwestern Saudi Arabia!
From its rich history to its attractive archaeological sites and rich antiquities, it offers some wonderful facts for you to discover!
This article will offer some amazing facts about Tabuk that will leave you amazed😲. Let us embark on this wonderful journey!
Fascinating Tabuk Facts
Tabuk City: It is home to the famous Tabuk Castle
The Tabuk Castle 🏫 is also known as the As-hab-al-Aykah in Arabic. It means the “Companions of the Wood,” who are mentioned in the Quran in about 3500 BC.
In 1652 CE, the last restoration of the castle took place, even though it had been restored multiple times prior to that.
This amazing castle is believed to be one of the oldest buildings of its kind in the region. It is also thought to be one of the best-preserved castles that we can see in the center of the city.
The castle is open to visitors and is famous as an archaeological landmark.
Wadi Dam in Tabuk region
I am really surprised to learn this amazing fact about Tabuk City!
At Wadi Dam and the region west of Tabuk City, numerous localities with rock inscriptions and art dating to different chronological periods😲 can be seen. Those periods range from the Paleolithic to the Islamic period as well.
The animal and human figures, which are scripted in the various areas in Tabuk City, after studies, have displayed rich stylistic variability. Greek, Thamudic, and Nabataean inscriptions have been discovered in many sites in the area. Isn’t it amazing?
Hasma Desert, an open-air museum: It is located in Tabuk
Hasma Desert is an open-air museum in Tabuk. Here, strange rock formations disrupt the otherwise tranquil landscape in the area of Tabuk City.
An interesting variety of unique-looking rocks, some with a height of around 30 meters, like the rock formation Sarhij, all were formed over the centuries because of wind erosion in this vast desert!
Visitors can enjoy different tours and even camel safaris here, along with discovering ancient artifacts in Tabuk’s open-air museum 🖼️. In this beautiful desert city, the desert dunes offers people a chance for great driving through the impressive landscape!
A little bit of insight about the location of Tabuk
Want to know the location of this beautiful city of Tabuk?
The province is situated in the northwest of Saudi Arabia! Tabuk shares a great amount of its coastline with the Red Sea 🌊 and even shares a border with the country of Jordan!
Also, Egypt is a close neighbor of this region, with only the Gulf of Aqaba located between the two.
Another great thing is that Tabuk is a beautiful oasis city!
Tabuk became famous for the Expedition to Tabuk
The Expedition to Tabuk that took place in 630 CE made this city really famous. It happened during the period of Prophet Muhammad.
Since then, Tabuk remained a notable gateway to North Arabia!
Also, Tabuk was visited by a lot of European travelers, including Doughty in 1877 and Huber in the year 1884.
Tabuk City: A great city with amazing historical sites
If you love to explore ancient archaeological or historical sites and artifacts, like me, then you will surely love this exciting secret about Tabuk City!
The Tabuk region is rich in archaeological sites and antiquities, including inscriptions, petroglyphs, palaces🏰, forts, the Syrian-Egyptian pilgrimage route, walls, and even the remains of the Hejaz Railway line.
This railway liner is the main station of the area which we can see in Tabuk. Quite exciting, right??
Madyan and the Wekl of Moses
The region of Madyan, which is quite famous as the land where Moses resided in exile for around ten years prior to becoming a Prophet, is located in this beautiful Tabuk City. It is the place that is mentioned in both the Quran and the Bible.
The area hosts the remains of many ancient cities that are open for people to explore, and even many important archaeological sites can be found here.
The Well of Moses consists of 12 springs in the valley of Tabuk’s Maqna. It is an amazing site to behold in the middle of the vast desert🏜️!
Tabuk City and it’s extraordinary cuisine
The food in Tabuk City is really delicious, just like its amazing historical sites. Its cuisine includes various kinds of seafood dishes, different kinds of rice, and unique Levant flavors🤤!
Here, we can find many places where different flavors meet and mix, reflecting the unique cultural identity of Saudi Arabia for people to enjoy. Maqluba is cooked when family members gather around the table.
Maqluba is a great dish made of cooked rice and different vegetables, like cauliflowers, along with slow-cooked lamb or veal🥩. Then, all of those are assembled together and turned upside down for serving.
Al Disah Valley in Tabuk
The Al Disah Valley in the Tabuk area is compared to the famous Grand Canyon due to its attractive reddish sandstone sculptures and striking canyon peaks.
The Al Disah Valley is actually guarded by tall rocks. However, it is quite a great tourist attraction! The valley has various old writings, drawings, and also ancient tombs with an approximate length of 25 kilometers!
People can explore the valley themselves or even ask for an organized tour in this area of beautiful Tabuk.
The coastal city of Haql: Home to beautiful beaches
If you love to sunbathe on captivating beaches, then you will surely love this amazing fact about Tabuk!
Tabuk is home to the Haql beaches 🏖️ which include coral reefs and also offer turquoise waters. Those beaches have an impressive marine ecosystem.
Here people can still camp on those attractive white sandy beaches.
Tabuk faced threats from Iraqi scuds
This beautiful city called Tabuk even became a center of military activity during the 1991 Gulf War. During that time, this Saudi Arabian City faced threats from Iraqi scuds and even air attacks!
The Souq in Tabuk: Explore this vibrant place in the city
Love to explore vibrant and attractive shopping areas? Then, the colorful market known as souq or bazaar 🛍️ is Tabuk Old Town will surely amaze you!
In this market, people can get anything they might need from household items to jewelry, various antiques, and street food all can be found in different shops!
Here we can also get some unique things like goat-hair covers, geometric patterned carpets, etc. For these things, Souq Twaheen is quite famous.
The Prophet’s Mosque: Explore a mud-built mosque
It is also famous as the Repentance Mosque. It was initially built with mud and had roofed with palm trunk trees.
This beautiful mosque 🕌 was restored in 1652. Later, its complete renewal was done by the late King Faisal ibn Abdul-Aziz, like the pattern of the Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Medinah.
Ain Sukkrah: Meet an ancient spring in Tabuk
Did you know this fascinating secret about Tabuk City??
Here, we will see Ain Sukkrah, an ancient spring or ‘ayn’ in Arabic dating to the Era of Jahiliyyah.
It is believed that during the expedition of Tabuk, Prophet Muhammad camped over ten days near the spring and even drank from its water.
Jabal al Lawz Mountain: It is believed to be the Biblical Ancient Mount Sinai
One of the most well-known mountains in the Christian and Jewish religious scriptures is Mount Sinai⛰️.
In this mount, the Israelites during their exodus, camped for some time. Also, Moses, the leader of the Israelites went up the mountain to receive the 10 commandments from God. He even wrote them on stone tablets.
The highest mountain in the region, the Jabal al Lawz Mountain is thought to be the biblical ancient Mount Sinai. Although there are no evidence, some historians even trace Mount Sinai to Egypt, and several hiking tours are organized here as well.
Population and weather of Tabuk
In the year 1950, beautiful Tabuk had a population of 12000. However, by the year 2022, this number had grown to 667,000.
August is the hottest☀️ month in Tabuk, with an average temperature of 88.1 degrees of Fahrenheit, whereas January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 50.9 degrees of Fahrenheit.
The Tabuk Tourist Sites Museum
Love to explore historical museums?? Then you will surely love this amazing fact about beautiful Tabuk!
People can enjoy a tour in the Tourists Sites Museum if they wish to learn more about the history as well as the lives of people residing in Tabuk.
Here, people can have an insight into old artifacts and what were their uses, habits and traditions that gave shape to the community of the area, all of these can be experienced and learned in this attractive museum.
Summing up
We hope! Knowing about the above Tabuk City facts will satisfy your curious 😄 soul!
From its rich history and interesting, ancient inscriptions to its amazing Souq and delicious cuisine, what in beautiful Tabuk City appeals to you the most?
As we are already together on this exciting journey, we would love to get your answer.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)
