Haddaj Well
About 15 m across.
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An ancient oasis town in Tabuk province, with AlUla about 110 kilometres to its south-west. It is one of the largest archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia: it stood on the trade routes linking southern Arabia with the eastern Mediterranean, at the crossroads towards Mesopotamia, the Levant and Egypt. Settlement here goes back to the early fourth millennium BCE, and in the mid-second millennium BCE the town was ringed by a massive wall of mud brick and sandstone. In the sixth century BCE Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, made Tayma his base for campaigns in north-western Arabia; cuneiform and Taymanitic inscriptions found here name him «king of Babylon». At the heart of the old town lies the Haddaj Well, one of the most famous wells in Arabia: about 15 metres across and 12 deep, lined with stone and ringed by palms, and thought to date from the first millennium BCE. Tayma's other sights include Qasr al-Hamra from the seventh century BCE, Qasr al-Ablaq, linked to the poet al-Samaw'al ibn Adiya, and the Tayma Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. Wandering the oasis and old town is free; check locally for entry to the fenced archaeological sites and the museum. The trip from AlUla takes a full day, and winter is the best season.
About 15 m across.
Seventh century BCE.
Mud brick and sandstone.
Tayma, Tabuk province, about 110 km north-east of AlUla
The Haddaj Well in the old town, Qasr al-Hamra, Qasr al-Ablaq, the ancient wall and the Tayma Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.