Places of religious and cultural significance to visit when in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a country that has immense religious significance for Muslims. The western part of Saudi Arabia, i.e., the Hejaz, contains two of the most holy cities of Islam: Mecca and Medina. Every year, many Muslims from all over the world come to the Kingdom to perform Hajj and Umrah. 

However, with the country now incentivising tourists from all over the world, there are a lot of places to go near Mecca and Medina, most with religious significance and some with cultural significance.

Taif: Taif is a city located quite near Mecca in the foothills of the Sarawat mountains. For the pilgrims, the city has religious significance as the Prophet (Pbuh) himself visited the city. The city also has a mosque named the Addas Mosque, where the Prophet, after coming to the city, was offered grapes by Hazrat Addas, who happened to be the first person to convert to Islam from Taif. 

Other than this, the city has lush greenery and is often regarded as the summer capital of Saudi Arabia, with the city containing one of the royal residences of the Saudi King, i.e., the Shubhra Palace.

The city also has a mild temperature and an extremely mountainous ambience, which would appear to be extremely soothing to the pilgrims themselves. It is also one of the few places with arable land in all of Western Saudi Arabia.

The Quba and Qiblatain mosques of Medina: The city of Medina contains the Mosques Al Qiblatain and Quba, where the Masjid Al Qiblatain happens to be the mosque where, as per Islamic theology, the Qibla of Islam was changed from Jerusalem to Mecca. 

The Mosque still has two Qiblas, one pointing towards Jerusalem (to the Al Aqsa Mosque) and another towards Mecca. The mosque underwent many renovations, the most recent being under King Fahd, with some of the minarets resembling those of Masjid Al Aqsa.

The Quba Mosque, also situated in Medina, is considered the first mosque of Islam, established by the Prophet (Pbuh) after his migration from Mecca to Medina. Both mosques are in good condition due to renovations undertaken by the Saudi government, and both have extreme religious and cultural significance.

Uhud Mountains: The Uhud Mountains are situated near the holy city of Medina, where the Battle of Uhud, which has immense significance in Islamic epistemology, occurred. The battle reminds us of the sacrifices and hardships the great Prophet (PBUH) made to spread Islam. Near the Uhud Mountains is the Sayyid Ash-Shuhada Mosque, a mosque frequently visited by pilgrims who go to the Uhud Mountains.

Jabal Al Noor: Jabal Al Noor mountain range is situated near Mecca, where Mount Hira is situated and where the Prophet (Pbuh) was bestowed with the news of his prophethood by the Angel Jibrail. Most of the pilgrims visit the mountain range as part of their journey.

Pilgrimage is a journey with immense religious as well as cultural and emotional significance for Muslims. After getting done with Hajj and Umrah, these are some of the few places with religious and cultural significance that the pilgrims might visit.

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