Oman The Majlis al Jinn Cave, the ‘gathering place of the jinn’ (or genies), is a small cave system that consists of only a single gigantic chamber. Looking like something out of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the enormous chamber was the second largest in the world at the time of its discovery. It is big enough and high enough that daredevils have based jumped into it. … [Read more...]
JABAL AL-NOUR
Saudi Arabia (842 m) – Periodic Home of the Prophet Muhammad Jabal Al-Nour is a tall, rocky hill just outside of the city of Mecca. According to Muslim tradition, it was on this mountain where the Prophet Muhammad received his earliest divine revelations that ultimately led to the foundation of Islam. Often overlooked because of its proximity to the great shrines of Mecca, … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF NUJAIR (NUJAIR BATTLEFIELD)
Nujair, Saudi Arabia (633 AD) The Battle of Nujair was the last major military engagement of the Ridda Wars as well as one of the largest of the war. In this battle, the forces loyal to the caliphate of Medina crushed the last major anti-Muslim uprising in Arabia. More of a siege, Nujair represented the final holdout against the hegemony of Islam on the Arabian Peninsula, a … [Read more...]
MOSQUES AND MUSEUMS OF THE UAE (MASJID SHEIKH ZAYED, SHARJAH MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION)
Abu Dhabi, Sharjah & Other Cities, United Arab Emirates Once little more than a collection of small kingdoms tucked away on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, the region now known as the United Arab Emirates has grown from a relatively unimportant mercantile enclave into a world economic powerhouse. Since the end of World War II, vast reserves of oil have made … [Read more...]
MOSQUES AND MUSEUMS OF THE GULF STATES (MASJID AL FATIH, MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART)
Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; and Kuwait City, Kuwait The three small Persian Gulf states of Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are closely tied to the United Arab Emirates in terms if history, culture and great modern architectural ambitions. This is particularly true of neighboring Qatar and Bahrain, which at one point were nearly incorporated into the UAE. Huge quantities of oil … [Read more...]
GREAT MOSQUE OF SANA’A
Sana’a, Yemen Yemen is something of a conundrum in the Islamic world. Geographically the closest country by land to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, it was the first place outside of what is now Saudi Arabia where Islam was introduced. It then spent well over a thousand years as little more than a forgotten corner of the Muslim world. Thanks to its strangely ironic … [Read more...]
AL-SHAFFEI MOSQUE (MASJID AL-SHAFFEI)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Jeddah, the City of a Thousand Mosques, is one of the most important historical cities of Islam. Because Jeddah stands in the immense shadows of Mecca and Medina, it is perhaps easy to forget that this ancient port city was once the commercial powerhouse of the region. It was Jeddah that made the Hejaz region economically viable in Muhammad’s day, and as … [Read more...]
MAQBARAT AL-BAQI CEMETERY
Medina, Saudi Arabia The Maqbarat Al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina is, along with the Jannatul Mualla Cemetery in Mecca, the most important and famous cemetery in the Islamic world. Also known as the Garden of Heaven, it is home to the gravesites of literally dozens of major personages associated with the early days of Islam. In addition to the many members of the Prophet … [Read more...]
JANNATUL MUALLA CEMETERY
Mecca, Saudi Arabia The Jannatul Mualla Cemetery in Mecca is one of the two most famous graveyards in Islam. Not quite as famous or historic as its counterpart, the Maqbarat Al Baqi cemetery in Medina, it is nevertheless older and boasts its share of famous gravesites. The ancestral cemetery of the Banu Hashim and other local Quraish clans, many of the Prophet Muhammad’s … [Read more...]
HILL OF ARAFAT & TENT CITY OF MINA
Mecca, Saudi Arabia Virtually every pilgrim to Mecca makes a detour to visit the Tent City of Mina and the Hill of Arafat. These are mandatory stops for those pilgrims making the official Hajj, and important ceremonies and traditions take place at both of these locations. Both places played a small but important role in the early history of Islam. The Hill of Arafat is the … [Read more...]
