Ḥa'il City

About :

The city of Ḥa'il has been named the city of the three castles, as it is the largest city in Ḥa'il Province in terms of area and is characterized by being an agricultural city with a wonderfully strategic location, it is located to the north of Saudi Arabia, and is one of the most famous tourist and ancient archaeological cities that many tourists seek to visit

In the past, Ha'il was one of the most important roads used by merchants to pass their trade caravans, and thus many of the ancient different historical cultures went through it. It was also one of the most important routes used by pilgrims to do the Hajj and Umrah.. The city of Hail is also characterized by the existence of a number of wells that have been in existence since ancient times and till now, which are suitable for drinking and human use, and they still have water in them to date. 

It was mentioned that the people of Ḥa'il were generous and giving and that they honor their guests. One of the most famous of them is the old and legendary poet Hatim Al-Tai, whose name up to the present time is an example of generosity and altruism. He was buried two times in Ḥa'il. He was also mentioned the historical legend of "a thousand nights and nights". 

There are three main castles in Ḥa'il, the first of which is a castle called A'arif, it was built from clay and is more than 200 years old, and was built on a hill overlooking the city directly, so many are looking to visit it to enjoy the wonderful view and attractive scenery 

The second castle, Barzan Palace was one of the huge palaces, which was built with an area of 300 thousand square meters, it was built in 1808 and its construction was completed during the reign of Prince Rashidi II Talal bin Abdullah, it was built to contain three floors that include places for visitors and the royal family, kitchens, gardens, halls for receiving guests and storage rooms 

The third of its castles is the castle of Qishlah , which was built in the center of the city and was established in the Forties of the last century, and at the time Prince Abdulaziz bin Musaed Al Saud took office in Ḥa'il province, the castle was also built of clay and consists of two floors, and the walls of the castle exceed 8.5 meters 

When excavating the historical city of Ḥa'il, they found ruins dating back to before 10,000 BC and up to 75,000 BC, historians also believe that this area existed since the Stone Age, it was one of the densely populated areas back then. 

They found some sites with relics of rock art and also artifacts dating back to the Paleolithic era.  

It also has shuwaymis, which is one of the most beautiful areas in Ha'il, and UNESCO has included it on the World Heritage List because it has many rock carvings in it that tell about hunting parties and celebrations, and there are inscriptions belonging to several animals such as Camels, Caribou, Horses, and Lions.

There is also the site of Jubbah in Ḥa'il, it is located 90 kilometers north of Ḥa'il, where there is umm sinman mountain, where inscriptions and sculptures dating back more than 10,000 years have been discovered 

In the old days, Ḥa'il depended heavily on the construction and development of its economy on commercial caravan trips, and after the advent of Islam the Hejaz railway was established to let the Hajj and umrah trips pass through it, and also the Old City of Ḥa'il was the capital of the kingdom of "Jabal Shammar" from 1836 until 1921 until the Saudi conquest of this emirate 

Also, many tourists have been making their tourism trips through this route since the old Rashidi era