Tabuk, also spelled Tabouk, is the capital city of the Tabuk Region in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It has a population of 551,124. It is close to the Jordanian–Saudi Arabia border, and houses the largest air force base in Saudi Arabia.
History
mentioned a place by the name 'Tabawa', at the northwestern corner of Arabia. This name may be a reference to 'Tabuka' or 'Tabuk'. If this is true, the town may be as old as Ptolemy's time. Pre-Islamic Arab poets, such as Antra and Nabiqa, mentioned its mountain 'Hasmi' in their poems. Tabouk became famous for the Expedition to Tabuk in 8 AH, during the period of prophet Muhammad. Since then, it remained a gateway of North Arabia. It was also visited by a number of European travelers such as Doughty in 1294 AH and Huber in 1303 AH. Tabuk became a centre of military activity during the 1991 Gulf War as the city faced threats from Iraqi scuds and air attacks.
Archaeological or historical sites in the area
The region is rich in antiquities and archaeological sites such as petroglyphs, inscriptions, forts, palaces, walls, Syrian-Egyptian pilgrimage route, and the remains of the Hejaz Railway line, the main station of which is located in Tabuk.
Rock art and inscriptions' site in Wadi Dam
Hundreds of localities with Rock art and inscriptions dating to different chronological periods and ranging from Paleolithic to the Islamic period were recorded at Wadi Dam and the region west of Tabuk. Study of the art revealed rich stylistic variability and both human and animal figures were represented in it. Tens of sites in the area with Thamudic, Greek and Nabataean inscriptions have been found.
Tabuk Castle
It is also known as the castle of Aṣ-ḥāb al-Aykah, who are mentioned in the Quran. The castle dates back to about 3500 BCE and has been restored many times; the last was in 1062 AH. It was one of the several forts and stations built along the Syrian pilgrimage route to welcome pilgrims. Several forts and stations were built along the road from the Jordanian border to Al-Medinah to welcome the pilgrims. The fort consists of two floors. The first floor contains an open courtyard and a number of rooms, a mosque, a well, and a stairway leading to the watch towers used by the guards. The fort is considered an archaeological landmark of the region and is open to visitors.
Ain Sukkrah
This is an ancient ‘ayn dating to the Era of Jahiliyyah. It is said that during the expedition of Tabuk, Muhammad camped more than ten days near the spring and drank from its water.
It is also known as the Repentance Mosque. It was originally built with mud and roofed with palm trunk trees. It was restored in 1062 AH. Eventually, its complete renewal was ordered by the late King Faisal ibn Abdul-Aziz, along the pattern of the Prophet's Mosque in Al-Medinah.
