Visit ArabiaHistory
Al-Akhdar is a stop on the Syrian pilgrimage road, between Tabuk and al-Muʿazzam. Saudipedia includes it in the list of halts on the road.
In the sira, Ibn Hisham names among the places where the Prophet ﷺ prayed between Medina and Tabuk “a mosque at al-Akhdar” (مسجد بالأخضر). This is a historical account. It does not give the exact spot in the valley.
According to the historian Andrew Petersen, quoted by Wikipedia, a basin already existed in the Mamluk era. In 1531-1532, by order of Sultan Suleiman, the fort was built by Turabay ibn Qaraja. Twenty janissaries were stationed there. The traveller Evliya Çelebi described it in 1672.
The Hejaz Railway reached al-Akhdar in 1906. In July 1917, the station was attacked during the Arab Revolt. In March 2022, the Heritage Commission listed the fort in the national register of built heritage.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: a stop on the Syrian pilgrimage road (Saudipedia) and listed in the register in March 2022 (Sabq).
- Certain (academic source): Ottoman fort built around 1531-1532 (Petersen 2012, quoted by Wikipedia).
- Tradition: the mention of a mosque of the Prophet ﷺ at al-Akhdar comes from the sira (Ibn Hisham). The location is not fixed.
- Uncertain: the name varies between “al-Ukhaydir” and “al-Akhdar” depending on the sources.
- To check on site: access to the site and state of the fort.
- Saudipedia, Syrian pilgrimage road: https://saudipedia.com/طريق-الحج-الشامي
- Sabq, listing in the national register (7 March 2022): https://sabq.org/article/G6DyEiC
- Al-Jazirah, T. al-Fayidi (Ibn Hisham's list): https://www.al-jazirah.com/2026/20260511/ld1.htm
- Wikipedia (supplementary, based on A. Petersen, The Medieval and Ottoman Hajj Route in Jordan, 2012): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ukhaydir,_Tabuk_Province