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A one-day climb. Taif sits on a plateau, Mecca lies at the bottom of the valleys of the Tihama. The geographer Yaqut already mentions “at Taif an ʿaqaba”, a steep climb, « مَسِيرَةُ يَوْمٍ لِلطَّالِعِ مِنْ مَكَّةَ، وَنِصْفُ يَوْمٍ لِلْهَابِطِ إِلَى مَكَّةَ » (“a day's walk for whoever climbs up from Mecca, half a day for whoever goes down to Mecca”). He also cites “Kara'” as the name of a mountain pass of Taif, and a place called al-Hadda, “between Mecca and Taif, the place of the monkeys”. The link is tempting, but nothing proves that these old names refer exactly to the present road.
The cameleers' path. According to Yaqut, this climb was built around 430 AH (around 1039) by Husayn ibn Salama, a Nubian freedman who became vizier of the Banu Ziyad, rulers of Yemen. He made it wide enough for three loaded camels to pass side by side. Saudipedia credits him with the stepped path known as the Darb al-Jammala, “the cameleers' path”, with one lane for people on foot and another for animals. For centuries, the caravans of pilgrims and merchants used it to link Taif and Mecca. An elder of the region, ʿAli ibn Jarallah, remembers that it went through al-Hada, al-Kar and the valley of Naʿman, and that it was abandoned when the modern road opened (Okaz, 2026). A few sections have been restored for visitors.
The modern road. In the 20th century, Taif became the summer residence of the kings and the government: a road for vehicles was needed. According to Saudipedia, the idea arose in 1374-1375 AH (1955), during a visit by King Saʿud to al-Hada, and work began in 1377-1378 AH (1958). Under King Faisal, the road for vehicles opened in 1385 AH (1965). The engineer Talal al-Qashqari reports that foreign companies gave up in the face of the difficult mountain, and that the Saudi company Bin Laden completed the work. He remembers taking the road as a child, shortly after it opened. The road was then widened: a first widening was ordered in 1398 AH (1978) under King Khalid, and a second was completed in 1429 AH (2008) under King ʿAbd Allah, for more than 198 million riyals.
The road today. From Mecca to Taif, the route is 87 km long, including 23 km of climb between Kara, at the foot of the mountain, and the top of al-Hada, at about 2,177 m. The two directions are separated by concrete walls, protected from falling rocks and dotted with lay-bys. Lorries and large coaches are banned at all times. The road is often closed for a few hours because of fog or rain, and it was closed for two months in 2025 for full maintenance; the as-Sayl road then serves as the alternative route. At the top, the miqat of Wadi Mahram receives pilgrims entering ihram (see no. 07).
The hanging village. On Jabal al-Fulays, above Wadi al-Aʿma, in the tourist area of al-Hada, a small village of stone, wood and clay clings to the rock face. According to the local historian Hammad as-Salimi, the name of the mountain may come from how hard it is to reach its summit. No date has been published. No path or stairway leads to it: it is seen from afar, from the ring road. The local press wishes it to be restored, lit and made accessible.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: Yaqut describes a climb built around 430 AH by Husayn ibn Salama, taking one day going up.
- Probable, not proven: that this climb is exactly that of al-Hada and Kara; that the old names “Kara'” and “al-Hadda” refer to these places.
- Certain: the Darb al-Jammala served the caravans until the road opened; its present condition and whether it can be walked should be checked on site.
- Conflicting: the dates of the modern road. Saudipedia gives 1955-1958 for the launch under King Saʿud and 1965 for the opening under King Faisal, but another of its pages speaks of a road from 1344 AH (1925).
- Unknown: the age of the hanging village; its coordinates have yet to be recorded.
Sources
1. Yaqut al-Hamawi, Muʿjam al-buldan, vol. 4, p. 7-8, entry « الطائف » (the ʿaqaba, Husayn ibn Salama, 430 AH); vol. 4, p. 441, entry « كراء »; vol. 5, p. 394, entry « الهدة ».
2. Saudipedia, « عقبة الكر » (length, altitude, dates 1955, 1958, 1978, 2008, closures): https://saudipedia.com/عقبة-الكر
3. Saudipedia, « هل ما زال درب الجمالة موجودا؟ » (Husayn ibn Salama, road for vehicles in 1385 AH): https://saudipedia.com/ar/هل-ما-زال-درب-الجمالة-موجودا؟
4. Saudipedia, « ما أول طريق معبد في السعودية؟ » (date of 1344 AH, visit of King Saʿud): https://saudipedia.com/ar/ما-أول-طريق-معبد-في-السعودية؟
5. Talal al-Qashqari, « عقبة الهدا إغلاق وذكريات », al-Madina, 8 January 2025: https://www.al-madina.com/ampArticle/918832
6. ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ar-Rabiʿi, article on the Darb al-Jammala of al-Kar, Okaz, 11 May 2026: https://www.okaz.com.sa/local/na/2248141
7. ʿAbd al-Karim adh-Dhiyabi, article on the hanging village of al-Hada, Okaz, 16 July 2020: https://www.okaz.com.sa/news/na/2033120