Makkah
Ayn Zubaydah is the water system that Zubaydah, wife of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, ordered to be built in 194 AH (around 810) and endowed as a waqf.…
Ayn Zubaydah is the water system that Zubaydah, wife of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, ordered to be built in 194 AH (around 810) and endowed as a waqf. It gathered rainwater from the al-Kar mountains east of Makkah and carried it through channels, tunnels and underground cisterns to Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina and the city, supplying pilgrims with water for some twelve centuries. The channel runs for about 30 km and in places lies 40 metres below ground, with more than a hundred inspection chambers along its course. Sections can still be seen at Arafat and on the slopes towards Muzdalifah. The al-Khasira section near Arafat has been developed by the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites as a visitor area with a heritage market and walking trails.