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Qaryat al-Fāw


Thirteen ancient Pre-Islamic towns have been discovered in Saudi Arabia up to the present day. These include Qaryat al-Fāw, the Al-Ukhdūd archeological area, Madā'in Ṣālih, Jubbah, Tārūt, Al-Shuwayḥaṭiyah, Thāj, Taimaa and Dūmat Al-Jandal. There are still more ancient towns in Saudi Arabia, but little information is currently available on them. Saudi Arabia occupies a unique and distinctive geographic location, bridging civilizations between continents. In ancient times the Arabian peninsula served as a corridor for trade; therefore it saw the beginning of many civilizations, the relics of which are still evident today. The Saudi government has recently established the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, which is responsible for the preservation of these cities.

Qaryat al-Fāw, (Arabic: قرية الفاو‎‎) also appears in the southern text as Qaryat Dhu Kahl, Qaryat al-Hamraa and Dhat al-Jnan. The name derives from its geographical location at a pass through the Ṭuwayq Mountains where it intersects with Wādī al-Dawāsir, overlooking the northwestern edge of the Empty Quarter desert. It is located about 700 km southwest of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Qaryat al-Fāw is considered one of the most important ancient Pre-Islamic cities in Saudi Arabia, and it was the capital of the Kindah Kingdom from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, which was one of the ancient Arab kingdoms in the middle of the Arabian Peninsula. The Kindah originally came from Yemen after the demolition of the Ma'rib Dam, which led to the fall of the Kingdom of Saba'. In fact, after the demolition of the Ma'rib dam the kingdom of Saba' was divided into three tribal areas, one of the tribes being the Kindha, which was a part of the Sabaean Kingdom of Ma'rib. The other two tribes were Mundharites, who built their kingdom in southern Iraq, and the Ghassān, whose kingdom was in what is now called Syria. The Kingdom of Kindah is thought by many historians to have been a Bedouin tribal kingdom, unlike other organised kingdoms founded in the Arabian Peninsula.


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