It was built and used by a Yemeni Price who wanted Najran under his control, around 100 years ago. It was built to the east of Al Hadan village on top of the mountain called ‘Raoum’, at an altitude of 5,140 feet. It was built with mud and rocks over a total area of 1000 meter square, overlooking Al Safa. It is accessible via a rocky stairway extending over 1.7km and this stairway would help you climb 720 feet to reach the castle.
Start of Hike:
Coordinates: 17.465958,44.091833
Google Maps Link: http://goo.gl/maps/F0Kif
(Complete Pics can be seen on this link: 20130810-09 - Riyadh, Rub'al Khali, Najran and Dhahran Al Janoub)
From the road the mountain and the Castle looks like this:
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It took us some time to find the start of the stairway, we took a round around the mountain on car and with the help of a local we reached to the right location. Our total hiking time was 1hr, we started our hike at 7:31 AM and with some breaks we reached the castle at 8:33 AM. I would recommend to start the hike early in the morning or in the evening to avoid heat. Taking BBQ stuff up and doing a BBQ there would also be a good idea.
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There were 3 rest areas on the way:
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The way is rocky and not uniform. You should be wearing proper hiking boots. Keep a good amount of drinkable water with you as there is no such facility available on the way or in the castle.
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While climbing up you can see the beautiful Najran valley:
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The Castle:
Coordinates: 17.468931,44.087066
Google Maps Link: http://goo.gl/maps/9Ys34
The castle is built on a beautiful rock:
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| From 20130810-09 - Riyadh, Rub'al Khali, Najran and Dhahran Al Janoub |
The castle is comprised of five rooms built of mud, rocks and plaster, a spiral staircase and the roof is made of wood from palm, ithil and sidr trees and 2 terraces. It has small windows which were used for defense. The whole castle is completely empty. You can have a 360 degrees view of Najran from there.
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| From 20130810-09 - Riyadh, Rub'al Khali, Najran and Dhahran Al Janoub |
We spent half hour there and started our hike back. We were short of time as we had to see other places in Najran. Climbing down was very easy, it took us just half hour, we started at 9:03am and reached down at 9:31am.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to this castle and it’s a must see when you visit Najran.
References:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=2010082882162
-urShadow
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