In olden times, Tayma existed as an oasis whose fame spread across the Middle East.
Tayma is located in the north west of Saudi Arabia, about 400 km north of Madinah and 260 km southeast of Tabuk.
Current archaeological excavations indicate a long history which is traceable for 3,000 years back or more.
In the time of King Nabonidus, who left Babylon to take up residence in exile here, there was plentiful of water in the form of a shallow lake to the north of the town. All that remains of it now is a salt-pan.
However, inside the town there remains the Hadaj well, probably the largest in the Kingdom and blessed with water which has lasted for a millennia.
Legend has it that the well was constructed in the sixth century BC, destroyed in a flood and later reconstructed in its present form.
Surrounded by palm gardens some 18 meters in diameter and lined with dressed stone, the well is ringed with a wooden frame that supports 40 wooden wheels (mihala). These wheels form part of a mechanism to allow camels to lower by rope large buckets which then raise water and irrigate surrounding areas.
The well also formed an important waypoint on trade routes as a reliable source of vital water.
Radiating out from the circumference of the well and still easily visible are stone guides set in the ground for the camels and their drivers.
Remarkably preserved and under the watchful presence of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, the well and archaeological site are important parts of the Kingdom’s and the Peninsula’s long history of trade and culture.
It is visible proof of the centrality of water in the culture and history of Saudi Arabia.
