Taif Islamic Ziyarat Tour

Ten years into his prophethood, having lost both his uncle Abu Talib and his wife Khadijah, the Prophet walked to Taif to ask its people for support. They refused him, set their children on him and drove him out of the town, stoning him until his feet bled.

He took shelter in an orchard on the edge of the town. That is where this Ziyarat goes.

Masjid Addas

In the orchard, the owners sent a servant named Addas with a plate of grapes. When the Prophet said Bismillah before eating, Addas — a Christian from Nineveh — stopped and asked how he knew those words. The conversation that followed ended with Addas kissing his head, hands and feet, and accepting Islam.

The mosque built on that ground carries his name. It is small and unremarkable to look at, which somehow makes it land harder.

It was here too that the angel of the mountains came and offered to crush the town between the two hills, and the Prophet said no — that he hoped their descendants would worship Allah alone. That is the moment most people are quietly thinking about while they stand there.

Masjid Abdullah ibn Abbas

In central Taif, named for the Prophet's cousin, the great scholar of the Quran, who died in Taif and is buried nearby. The mosque has been rebuilt and expanded over the centuries and was for generations a centre of learning in the highlands. It is the main congregational mosque of the old city and a natural place to pray Dhuhr or Asr on this trip.

Wadi Waj and the rest

Wadi Waj is the valley running through Taif, mentioned in the sources and long the reason anything grew here. Drivers often add Masjid al-Kuoo, the old Ottoman-era buildings in the town centre, and Souq Okaz — the site of the great pre-Islamic annual market and poetry fair, revived in recent years as a festival.

The road, which is part of the trip

Makkah to Taif is about 90 km, but the last stretch climbs the escarpment on the Al Hada road, which has roughly ninety hairpin bends and drops away sharply on one side. It is spectacular. It also makes some people ill, so sit forward, keep a window cracked, and skip a heavy breakfast if you are prone.

Allow 1.5 to 2 hours each way. The newer Al Karr tunnel road is faster but the Al Hada road is the one worth taking at least once.

Cost

From SAR 430 for a standard sedan, with SUV, van and minibus on the same card. That is per vehicle for the whole trip, driver waiting included, and the mosques themselves charge nothing.

Pack for a different climate

This is the thing people get wrong. Taif sits around 1,800 metres and runs ten to fifteen degrees cooler than Makkah, and in winter it can approach freezing at night. Pilgrims arrive in a thobe and a shirt and spend the afternoon cold. Take a jacket.

Combining it

Almost nobody drives two hours up a mountain for three mosques and drives straight home. Tell your driver at the start which of these you want:

• The Al Hada cable car — the easiest add-on, right on the road.
• The rose farms — only worth it April to June.
• Al Shafa — highest and coolest, adds a couple of hours.

With one or two added, it becomes a full day rather than a half day. Say so when you book so the driver's schedule allows for it.