Ziyarat Private Car (Madinah)

Madinah's ziyarat sites sit closer together than Makkah's, which makes this a gentler round — but it has one piece of timing that catches almost everybody, and we would rather put it at the top than bury it.

Jannat al-Baqi opens only after Fajr and after Asr, and only men are admitted. A family arriving at ten in the morning will find the gate closed, and the women in the party will not be going in at any hour. Plan around that and the rest of the day falls into place.

What it costs

Same fare as the Makkah round, and the same shape of maths: a family of four pays about SAR 50 each, a group of eleven about SAR 25. The driver waits at every stop and there is no meter.

The sites

Masjid Quba

The first mosque built in Islam, about 3.5 km south-west of the Prophet's Mosque on the Hijrah road. Over 26 million people visited in 2025, which tells you both how significant it is and how busy it gets.

Get the hadith right. The reward described is that of an Umrah — but it is tied to performing wudu at home and then going to Quba to pray. The common shorthand, "two rak'ah at Quba equals an Umrah", leaves that condition out. We would rather state it accurately than repeat the version that sells better.

Practical note: Quba is inside the King Salman expansion works. Entrances, parking and drop-off points change without notice, so your driver will find the current one on the day rather than heading for where it was last time.

Mount Uhud and the martyrs

The site of the battle, with the graves of the martyrs including Hamza (RA) in a walled enclosure. Visitors give salams from the perimeter wall — you do not go in and stand at the graves, and it is better to know that before you arrive.

Jabal al-Rumat, Archers' Hill, is the small rise beside it. Whether to climb it is your call and it is open ground with no shade. In July and August, when Madinah averages highs near 44°C, we would gently steer elderly parents away from it at midday.

Masjid al-Qiblatain

The mosque where the qibla changed direction mid-prayer, roughly five to seven kilometres from the Prophet's Mosque — sources differ and we will not pretend to a precise figure. A short stop; most people pray two rak'ah and move on.

The Seven Mosques

The cluster of small historic mosques near the site of the Battle of the Trench. Do not expect seven standing buildings. Madinah's official tourism material says five of the historic mosques remain, with one larger modern mosque built alongside; other sources say six. The count is genuinely disputed, which is exactly why visitors arrive expecting seven and leave puzzled.

Jannat al-Baqi

The cemetery beside the Prophet's Mosque, where many of the Companions are buried. As above: men only, and open after Fajr and after Asr. Those windows shift in Ramadan and Hajj.

It is a working graveyard. Photography is discouraged and restricted in places, and visitors are expected to keep quiet — the same is true at the Uhud cemetery.

Wadi al-Jinn — optional, and not what you may have heard

About 30 km out of the city, where cars appear to roll uphill. It is a well-documented optical illusion, and the Al Madinah Region Development Authority publicly rejected the supernatural claims about it in 2020.

We are happy to take you and it is a pleasant detour. It is not a religious site, we will not sell it as one, and it adds real driving time to a round that is otherwise compact. Ask for it specifically if you want it.

Timing the round

Three to four hours covers the main sites comfortably. The two things that shape the schedule are the Baqi windows and the five daily prayers — mosques on the route fill at prayer times and the traffic around the Haram slows with them.

After Fajr is the best start, for the same reason as in Makkah: you see the outdoor sites before the heat and you are back before the middle of the day. In Ramadan and Hajj everything takes longer and the Baqi windows move; tell us and we will plan to the prayer times rather than the clock.

What your driver does

He knows the route, the parking and the order that avoids doubling back, and he waits at every stop — the waiting is in the fare.

He is a driver, not a religious guide. He will tell you what a place is and where to go. He will not deliver a history lecture or rule on what is permissible. Ask when you book if you would prefer Urdu, Turkish, Bahasa or French; we can usually arrange it with a day's notice.

Booking

Give us the date, your hotel, the number of passengers and when you want to leave. Say if Baqi matters to you, because that sets the start time more than anything else does. We confirm the vehicle and the fare before the day; nothing is charged up front.

Doing the same in Makkah? The Makkah Ziyarat round is the companion trip. Travelling between the cities is Makkah to Madinah by private car, and the flight home is Madinah airport transfers.