A small mountain with a long memory
Al-Qarah Mountain rises about 15 km east of al-Hufuf, inside the oasis of al-Ahsa Governorate. It stands 210 m above sea level on a base of about 14 km², roughly a kilometre from north to south and 800 m from east to west.
It formed more than 2.5 million years ago from layered, coloured limestone, and its strange shapes were carved by rain and running water. Four historic villages ring its foot: al-Tuwaithir, al-Dalwah, al-Tuhaimiyah and al-Qarah. Tradition places the kings of Kindah on its summit, and it appears in the poetry of Imru' al-Qais.
Into the caves
The mountain holds twelve caves; the largest can take about five hundred people. Inside, the temperature stays around 20°C even on summer days when the air outside climbs above 40°C.
The Land of Civilizations cultural tourism project opened in part in 2016, so visitors can now walk the main cave and a stone theatre. The mountain sits within the wider palm country of Al-Ahsa Oasis.