The pilgrims' road
Darb Zubaidah, the Kufi pilgrimage route, linked Iraq with Makkah. About 1,400 km of it, 89% of its length, lies in Saudi Arabia, across five regions. It takes its name from Zubaidah bint Jaafar, wife of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who ordered the Ain Zubaidah spring dug in Makkah.
Rafha was the first Saudi territory the trail entered, and Zubala, about 25 km south of the town, was among its key stations. The settlement predates the Abbasid era and reached its height early in it; it is mentioned by explorers including Charles Huber, Alois Musil and Gerard Leachman.
Fortress, cisterns and wells
Zubala Well is described as the deepest on the pilgrimage road: a square mouth of 10 by 10 m dropping 250 m. More than 300 wells are recorded, together with cisterns such as al-Shahuf, al-Shiyahiyat and Umm al-Asafir.
On high ground stands a square fortress, 35 m a side, with round towers at the corners and at the middle of each wall. Nearby are a mosque built on five square pillars and shards of red and green glazed pottery. Excavations have been under way since 2015; for the trading post that followed, see Linah.