Qurh, Saudi Arabia
Qurh
القرح | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Ulcer | |
  Qurh | |
| Coordinates: 26°37′N 37°55′E / 26.617°N 37.917°E / 26.617; 37.917 | |
| Country |  Saudi Arabia |
| Region | Al Madinah |
Al-Qurh, is a village and archaeological site near Al-'Ula, north of Medina Saudi Arabia.[1] The name القرح name translates as ulcers
Qurh, also known as al-Ma'abiyat, was the principal settlement of Wadi al-Qura and is identified with the ruins of al-Ma'abiyat in Wadi al-'Ula, eighteen kilometers southeast of the oasis Al-'Ula.
History
There are numerous references to the place in the medieval Arabic sources.[2] Excavation began in 1985. For example, al Muqad-dasi described Qurh as the largest town in the hijaz ...after Mecca, as well as the most flourishing and populous. al-Istakhri says that among the towns of the hijaz, Wadi al Qura is second only to al Yamama in size and production.[3] while Yaqut says it was a very fertile valley covered in villages from end to end, and indeed the modern name of the wadi still means valley of villages.
Al-Muqaddasi adds it had a very diverse population.
Al-Muqaddasi also says palm trees skirt [Qurh]... it is possessed of very cheap dates, and excellent and copious springs of water[4] of which Yakut numbers 80 springs. There is also evidence of a quanat 2.5 meters below the surface.[5]
References
- ^ Al Qurh.
- ^ Timothy Power, The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate: AD 500–1000(I.B.Tauris, 2012) p115.
- ^ Timothy Power, The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate: AD 500–1000(I.B.Tauris, 2012) p116.
- ^ see also Al-Isfahani
- ^ Timothy Power, The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate: AD 500–1000(I.B.Tauris, 2012) p117.
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