An-Nuqra

An-Nuqrah is a historic stopping place in the high country between Qasim and Medina. Known as Maadin an-Nuqrah, it lay on the Iraqi pilgrimage route, where travellers found wells and pools of fresh water. The route from Basra to Medina joined the Kufa road here; those bound for Mecca could instead turn south toward Dariyah. Its older name also recalls the mineral workings of the district.