Sakākā

Sakaka lies among the oasis settlements of al-Jawf in northern Arabia. The hilltop fortress of Zaʿbal overlooks its palm groves and old wells, guarding a place on routes across the desert. South of the oasis stand the stone pillars of al-Rajajil, raised in the fourth millennium before our era. Their groups of tall stones bear witness to communities that occupied this dry country long before the fortified oasis took its later form.