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Jabal Al-Sabaya Island

Remains of a Forgotten Island on the Shores of History

Makkah

Jabal Al-Sabaya Island is located west of the Hali Port, south of Al-Qunfudah, and contains the remains of a settlement believed to have thrived between the 3rd and 9th centuries AH. It features two cemeteries, fragments of pottery and glass, ruins of buildings made with Manqabi stone, and the foundations of a mosque.

Jabal Al-Sabaya Island is located in the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, about 20 kilometers west of Hali Port, south of Al-Qunfudah Governorate.

Despite the lack of accurate historical documentation regarding its establishment and the circumstances of its abandonment, archaeological evidence suggests that the island flourished between the 3rd and 9th centuries AH.

Settlement areas are concentrated in the southeastern part of the island—opposite Hali city—and include two cemeteries containing gravestones and funerary stones, scattered fragments of pottery and glass, and the ruins of houses built with Manqabi stone, known for its quality and durability, in addition to the foundations of a mosque, reflecting the presence of a stable community with a religious and organizational dimension.

Jabal Al-Sabaya Island is one of the few sites documenting human settlement in the Tihamah Islands. It is registered as an archaeological site in the Makkah region due to the evidence it holds dating back to the early and late Islamic periods, forming an extension of the memory of forgotten coastal villages.