Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb


Jabal An-Nabī Shuʿayb, also called Jabal Hadhur, is a mountain of the Harazi subregion of the Sarawat, located in Bani Matar District, Sanaa Governorate, Yemen. It is the highest mountain of the country and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the most prominent peaks in the world, and the third most prominent peak in the Middle East.

Name

The mountain is named after a prophet called Shuʿayb ibn Mahdam ibn Dhī-Mahdam al-Ḥaḍūrī. According to Islamic scholars, he is different from Shuaib of Midian. According to Al-Hamdani, he was sent to the people of Mikhlaf Hadhur, but they killed him, and God sent Bakht Nasr, who destroyed their town. Locals believe that his tomb on the mountain. The mountain is also called Jabal Hadhur because it is located in the region of Mikhlaf Hadhur.

Description

Its elevation is often reported to be, but this is not supported by SRTM data or more recent cartographic sources. The height of the mountain is, and is located near the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa. Yemen's second highest peak, Jabal Tiyal, is nearly equidistant from the capital as Jabal an-Nabi Shu'aib is. The mountain may seem like a rocky knoll from observation center, like on the Sana'a-Al Hudayda highway, but from its western face, it is a massive mountain rising from about. This side of the mountain halts clouds burdened with precipitation, causing that side to be relatively fertile. Atop the mountain is a military post with a radar, and what is reportedly the shrine of Shu'ayb.

Climbing

It is relatively difficult to be allowed to its summit, but restrictions have eased as of late. Although the summit is not snow-capped like its counterparts in northern Lebanon and Syria, there have been reports of snow on the peak and frost in the winter. Wind speeds are very high at the summit. In April 2019, Ahmad Zein Al-Yafei, an Emirati security officer from Dubai, scaled the mountain in 69 hours, unfurling the banner of Dubai Police at the peak. He mentioned that reaching the summit was hard, long and tiring, having to go through low levels of oxygen, air pressure and temperature.