Khaybar: A Saudi Town of Water Springs, Forts and Volcanic Craters

Qamus fortress in Khaybar
Qamus fortress in Khaybar
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Khaybar: A Saudi Town of Water Springs, Forts and Volcanic Craters

Qamus fortress in Khaybar
Qamus fortress in Khaybar

With its farms, springs, volcanoes, and forts, Khaybar combines historic charm and breathtaking landscape on a unique piece of land in the Madinah region in Saudi Arabia.

Khaybar, which used to be home to more than three hundred running springs, was a significant economic hub in the Arabian Peninsula due to the abundance of its natural resources, including wells and impenetrable fortifications.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured its most prominent castles and forts, which have witnessed many important events throughout history since its establishment by the Amalekites, an Arab tribe that has died out.
The name Khaybar was mentioned in the book of the Assyrians as one of the areas captured by the Babylonian King Nabonidus, and he ruled over it between 555 and 538 BC. Some evidence and archeological findings indicate that humans have inhabited the area since the Stone Age.

According to Saifi al-Shalali, who does research on Khaybar's history, the city was known as Hijaz’s periphery in the past. Indeed, Said bin Muhammad bin Ahmed al-Afghani, author of the book “Arab Markets in Jahiliyya,” says it was the financial center of the Arabian Peninsula. Its economic importance stemmed from the expansion of its agricultural land and its abundance of water. It was a fertile ground for thousands of palm plantations.

Khaybar was also famous for its famous market (Nattah Khaybar Market), classified as one of the twelve most important Arab markets during the Jahiliyya period (pre-Islamic Arabia). All kinds of goods from all over the Arabian Peninsula were available, including all sorts of weapons, textiles, carpets, animal products such as margarine and honey, household utensils and other items.

The primary commodity, simultaneously a currency and a commodity, was dates. Trade in this market was conducted either with the coins available at the time or through bartering for and with dates.

The market would boom in the summer, date season, when most Arab merchants would meet to exchange their goods for dates.

Shalali says there is reason to believe that humans have inhabited it for tens of thousands of years, like tools made of stone that seem to date back to the Stone Age found by archaeologists.

Khaybar was known by its rugged terrain, and this is what drew the humans who settled there years ago. This is also what encouraged its early inhabitants to build many forts to protect it against invasions. The most prominent of which is the fortress of Al-Qamus, which stands like a ship in a sea of palm trees that surround it from all sides. Other forts in Khaybar are distinguished by their geographical location and strength including Al-Saab Bin Muadh Fort, Al-Qalaa, Quilah, Aby, Al-Nizar, Al-Watih and Al-Salalim.



Why Does Trump Want to End US Daylight Saving Time?

Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
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Why Does Trump Want to End US Daylight Saving Time?

Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)

Daylight saving time, a practice affecting almost 400 million people across North America, is once again in the spotlight as debates over its necessity continue. This twice-a-year ritual of adjusting clocks forward in spring and back in autumn has been ingrained in American, Canadian and Cuban life for more than a century. However, US President-elect Donald Trump has pushed for an end to daylight saving time, which he has called inconvenient and costly.

WHAT DID TRUMP SAY ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME?

Trump said his Republican Party would work to end daylight saving time after he takes office on Jan. 20.

"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation."

Trump's billionaire allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom he picked to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, have endorsed Trump's plan.

In 2022, the US Senate passed a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act that would make daylight saving time permanent. It stalled in the House of Representatives because lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time.

Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, could revive the bill or introduce a new one.

WHEN DO THE CLOCKS CHANGE?

Any changes that Trump and the Republicans may enact probably would not take effect immediately.

Daylight saving time in the United States and some other countries is due to start on March 9 at 2 a.m. local time, meaning people will lose an hour of sleep. Mornings will be darker but it will stay light until later in the evening. Daylight saving time is scheduled to end on Nov. 2. The saying "spring forward, fall back" serves as a helpful reminder for adjusting clocks.

Daylight saving time in the United States always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

In the UK and other European countries, daylight saving time, also known as summer time, begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. This year it will start on March 30 and end on Oct. 26.

WHEN IS THE SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR IN 2025?

The shortest day of 2025 will be on Dec. 21, which marks the winter solstice. Daylight hours vary significantly across latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Areas near the North Pole will be plunged into complete darkness while southern regions will still get more than 10 hours of sunshine.

WHY WAS DAYLIGHT SAVING CREATED IN THE US AND HOW DID IT START?

The modern idea of changing the clocks with the seasons can be traced back to at least the late 19th century, when New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed it to conserve energy and extend summer daylight hours, something that would have benefited his hobby of collecting insects after work. The idea was slow to gain traction until World War One, when European states sought any strategies to conserve fuel. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1916. The United States followed in 1918.

The practice went through many variations before the United States standardized it in 1966 in a law called the Uniform Time Act, which allows states to opt out of it but not to stay on daylight saving time permanently.

WHY IS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME CONTROVERSIAL?

A common myth is that the United States adopted daylight saving time to benefit farmers, but in reality many farmers are opposed to the practice for being disruptive to their schedules.

The original motivation to conserve fuel is also under debate, as studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the shift, according to the US Congressional Research Service.

Opponents point to other studies that have found adverse health effects linked to daylight saving time, such as a spike in fatal traffic accidents, heart attacks, strokes and sleep deprivation in the days after clocks are moved forward an hour every March.

A March 2023 YouGov poll found that 62% of Americans want to end the practice of changing clocks, though only 50% prefer to keep permanent daylight saving time.

DO ALL US STATES OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME?

No. Hawaii and Arizona, with the exception of its Navajo Nation region, do not observe daylight saving time. The US territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands also observe permanent standard time.

While daylight saving time is widespread across the United States, 19 states have passed legislation to permanently use daylight saving time if Congress were to allow it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.