The 'Ain Zubaida (also spelled as Ayn Zubaydah) has remained a source of supplying water to Makkah and nearby pilgrimage / holy sites for nearly 1,200 years since its construction at the beginning of the ninth century CE.

The Zubaida Canal (Nahr-e Zubaida) was significantly restored as an during the reign of King Abdul Aziz, around 1928 CE.

Originally the Ain Zubaida aquaduct was a complex of aboveground and underground water channels, water reservoirs, today not much survives of what was once an engineering marvel. During modern period although, some sections of the ancient qanat have been extensively restored, premarily as an archaeological attraction, most of it survives in bits and pieces.

The 35 kilometers long is a remarkabe feat of engineering and construction, that has served the people for more than a thousand years.

circa 800 CE

Commissioning and Abbasid construction (late 8th–early 9th century CE). Literary and technical studies attribute the project to Queen Zubaydah’s Meccan endowments. Dates in the secondary literature vary between completion “circa 801 CE” and works ordered “809–810 CE”; both point to the early Abbasid horizon when the pilgrimage water crisis prompted intervention.

Dual-source concept. Engineering began with Wadi Ḥunayn (to the southeast), where qanats and storage tanks were created. As levels dropped with use, works concentrated on Wadi Nuʿmān, where Zubaydah is reported to have purchased lands and financed the larger qanat feeding Arafat/Mecca.

Medieval–Ottoman upkeep. While primary chronicles are not detailed on each campaign, the canal is repeatedly cited in surveys of Islamic hydraulic heritage as maintained and intermittently repaired across later centuries to serve Hajj traffic.

Modern decline. Technical overviews record that the Nuʿmān qanat remained functional until the mid-1970s, when intensive pumping and urban expansion disrupted recharge and continuity.

circa 800 CE

Catchment. Mother wells and initial galleries lay in Wadi Nuʿmān, east of Mecca; earlier feeders exploited Wadi Ḥunayn. Both catchments collect runoff from the escarpments between Ṭāʾif and Arafat.

Alignment and length. The principal qanat extended circa 27 kilometers from Nuʿmān toward Arafat and the al-ʿAzīzīyah quarter south of Mecca, with a chain of ~130 access shafts marking the underground gallery.

Distribution points. Along the line, water emerged to surface channels and reservoirs near Arafat and at suburban draw-off stations before integration into Mecca’s local network.

circa 800 CE

Qanat gallery and shafts. The core was a gently sloped subterranean tunnel (qanat) cut in alluvium/weathered bedrock, ventilated and maintained through regularly spaced vertical shafts; spoil mounds ring many shaft mouths, as is typical of qanat construction.

Above-ground works. Where topography required, segments ran in open stone-lined channels to settling basins and masonry cisterns. Historic tanks near Mecca are noted for the early Ḥunayn phase; in the Nuʿmān phase, storage and distribution nodes were concentrated around Arafat and the city’s approaches.

Structures and materials. Technical syntheses describe stone masonry linings in shaft collars and select gallery sections; gradients were set to sustain laminar gravity flow without scouring. The system exemplifies Islamic adaptations of the broader qanat tradition to Hejazi geology and Hajj logistics.

circa 800 CE

Source and recharge. The canal exploited wadi underflow and shallow Quaternary alluvial aquifers recharged by episodic precipitation and mountain runoff east of Arafat. Nuʿmān’s hydro-setting included a natural subsurface “dam” zone east of Arafat, aiding perennial yield in otherwise arid conditions.

Conveyance. A small, consistent negative gradient permitted gravity delivery from mother wells to distal outlets; the sequence “capture → gallery → cistern/distribution” minimized evaporative losses relative to surface canals—a key advantage in hyper-arid climates.

Performance and lifespan. Reported operational continuity into circa 1974 CE indicates robust recharge–abstraction balance for many centuries; subsequent intensive pumping in the region disrupted the water table, contributing to canal desiccation and obsolescence.

circa 800 CE

Sadd al-Khasirah
The Sadd al-Khasirah (سدّ الخاصرة), literally meaning the al-Khasirah Dam, is one of the most notable sections of the Zubaida Canal. It was a major stop for travelers and pilgrims passing through the area. The dam is constructed out of smaller local rocks and mortar. It is constructed at the start of a narrow valley.