THE HADAJ WELL

The Hadaj well is one of the oldest in Saudi Arabia, dating back to Babylonian times around 550 B.C. It was completely filled in a thousand years later, before being rebuilt during the Ottoman period. In 1953, King Abdulaziz visited Tayma and ordered the installation of electric pumps to facilitate field irrigation. In the absence of maintenance, the well deteriorated. Prince Fahd bin Sultan ordered that the well be restored to its original state, at his own expense. All the sheaves were replaced and the stone walls repaired.