Unaizah

• Unaizah is one of the oldest cities in the Qassim region. It is full of farms and orchards, with water availability and pure soil.

• "Unaizah" is considered to be the second largest governorate in Al-Qassim region, which is located on the Najd plateau, in the center of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is an important historic governorate. It gained its importance since ancient times due to its distinguished geographical location.

• It is located in the north-central part of the Najd plateau and to the south of the watercourse of Al-Ramah valley. It is surrounded by sand dunes from the north and west called the sands of Alghamis, while to the south there are sand and forests of Al-Ghada in Ash-Shuqayyiqah region.

• Unaizah is considered to be of medium height above sea level. Its height reaches more than 700 meters above sea level from most sides, and decreases slightly from the watercourse of Al-Ramah valley.

• Its important geographical location in the past had a great role in becoming a corridor for commercial caravans and pilgrims’ caravans that came from Iraq heading to Mecca to perform the rituals of Hajj and Umrah, and there is still historical evidence of this. There is also archaeological remains to prove the presence of pilgrims and commercial caravans in Al Ayyarah and Al Qaryatayn and in Al-Ramah region.

• The reason for naming the governorate with this name is due to a hill, which is a small black mountain that was located in the east of the governorate. Since hill was called in the past to Arabs "anz”, so “Unaizah” is the miniaturization for the word "anz" because of the small size of the hill.

• Among the most prominent archaeological monuments in the Unaizah Governorate are:

• “Unaizah Heritage Palace”: This palace is located near to one of the main entrances in the governorate, and it was built in1374 AH. The construction period was completed on more than one stage, starting in the northern side, and it was completed in 1377 AH.

• “Al Hamdan Heritage House": It is an old folk house that is built of clay, in the style of old architecture, whose owner converted it into an archaeological and tourist site, to attract visitors.

• “Al-Khuraisa Mosque": It is one of the oldest mosques in the governorate, it was built two hundred years ago, and was restored in 1337 AH. It is still standing and people pray in it.

• Some other landmarks: Al-Jouz Mosque, The Great Mosque lighthouse, Al-Mosoukaf Market, Al-Sankar castle.