Al-Muwayh Governorate

Al-Muwayh Governorate is one of the governorates in the Makkah al-Mukarramah Province, western Saudi Arabia. Its population is 29,065 according to the statistics of the Saudi Census 2022. It served as an important point for the founding King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman al-Saud, where he met with the people of the Bedouin tribes on his way from Najd to Makkah al-Mukarramah. The first airplane he traveled on also landed in al-Muwayh during the early stages of the Kingdom's unification.

Al-Muwayh Governorate is located in the northern part of the Makkah Province and covers an area of 21,736 km. It is classified as Category (B) with seventeen administrative centers, including Dhalam, Umm al-Dum, Radwan, al-Zarban, al-Ruwailiyah, and al-Suhuluj, al-Raghiyah, al-Ruknah, Daghaybjah, Mshash al-Taraf, al-Awali, al-Rufai, al-Mazira, al-Hafar, al-Bahr, al-Nasaif, Maran, and Mulhah.

Al-Muwayh Governorate is home to several historical sites associated with the period of the Kingdom's unification. These include King Abdulaziz Palace, King Abdulaziz Mosque, and ancient wells constructed in circular, square, hexagonal, and rectangular shapes.

King Abdulaziz Palace in Old al-Muwayh was built in 1938 and designed in an ancient Islamic style, covering an area of approximately 14,850 m among the ruins of mud houses and dwellings in al-Muwayh. The palace is located two hundred km north of Taif and forty km from New al-Muwayh.

Taif International Airport is located 205 km away from al-Muwayh Governorate. It is the closest airport to the governorate. It is an international airport with a capacity of about five million passengers annually.

The governorate can be accessed to through Main Road 40, which starts from Jeddah in the west of the Kingdom and ends in Dammam in the Eastern Province. The road is the center of land transportation to and from al-Muwayh.