Jabbar Nur

Mountain in Arabia was very different from the tropical mountain in Malaysia.Mountains in Arabia are not very high averaging 1000-2000 feet, whereas in Malaysia the mountain is higher at 5000-15000 feet.Mountain in the desert are bare and lack vegetation, whereas mountain in Malaysia are lush and green.Also mountain in Arabia are rocky, dry and straightforward terrain, whereas mountain in Malaysia covered with intertwining undergrowth and with many flowing streams.Nobody cares for the mountain in Arabia, so it is unkempt and littered with rubbish, whereas in Malaysia mountain rangers take good care of the parks. But climbing Jabar Nur is another experience I had never had in my many years of climbing mountain peaks in Malaysia and Indonesia.

For jabar Nur, I started very early, that is just after my subuh prayer.It was about one hour by taxi from Mecca.When I reach the starting point which was in an Arab village, there were already many people, mostly from Indian subcontinent .These people consider climbing this mountain to be in Hiraj cave as part of their pilgrame necessity.They climb with such a reverance,The accent was steep with an iclination at 60 degree slope.The climb was made easy with the terrace built by the Pakistanis who collected toll for the steps he helped to create. Of course the toll is voluntary prizes, I dont have to pay if I dont want to.

After about an hour of climb I reach a spot which is a flat bed of rock on which I could rest and take a breath.It was still early in the morning and the weather was good with blowing cool wind.One could easily fall asleep under the temparature of about 20 degree celcius., and with the wind factor could even be 15 degree. After some rest I continued to walk another hour to the mid station where the ground is flatter, so there are many other climbers there taking a rest.I met many climbers from Indonesia, Thailand, India, Pakistan,and China. Because it was so refreshing I took a long rest enjoying the scene before continuing the final part of my climb.

The next stage of the climb until the summit was even more steep. Unlike tropical mountain ehere our views are blocked by tall trees, the view from the mountain in Arabia is clear and one got to see the whole vista. Also as we climb we could feel the sheer drop in terrain with nothing to hold on as tropical mountain there are roots and vegetation to give us support. One foot must be stable to hold the stony pebbles and the only support we could rely on is the rocks and flailing railing. After about an hour of climb from the lat resting spot, I finally reached the summit.

The mountain summit was small and narrow and were all rocks.Everybody was fighting for the small space on the summit.I admired the Afghan as they jumped from rock to rock like mountain goats without fear of missing their steps..May be they are used to doing this in their mountainous country. As it was still ealy, about 1000am, i took a long rest after securing a spot for myself.The temparature at the top was about 15 degree and the wind was blowing very nicely.It was a good feeling and very relaxed up t5here.I enjoyed the view of the city of Mecca with the clock tower as the landmark. Other climbers too were enjoying themselves driking cofeee and lying down on the rock bed. However many climbers were performing t5heir prayer at the mountain top.Some were so emotional in their doa which they said in a loudly and  raising their palam to the sky.


From the top there was trek down to cave where Rasulallah got his message from God. Climbers particularly from India and Pakistan were fighting their way on this trek to get to the cave.With so many people making the attempt towards the cave, I dare not try for the risk of losing grip and falling is something I should avoid at all cost.I therefore skipped that part of the climb, which was the main reason why most people got up there.

The climb down was easy.One use a different set of muscle to make the journey down.; As I climbed down I met a group of Tukish climbers.They were old but they climb the mountain without much effort. It was about 1 pm that I reached the starting point and took a taxi bak to Mecca. For a half day trip, climbing Jabar Nur is worth the try.