Uyun Al-Jiwa (Antarah's Rock)

Uyun Al-Jiwa is a town and governorate in the Qassim region of central Saudi Arabia, lying to the north-west of the city of Buraydah. It is known for the association of its name with the pre-Islamic poet Antarah ibn Shaddad and for the rock attributed to him on its outskirts.

Al-Jiwa is an ancient place name that occurs in Arabic poetry from before Islam, most famously in the opening of Antarah's Mu'allaqa, where he addresses the dwelling of Abla at Al-Jiwa. The district was among the lands of the Abs tribe, to which the poet belonged. Local tradition holds that Antarah used to meet Abla at one particular rock, or tether his horse there, and so it came to bear his name. The attribution rests on popular tradition rather than on firm archaeological evidence.

The rock is a large mass of sandstone standing alone on open ground near the town. Uyun Al-Jiwa also has an old town of mud houses and palm farms that depend on the groundwater from which the place takes its name. Visitors come to the rock and the old town to see a setting tied to one of the best-known stories in Arabic literature.