Mount Sala' slope above the Seven Mosques

Mount Sala', also spelled Sela, is a low rocky ridge in north-west Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and its lower slope rises directly behind the cluster of small mosques known as the Seven Mosques. The mountain is tied to the Battle of the Trench in 627 CE, when the Muslims of Madinah dug a defensive ditch across the open northern approach to the city and made the ridge part of their position. A walk up the open slope near Masjid al-Fath, the largest mosque in the cluster, gives a wider view than the street level allows. From the lower terraces visitors can look across the flat ground where the trench is traditionally placed, over the white domes of the small mosques, and toward the modern city to the east. The ground is rock and gravel with little shade, so the climb is better treated as a short viewpoint walk than a hike. Most visitors spend 20 to 40 minutes on the slope, in addition to the time spent at the mosques below. The best light for photographs comes in the first hours after sunrise, when the mosques are lit from the side and the air is cooler; late afternoon between October and March is the second-best option. Midday heat in summer is severe and the slope offers no cover. Crowds are thin on the slope itself, since most coach and Hop-On Hop-Off passengers stay at the mosques, but the car park and the road below fill around prayer times and at weekends. The route stays on open ground; steep or loose sections should be avoided, and visitors should keep clear of fenced or signposted areas. Modest dress and quiet behaviour are expected, because worshippers use the mosques nearby. The site is free, open air and can be combined with Masjid al-Qiblatayn, roughly a kilometre away.