Khaybar Fort - Madinah Province

Salam Alaikum, Now khaiber fort is open but ticket is SR 95/Person. The way to fort is from the back side , They won't allow to go from the main route as the security is always present. Nice arrangements by the government . They offer refreshment facilities & guide with Arabic & English language . Later the guide will lead you to the fort , Also there is facility of riding bicycle & helicopter ride but they will charge extra amount for helicopter . 95 riyal will cover all the facilities except helicopter. InshaAllah you will enjoy the new type of arrangements. I had visited on Sunday dated 12/02/2023. It is open from 10 am to 6pm for fort visit & after 6pm they wont allow to go to the fort but you can enjoy the restaurants inside.

Wonderful but still to be open to the public

I tried to visit the historical old city and the fort, everything was closed by police and you can’t find a spot to take picture ! In any single spot where you can pass to the old city you will find a police car that will not allowed you to go in …. They told us that its going to be renewed soon and open for public to visit. Update October 7th 2022

Amazing history and must place to visit even if it's from madinah. It's 2-3 hours drive and easy signs on the road. Also once you get there, you can park and walk from 1 minute to reach the base of fort and further 3 minutes or so to go up (there are stairs) .. from the top you can see the oasis and the historic houses. You can take your kids but not advised or if you go, go in evening.

The Battle of Khaybar took place in May/June 628. The Jewish Banū *Naḍīr of *Medina, who claimed to be descendants of Aaron the priest, owned lands in Khaybar and had castles, fortresses, and their own weapons there. After Muhammad expelled them from Medina in 625, their leaders moved to their estates in Khaybar in order to prepare for war against Muhammad and to recruit the aid of Arab tribes. Muhammad first sent disguised guests to the homes of the leaders of Banū Naḍīr who then killed their hosts. Muhammad's victory over the Jews of Khaybar in the subsequent battle was also aided by the distance of the settlements and their castles from one another, the absence of coordination between the fighting forces, the death of the leader Sallām ibn Mishkam, and a Jew who showed the Muslims the secret entrances to one of the fortresses. The castles of Khaybar had tunnels and passages which in wartime enabled the besieged to reach water sources outside the castles. Between 16-18 Muslims and 93 Jews were killed. After the Muslim victory, Muhammad, concerned that Khaybar would remain desolate and would not continue supplying its agricultural produce to the Hejaz, signed an agreement with the Jews which allowed many of its inhabitants to remain on their lands, while requiring payment of half their crops to the conquerors. From a legal point of view the pact was defective, since it did not define the situation of the Jews and did not say whether they were to remain the owners of the soil which they were to cultivate. In later years Muslim jurists defined this settlement as land tenure with rent paid in produce. One version of this agreement was copied by Joseph *Sambari in the 17th century. According to Muslim sources, Muhammad returned to the Jews copies of the Torah seized during the siege, since he opposed desecrating them. After captives of war and slaves from other countries were brought to Khaybar and the people of Hejaz became more accustomed to agriculture, the caliph Omar decided to expel the Jews of Khaybar in 642 under the pretense that before his death Muhammad had commanded that two religions could not exist simultaneously in the Hejaz.