Hims (Homs in the English and French colonial pronunciaiton) is a small city located at the east bank of the Orontes River. It is situated between the road from Damascus to Aleppo in a shelf at the foothills of the Jebel Ansayriah and the Lebanon Mountains. This favorable geographic position brings the city Mediterranean winds and an average annual rainfall of eighteen inches. It is also a crossroad between north-south and east-west which adds to its early settlement as a caravan stop. Hims also has a large agricultural plain which grows grain, cotton, sugar beets, and a variety of vegetables through means of irrigation which has been a characteristic of the city throughout its history. Hims' agriculture is supported by Lake Hims (Qattinah), an artificial lake created from by the means of a dam built at its northern end. This structure was built by the Romans and the reservoir which formed as a result allowed Hims to maintain a constant agricultural economy.

https://archnet.org/authorities/4104

Hama is a city located north of Homs on the Orontes River, in the western part of Syria. It is a city of great antiquity, and was a provincial city in kingdoms including the Mitannian, Aramaean, Assyrian, and Roman Empires before incorporation into the lands of Islam. The first occurrence of the toponym related to its modern Arabic name "Hama" dates to the ninth century BCE. However, Neolithic and Chalcolithic ruins within the citadel mound demonstrate that the site was inhabited already in the fifth millennium BCE. In the second century BCE, the city was renamed Epiphaneia, after Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175-164 BCE), although the Hellenistic presence at Hama may predate this change in name. Hama became part of the Muslim Empire in 636-637/15 AH, where it remained a provincial center. During the Islamic period, Hama became a famous manufacturer of silk and major trade center on caravan routes.

https://archnet.org/authorities/6449

Krak des Chevaliers, also called Crac des Chevaliers, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, and formerly Crac de l'Ospital, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasids.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers

Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km south of Idlib and 57 km north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War. In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, including several displaced by fighting in neighbouring towns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma'arrat_al-Nu'man

Qinnasrin, also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as Chalcis-on-Belus, was a historical town in northern Syria. The town was situated 25 km south west of Aleppo on the west bank of the Queiq River and was connected to Aleppo with a major road during Roman times.

https://archnet.org/sites/2871

The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Mesopotamia and Syria. They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern Arabia.

Aleppo, Halab, is an ancient city, inhabited continuously from as early as the 2nd millennium BCE. Its strategic geographic location on a high plateau halfway between the Mediterranean coast and the Euphrates River marked it as the crossroad of several important trading and pilgrimage routes, including the Silk Road. It has been ruled by many, including the Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Mongols, Mamluks and Ottomans. Each empire built upon the foundations of its predecessor, forming a historically rich and complex layered urban core, the "Old City of Aleppo."

https://archnet.org/authorities/3497

Buza'a (also spelled Biza'a and Bza'a) is a small town in the hinterland of Aleppo, approximately 40 kilometers northeast of the city. It has a long history, having been a Byzantine settlement which fell to the Muslim armies in the year 12 AH. The mosque is thought to have been first founded during the reign of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634-644/13-23 AH). An inscription on its minaret indicates that this structure was rebuilt under the Mamluks in 1355-1356/756 AH. The mosque has been renovated numerous times since then.

https://archnet.org/sites/18890

Manbij (Arabic: مَنْبِج‎, romanized: Manbij, Kurdish: Minbic ,مەنبج‎) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Manbij had a population of nearly 100,000.The population of Manbij is largely Arab, with Kurdish, Circassian and Chechen minorities. Many of its residents practice Naqshbandi Sufism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manbij

Raqqa (Arabic: ٱلرَّقَّة‎, romanized: ar-Raqqah, also Raqa, Rakka and ar-Raqqah) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 kilometres (99 miles) east of Aleppo. It is located 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and bishopric Callinicum (formerly a Latin and now a Maronite Catholic titular see) was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate between 796 and 809, under the reign of Harun al-Rashid. It was also the capital of the Islamic State from 2014 to 2017. With a population of 220,488 based on the 2004 official census, Raqqa is the sixth largest city in Syria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raqqa

Qal'at Najm (Arabic: قلعة نجم‎) is a castle located on the right bank of the Euphrates, near the town of Manbij in north Syria. The castle probably stood on the site of an earlier Roman site and is known from Arabic texts since the 7th century CE. Reconstruction works were carried out in the castle by Nur ad-Din Zangi and Az-Zahir Ghazi during the 12th and early 13th centuries. The castle sits on a mound that is protected by a glacis and houses a palace-bath complex and a mosque.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qal'at_Najm

Diyar Rabi'a (Arabic: ديار ربيعة‎, romanized: Diyār Rabīʿa, lit. 'abode of Rabi'a') is the medieval Arabic name of the easternmost and largest of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Bakr and Diyar Mudar. According to the medieval geographer al-Baladhuri, all three provinces were named after the main Arab tribes that were settled there by Mu'awiyah in the course of the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. The Diyar Rabi'a was settled by the Rabi'a tribe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyar_Rabi%27a

He says this a lot. I think it means something like, "this is what people say," or, "this is a rumor."

Akhzam is an Arabic name for boys that means “serpent,” “snake.” There is a companion of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him and his companions, whose name is Abu Akhzam.

Harran, ancient Carrhae, was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is in the modern city Harran, Turkey, 44 kilometers southeast of Şanlıurfa. The location is in the Harran district of Şanlıurfa Province.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harran

In the Quran, the word is used once to refer to a spring in paradise (Jannah). It can also mean river or fountain in paradise.

Ras al-Ayn (Arabic: رأس العين‎, romanized: Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Kurdish: Serê Kaniyê‎, Classical Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ‎, romanized: Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_al-Ayn

Mardin lies at the heart of homeland of Syriacs (Süryaniler), an ancient people who trace their origin to Akkadian Empire, established in Mesopotamia around 2200 BC. Syriac is a Semitic language directly related to the native tongue of Jesus Christ, Aramaic. Syriac Orthodoxy was established after the first division in Christianity in 431, much earlier than the Great Schism of 11th century between the churches of Rome and Constantinople. While the Syriac population in Mardin dwindled due to emigration (nowadays Assyrians are more numerous in Sweden than in all of Turkey), they are still very much present in the city, along with more or less all other regional cultures, including Turks, Kurds, and Arabs.

https://wikitravel.org/en/Mardin

Dara or Daras (Greek: Δάρας, Syriac: ܕܪܐ‎[1]) was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conflicts (in 530, 540, 544, 573, and 604). The former archbishopric remains a multiple Catholic titular see. Today the Turkish village of Oğuz, Mardin Province, occupies its location.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dara_(Mesopotamia) https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/dara

Nusaybin (pronounced [nuˈsajbin]; Kurdish: Nisêbîn‎[5]; Arabic: نصيبين‎; Syriac: ܢܨܝܒܝܢ‎, romanized: Nṣībīn;[6]), historically known as Nisibis (Greek: Νίσιβις, translit. Nísibis), is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832[7] as of 2009 and is predominantly Kurdish. Nusaybin is separated from the larger Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli by the Syria–Turkey border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusaybin

Mount Judi, also known as Qardū, is Noah's apobaterion or "Place of Descent", the location where the Ark came to rest after the Great Flood, according to very Early Christian and Islamic tradition. The Quranic tradition is similar to the Judeo-Christian legend.

https://noahsfloodnoahsark.wordpress.com/tag/iran/

Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located on the outskirts of Mosul in modern-day northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh

Bombed and destroyed by ISIL in 2004.

Maqsurah is an enclosure, box, or wooden screen near the mihrab or the center of the qibla wall in a mosque. It was typically reserved for a Muslim ruler and was originally designed to shield him from potential assassins during prayer.

Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq. Located approximately 400 km north of Baghdad, and 170 km southeast of the city of Cizre in Turkey, Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank.

http://www.atlastours.net/iraq/mosul.html

City located between Baghdad and *Mosul, and a flourishing river port and a market after the Sasanians destroyed Hatra in the mid-3rd century.

(popular pronunciation Tikrīt , cf. Yāḳūt), a town of ʿIrāḳ on the right bank of the Tigris to the north of Sāmarrāʾ 100 miles from Bag̲h̲dād divertly, and 143 by river, and at the foot of the range of the D̲j̲abal Ḥamrīn (lat. 34° 36′ N., long. 43° 41′ E., altitude 110 m/375 feet). Geographically, this is the northern frontier district of ʿIrāḳ. The land is still somewhat undulating; the old town was built on a group of hills, on one of which beside the river, stands the modern town.

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/08/the-great-mosque-of-samarra.html

Qasr al-'Ashiq (Arabic: قصر العاشق‎) is a historical palace dates back to the Abbasid era, located near the city of Samarra, Iraq.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%82_01.JPG#/media/File:قصر_العاشق_01.JPG

Amida was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located where modern Diyarbakır, Turkey now stands.

The city was located on the right bank of the Tigris. The walls are lofty and substantial, and constructed of the recycled stones from older buildings.

A horse or pony of a light breed with a high-stepping trot, used in harness. a horse-drawn vehicle kept for hire.

A caparison is a cloth covering laid over a horse or other animal for protection and decoration. In modern times, they are used mainly in parades and for historical reenactments. A similar term is horse-trapper. The word is derived from the Latin caparo, meaning a cape.

Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq. Located approximately 400 km north of Baghdad, and 170 km southeast of the city of Cizre in Turkey, Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank.

Khafajah or Khafaje (ancient Tutub) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province (Iraq). It was part of the city-state of Eshnunna. The site lies 7 miles (11 km) east of Baghdad and 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Eshnunna.

https://alchetron.com/Khafajah#-

faqih (plural faqihs or fuqaha') (Islam) An expert in Islamic law.

Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad, one of the first nezamiyehs, was established in 1065. In July 1091, Nizam al-Mulk appointed the 33-year-old Al-Ghazali as a professor of the school. Offering free education, it has been described as the "largest university of the Medieval world."

https://i.imgur.com/ctbRZNL.jpg

https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Khuld_Palace

https://wikimapia.org/21961646/Tomb-of-Mansur-Al-Hallaj

https://www.facebook.com/NelsonNaqshbandiHaqqani/photos/pcb.1674326396023760/1674324466023953/?type=3&theater

https://jurjis.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/normal17.jpg

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSCsuNdPykw/WuqXubF7paI/AAAAAAAAAcE/diGGWXpvBS8jl7cnqIHDQi2HC0ZAAfn1gCLcBGAs/s1600/abu%2Bhanifa.jpg

The Great Mosque of al-Mansur was the first mosque to be built in Baghdad. In its original form, the mosque was a quadrangle about 100 yards (91 m) on each side, i.e. about one quarter that of the palace. ... The palace and mosque complex was apparently completed by the time al-Mansur took up residence in the city in 763.

https://archnet.org/sites/3806

I think it's interesting that Jubayr denounces Baghdad so emphatically. In other areas that are neither as large or as opulent, he feigns their greatness, even when his praise doesn't fit. It appears to me that he exalts places and people he feels are most faithful. I suspect the accuracy of his descriptions because of this bias.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tigris_River_in_Baghdad_(2016).jpg#/media/File:Tigris_River_in_Baghdad_(2016).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salman_the_Persian_tomb_in_Ctesiphon_-_Madain_-_Iraq.png#/media/File:Salman_the_Persian_tomb_in_Ctesiphon_-_Madain_-_Iraq.png

https://archnet.org/sites/5282

https://www.7iber.com/2007/06/the-castle-that-time-forgot/

Any of various Persian units of distance especially : an ancient unit of about four miles (six kilometers)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Imam_Ali_Mosque_by_tasnimnews.com09.jpg#/media/File:Imam_Ali_Mosque_by_tasnimnews.com09.jpg

Kufa, also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River.

Fayd or Fa'idah is a village in Makkah Province, in western Saudi Arabia. The Expedition of Qatan was ordered by Muhammad and took place here.

A valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season.

The word "Hajir" means "obstacle"; a place where water gathers. It is a way station between Mecca and Kufa before Khuzaymiya. In some sources it is called Hajiz.

Nuqrah deposit (Nuqrah Mine), Medina Region, Saudi Arabia : An ancient mine.

Al-ʽUsaylah is a residential area in Jizan Province, in south-western Saudi Arabia.

Najd, or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the House of Saud to bring Arabia under a single polity and Islamic jurisprudence.

Tihamah or Tihama refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.

A rakaʿah, is a single iteration of prescribed movements and supplications performed by Muslims as part of the prescribed ritual prayer known as salaa. Each of the five daily prayers observed by Muslims consists of a number of raka'ahs.

The She-Camel of God (Arabic: نَـاقـة الله‎) in Islam was a miraculous female camel sent by God to the people of Thamud in Al-Hijr, after they demanded a miracle from the prophet Saleh.

This gold grill is the front part of the Rawdah Mubarak, the Sacred Chamber in which the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) passed away and where he is buried. It also houses the graves of the first two Caliphs of Islam, Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) and Umar (رضي الله عنه).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abiar_Ali.jpg#/media/File:Abiar_Ali.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arafat_pilgrims.jpg#/media/File:Arafat_pilgrims.jpg

Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: عَلِيّ ٱبْن أَبِي طَالِب‎, ʿAlī ibn ʾAbī Ṭālib; 13 September 601 – 29 January 661) was a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who ruled as the fourth caliph from 656 until his assassination in 661.