page_title: Ta'if
section_title: Transportation
hierarchical_section_title: Ta'if / Transportation
caption_attribution_description: English: Taif, Mecca and Jeddah at night
context_page_description: Ta'if is a city and governorate in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of 1,879 m in the slopes of the Hejaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarawat Mountains, the city has a 2020 estimated population of 688,693 people, making it the 6th most populous city in the kingdom.
  The origins of the name Ta'if are unclear, however, it is known that in the pre-Islamic Arabian age, Ta'if housed an idol of the goddess Lat, and was frequented by pilgrims, which could explain the name. Ta'if has been indirectly referred to in the Qur'an in verse 31 of Surah 43. The city was visited by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, sometime in the early 7th century and was inhabited by the tribe of Banu Thaqif and is still inhabited to this day by their descendants. As a part of the Hejaz, the city has seen many transfers-of-power throughout its history, with the last being during the Saudi conquest of Hejaz in 1925.
  The city has been called the unofficial summer capital of Saudi Arabia and has also been called the best summer destination in Saudi Arabia as it enjoys a moderate weather during summer, unlike most of the Arabian Peninsula.
context_section_description: Due to Ta'if's unique location in the mountains, most major highways bend around the city or either avoid the region completely. The only major highway in the Saudi Arabian network to pass through Ta'if is Highway 15 (known to locals as the Taif–al-Hada Road) which arrives from Mecca in the west, bends around the mountains through al-Hada, passes through the center of Ta'if, and travels to Abha and Khamis Mushait via Baha and Baljurashi. Ta'if is connected to Highway 40 via Highway 267 and Highway 287. Highway 267 forms the western part of the Ta'if beltway, but then continues southward toward ash-Shafa, bypassing Mecca by using a longer route and gives access to Highway 304, Highway 301, Highway 40 and Highway 290 via Highway 298.
  Ta'if is served by the Ta'if Regional Airport, and a new airport, dubbed the Ta'if International Airport, was scheduled to open in 2020, but this has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new airport is mainly designed to cater to 'Umrah and Hajj pilgrims and to relieve pressure off the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
caption: Left to Right: Ta'if, Mecca and Jeddah seen from the ISS at night
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