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. 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. It is still inhabited to this day by their descendants.

The city was visited by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, sometime in the early 7th century, and was inhabited by the tribe of Banu Thaqif. There is a belief that Taif is indirectly referred to in Quran 43:31.

Located at an elevation of 1,879 m (6,165 ft) in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a 2020 estimated population of 688,693 people, making it the 6th most populous city in the kingdom. Taif ( Arabic: اَلطَّائِفُ‎, romanized: aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit.'The circulated or encircled', Hejazi pronunciation: ) is a city and governorate in the Makkah Region of Saudi Arabia.

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