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this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
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It is still a long drive, and the narrow twisty mountain roads as well as restrictions to non-Muslims around Makkah limit the capacity.
What twisty mountain roads? Are you aware that the Saudi Arabian peninsula is crisscrossed by a modern highway system that carves straight through the mountains? This isn’t 2005 Afghanistan. There’s also rail lines for heavier equipment.
The highway system also begins at Jeddah a major port city, and goes around Makkah, to avoid that very issue. There is no reason a US convoy would enter Makkah’s city limits.
The طريق الهدا connects Makkah to Taif and is also used to bypass Makkah from the south.
Look it up. I've only driven through it a few times.
There is another طريق السيل الكبير which bypasses Makkah from the north it is flatter but still narrow and bendy and packed with trucks.
The road you posted I bet is somewhere in Najd, the topography looks nothing like the mountains of Hijaz.
There's no rail lines west of Riyadh except a passanger HSR connecting Makkah to Medina. Though gondolas could be an option, maybe...