Saudi Arabia Adventure

Saudi Arabia Adventure

Ever since we heard that starting November 2019 you could get a permit to visit Saudi Arabia we were planning to go. So in January we traveled the country for two weeks. The Saudi’s want to encourage tourism, so we looked forward to an interesting time.

First we flew from Amsterdam to Amman. Realizing that alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia I filled one last glass of wine while waiting for the plane. Flying to Riyadh we got a small cup of coffee. Strong – but coffee. Riyadh airport is impressive, modern, efficient. It has all the new technical stuff. In no time we found ourselves talking to the guy from AVIS rent-a-car.

A car is by far the easiest way of transportation in the country. In big cities public transport is being build but Saudi Arabia is car country, there’s a lot of traffic in the big cities. We had no trouble on the road, there is just a single gotcha, often there are no left turns, only special turning points in the middle of the road.

Using the navigation we arrived in half an hour at the Hyatt hotel. After checking in we drove to our first point of interest. Old Dir’aiyah, a very old yet well preserved city close to Riyadh, the original home of the Saudi royal family. The parking place was empty and not a single tourist to spot. It turned out the place was closed. Not in accordance to the website! The guard, a nice man, suggested us to come back at five in the afternoon. Okay, some coffee first. Strong coffee with dates. Nice.

After some sight-seeing by car in Riyadh we returned to Old Dir’aiyah. Another guard present – but still closed. This time we were told it would open in a few months. Well, some way to encourage tourism!

A rather good place to have dinner is the Najd Village Restaurant in downtown Riyadh. You can choose to sit at a table or on the ground. The food is tasteful Arabic. So much this and that is put on your table you wonder whether it will hold…

Visiting old town Riyadh starts at Deera Square. This is where they punish their prisoners. Capital punishment included. That is why this square is as referred to as ‘Chop chop square’. Where this is done there are a lot of holes in the ground. Probably to keep it as clean as possible. There was no action when we visited. Close to the square is the ‘Presidency of the promotion of virtue and prevention of vices’. Well you have to read this twice. And be sure not to swap vice and virtue!

Left to the square we find the Al Masmak Fort. This played an important role in the history of Saudi Arabia. In 1902 Ibn Saud restored power over Riyadh – starting in this fort. Inside is a small museum with history of the Sauds of Saudi Arabia, the only country named after its rulers. And history includes a lot. Pictures of King Saud with Churchill and Roosevelt for instance.

Time for some coffee. With dates of course. There are several nice terraces around Chop chop square. Will it be crowded on punishment day? Everybody watching while enjoying a nice cup of coffee?

A must in every country, the National Museum. All the treasures, all the history combined. Starting almost everywhere with a replica of a local dinosaur. Old documents. Stories about developments. Ending in some examples of how modern the country is today. Special also is Mecca in miniature.

Present in every National Museum: A big map of how great this country once was compared to today. The park next to the museum is closed in midday. Opens only in the evening. Another example of encouraging tourism gone wrong.

Not much difference between this museum and a modern shopping center. In the first one we look at life in history, in the second one we experience life today. The Panorama Shopping Mall we visited offered everything you need and more. In a special section there were a lot of things to keep your children satisfied – including an inside roller coaster! Disney would not be ashamed of this not-so-small Theme Park. Children can spend days here.

You can eat and drink everything (except alcohol of course). There is a lot of variety. From sophisticated to down-to-earth stuff. And it looks all fresh and modern. Except for one thing. When ordering you either choose the male or the female queue. Separation between the sexes here.

From Riyadh we traveled to Hail. On our way we made a stop in Ushaiger Heritage Village. An old place, centuries old. At about 1500 years ago it became a popular stopping point for pilgrims crossing to Mecca. There is still a lot to see, from ruins to houses rebuild. We met a man from India who showed us around. That is, we followed him through the streets, he pointed at the highlights but conversation was, due to the language difference impossible. Well, a nice stopover.

Another interesting place turned out to be the Sakhrat Antarah close to Uyun al Jawah. Two big rocks dating from the 8^th century. On it some historical texts were found from a long lost civilization. They sure made an impressive view. We were met by a young Saudi who immediately invited us to his home. We had some driving still to do so we kindly refused. A very nice man. As always in every country; politics are politics but the people are nice.

In Hail we stayed in the Millenium Hotel for just one night. Next day we stopped at the A’arif Fort in Hail. Built to guard the city against possible enemies. It now offers a wonderful sight on the city.

Lunch we took somewhere along the road. A tiny restaurant called “Romantic Chicken”. The main thing on the menu being chicken of course. Luckily we were almost finished when we had to leave in a hurry – it was prayer time during which the restaurant closed its doors.

Above all the main reason to visit Saudi Arabia was Al Ula. This place has the potential to be one of the most important archeological destinations for tourists across the world. It’s a big area packed with prehistoric sites and landmarks. Currently they were only available to see as part of a special festival.

We arrived at a kind of assembly and information point. Also lot of shops, food, drinks, places to relax. I compared it a little to the Olympic Village. The place where everything starts and ends. This was literally true because buses in many directions took off (and came back) here.

Saudi Arabia wants to show the world this place. A lot of Western singers and bands are flown in to perform in the evening. This whole program is named ‘Winter at Tantora’. From the brochure : ‘We offer a variety of diverse experiences to match every interest’. True. After we checked in – the Sahary Al Ula resort – we spotted a White-crowned black wheatear. A really endemic Saudi bird. Filled our birders-hearts with joy !

There’s a big rock looking a little like an elephant close to where we stay. So in the evening we went there. There was something to eat, to drink. There were horse driving guys dressed traditionally. Everything was illuminated. This was the Elephant Rock Experience!

You could sit down and look from a distance. But there were also tables and chairs close to the rock. You could have a look from there. Small difference: at those tables you were charged a few hundred euro’s, depending on the group size. Fan of animal looking rocks? There’s an Elephant Rock in the Faroe Islands as well.

Next day we started off in Dadan. Excavations have uncovered tombs and dwellings from the ancient Dadanite Kingdom sixth century BC. Wow. You mainly see a lot of stones. Your imagination has to work hard here. The things really worth seeing (stuff from a graveside) are currently on display in the Institut de Monde Arabe in Paris.

In the south of Dadan we see tombs carved out on a very big mountain rock. Although you look back in time 26 centuries you still recognize the lion carvings on top of the tombs. Therefor ‘Lion tombs of Dadan’. Beautiful.

A little coffee. From nice small cups decorated with the famous Saudi Arabia symbol of the two swords. We asked where we could buy such nice cups. ‘Everywhere’ the guide answered. Alas, we never saw these cups again. Waiting for the bus we spotted a few Tristam’s Starlings.

On it goes to Jabal Ikmah. Looks like a very old library. Contains hunderds of etched inscriptions of the Dadanitic culture. The feeling of going back in time is matched by the beautiful surroundings. A place to shoot a movie of times long gone. We were impressed.

Then there is the heritage of the Nabatean Kingdom. It’s like a big historical park. The Nabateans left us a lot of buildings we now think were religious places. Also some tombs where people were buried. They did find remains of bodies. One tomb-tower was erected specially for a famous king of those days. By the way; the Nabateans were the same people who build Petra in Jordan!

So much impressions. Therefor we dozed off a little on our way back. But something special was coming. At 18.00 the bus brought us to a large convention center. We were met by waiters and waitresses with nice drinks and small tasteful sweets. This was a prelude to a fantastic diner-buffet. You name it and it was there. But the best was yet to come. We entered a big theater and on stage we saw the English band Jamiroquai performing. Marvelous. The crowd was very excited. This included some young Saudi people. When they left their seats and danced in front the performers some security guys brought them back to their seats. Not too much excitement in Saudi Arabia!

This wonderful evening completed our ‘Winter at Tantora’-experience.

We then traveled to Yanbu. On our way we spotted several camels. The camel is what the cow is in the Netherlands. Sometimes they are kept behind a fence, mostly they walk around freely. Pay attention on the road.

In Yanbu we stayed in the Mövenpick Hotel. Nice big place, location good and an inviting swimming pool at our disposal. My wife asked the girls at the reception whether there was a special dress code for swimming women. ‘Well that’s simple’ the girls said. ‘No need for a dress code for women because this swimming pool is just for men.’ They kept smiling. Of course, for them this is normal. We were a little flabbergasted indeed.

The food was good, the place was quiet. Two times we dined in the city. We were seated in a family room. You don’t see other people. The waiter knocks and waits till he may enter. We speculated on some embarrassing situations he might find us in when he wouldn’t knock…

Close to Yanbu is a heritage place where the battle of Badr was fought. This battle was a turning point in the history of Islam. Subsequently the Islamic belief spread even faster after that battle.

The place was closed. But people had been creative. They had laid down some rocks next to the fence. You could climb on them and overlook the centuries old battlefield.

Coffee Time. At Rossetta’s coffee. We had a nice conversation with owner Abdullah. Not much tourism in Badr but some months ago some French people entered his place and now we did! He was excited. We drank nice coffee from a small cup. If you go to Badr we strongly recommend Rossetta’s!

When you would sit down for a week and watch you literally see Jeddah grow. There are building projects everywhere. It’s a busy city.

Walking around in historical Jeddah you notice a certain type of houses. They call them coral houses for the way they look. If the stories of 1001 night were set in a city, this is what it would look like. You wouldn’t be surprised when you noticed a flying carpet go by.

You also notice a lot of stray cats. They are not bothered ; we saw people even feeding them. It looks like the cats are adopted by local shopkeepers.

Completely renovated, still nice to see is the old city gate. It gives you an idea about times gone by. There’s a small museum with a rooftop view point but alas –as we experienced before – closed. Well we consulate ourselves. I mean we are walking in the old city which is a big open museum in itself.

Time to buy some Oud. Oud incense and oil make up nice perfumes and fragrances. It should be on every (woman) tourist’s shopping list. The selection is a serious process. Steady the hand that pours the Oud from a big into a much smaller bottle.

No McDonald’s at hand? Try a small take-away lunch at ALBAIK, master of the chicken food here. Here you also find two points where they serve you; one for women, one for men. The concept is simple and tasteful.

During the evening we visit the ‘floating mosque’. It’s foundation is in the water seaside. With high tide it looks like the mosque is floating. Beautiful view because the mosque is illuminated nicely.

Finally on our last morning we smoke a shisha on the terrace of the Hyatt Park Hotel. You choose from a variety of flavors. It’s a very good way to pass the time. You chat a little, you smoke a little. You look around you. Slowly you digest the experience of a wonderful adventure.

This trip was made in 2020.

If you have any thoughts or questions feel free to leave a comment!

 culture middle east