2.5 hours drive to reach the Edge of the World. 1,5 hours is off road to get to this remote location.
After hiking around for two hours, our tour company took us to a desert camp for dinner, music and sheesha. Middle of the desert with no lights or facilities as far as you could see.
As we were waiting for dinner, tour guide asked if anybody wanted to hike into desert to go into a cave to see bats. Of course I volunteered and Charlotte did not. Hike was out into the dark with only my cell phone for light. This is a picture of the camp from a distance.
When we arrived at the cave entrance, all I could think of was Indiana Jones. Several people asked, “Are we going down there?”
The cave was fairly long. It was super hot and humid inside. And bats were flying around.
The next morning on the way back to Dhahran we stopped at Heit cave. This was a good opportunity to take advantage of the Jeep. I didn’t make it down to the water. The intense heat, steep decline and lack of water stopped my half way down.
Getting used to traveling in Saudi Arabia. Very difficult to determine when and if sites will be open. Rarely is there a website and the information on Google maps is not accurate. Whet to see Al Masmak Fort, but it was closed so only got pictures of the outside.
The second main tourist stop is the palace of the first king. King Abadulaziz lived here with his 800 staff in the 1930’s. The complex also has a national museum and a large park. Museum and palace were closed. Went to the park at night to see the palace lit up at night.
Riyadh was hotter during the day than where I am staying, but cools down more at night. During the day the city is deserted. At sundown, people emerge to enjoy the cooler weather.
For dinner, we picked this restaurant based on the pictures of food hanging by the register. There were pictures of pizza, hamburgers and many other foods. This way we could order by pointing at the pictures avoiding having to communicate in Arabic.
When we went to order, the only food available was chicken shawarma and fried chicken. The pictures were just for show. This has happened several times to us where restaurants put nice pictures of food in the menus and on the walls, but not pictures of the actual food being served. The workers were very excited for me to take their picture. One guy ran from the back to get into the picture.
Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia with a population of around 8 million people. It is a 4 hour drive West of where I am staying. In talking with people before the trip, I heard over and over how boring the drive is. Flat straight road. Nothing, but sand for 4 hours. There are no towns along the way. Only a few gas stations. The only highlight is when the sand changes color from yellow to an orangish red. It felt like Mars. If I changed my last name to Damon and ate potatoes fertilized with human feces, I would be a Martian.
After arriving in Riyadh, we had dinner at the Globe. It is a restaurant inside a globe at the top of a skyscraper.
This is a holiday weekend in Saudi Arabia. The holiday is Saudi National day. The country is 90 years old. All the buildings were lit up green for the holiday. This was the view from the restaurant.
McDonald’s tastes better in Saudi’s Arabia. Lucky for us, the McDonald’s food truck is now parked on camp. It’s not the full menu and there are more chicken burger options than beef burgers. When you order a Big Mac you have to specify Chicken or beef. The Chicken Mac is real.
Charlotte had an umbrella to block the sun when waiting in line. 104 degrees at noon. It’s getting cooler day by day.
Tourism is new for Saudi Arabia so the kinks are still being worked out. Tourist visas have only been issued in the country since 2018. When I researched this trip, I contacted several travel companies. Only 1 company really responded to me. My guide said most guides don’t want to work holidays or weekends and this trip was over a major holiday.
I have been posting the highlights of each place. Charlotte has a whole list of lowlights for each hotel we stayed at. Every hotel in the region was sold out so I think we got what was left. One hotel had a light duct taped to the wall in the bathroom. Another bathroom had a big crack in the shower basin allowing water to leak onto the floor. WiFi was terrible at all hotels. This is part of traveling using local hotels.
Half the places we were taken to were either closed or not worth seeing. Most of the museums were closed since it was a holiday.
Here is itinerary for worst day in Abha. Other 3 days were really good.
Drive to see the famous Green Mountain. Park is closed for renovation. Next drive to see Abha dam and reservoir so we can see the water. Fog is so thick you can’t see anything.
Next we go to lunch around 11:00am because we are ahead of schedule. Burger place is out of nearly everything on menu including cheese and vegetables. Restaurant was very busy night before due to holiday and hadn’t restocked yet.
After lunch we go to the “Made in Aseer” park where locally made goods are sold. Park is really nice. Guide rips half the front bumper off on a high curb pulling into parking spot.
A traditional dance show was being performed so we stopped to watch. A police man yells at us from outside the railing to keep moving. They were not allowing people to stop and watch the show in order to avoid crowds forming. This was to maintain 2 meter social distancing. Our guide starts arguing with the police man and tells us to stay where we were. After some arguing, the police man walks around the fence and comes right up to our guide. More heated arguing goes on. I say we can move. I already have pictures. Guide insists we stay where we are. After some more arguing, the police man moves on down the pathway telling other people to keep moving. Guides tells us that the police are very weak. We end up staying and watching the show where we were until it starts pouring down rain.
Next we decide to go to dinner at The High City which is new restaurant complex that over looks the Green Mountain. We drive for an hour, but traffic is so bad we can only get within a mile so we decide to walk the rest of the way. The walk is uphill in dense fog with rain and muddy sections.
Eventually we get to restaurant for this view of the Green Mountain.
At the restaurant, it takes at least an hour to get food. If Charlotte and I would have been on our own we would never have been served. Our guide had to argue with several people threatening bad reviews if we weren’t served. Turns out much of the restaurant staff didn’t show up for work because of the holiday. Food was really good once we got it.
The last two days in Abha were amazing which more than made up for this day.
On a side note. Do I look like an American? Many times Saudi’s came up to me to say “Hello” and “America”. The only English words they know. Charlotte and I did try to blend in.
On the drive to Baha, our guide took us to his family farm for tea. This farm is like a vacation house for the family. Charlotte went inside to meet our guide’s wife and the three wives of the guide’s father. I stayed outside to see the farm. Men are not allowed to see the faces of the women. Houses have separate areas for men and women to keep everybody separated. Charlotte was unable to take any pictures because the women feared their faces would be seen on social media. While Charlotte was inside, I was given a tray of sweets and toured the farm.
Our guide has been married 17 years. When he turned 21, his parents told him it was time to get married. 3 women were chosen by his mom for him to choose for a wife. He knew who 2 of the women from childhood, but had no interaction with them since the age of 14. At 14, the women are covered (faces with hijab and body with abaya) and separated from men. Our guide chose the woman most recommended by his mom having never seen her or talked to her. After the women’s family accepts the marriage, the wedding takes place within 6 months. Our guide paid a dowry of $16000 USD. As he was telling the story he asked me how much I had to pay to get married in America. I said it is free. After thinking about it what I should have said is “the down payment is free, but you have to pay the rest of your life” Hey ohh. Our guide also had to pay for the wedding which was for 500 people. Families are large and this is a typical size wedding.
On the drive to Al Baha we passed through 25 tunnels as we drove through the mountains. This was our first stop at a village with the typical stone architecture.
Next stop was Dhi ‘Ain. This place was famous for its fruits and banana plantations which still grow here. The village dates back about 400 years.
A natural spring from the mountains runs all the time creating an oasis. The guide was super excited to show us the running water. Water is so rare that to see a running steam is an amazing site for people in Saudi Arabia. I wanted to explore all the ruins, but the guide wanted to show us the most impressive feature first.
Final stop was to the honey market. Baha is famous for honey production. We sampled many different types of honey and purchased a lavender honey. Honey was $50 for a small jar (1/4 kilo) which our guide said was a good price.
Next part of trip was to Taif which is in the mountains. 2000 meters above sea level with temperatures in the 70’s.
Wild Baboons are common in this region. These pictures were taken at a roadside stop. I was a few feet away. These baboons were used to being fed by people.
Other animal encounters included a camel ride. This camel is reserved for VIP’s.
Next stop was a bird sanctuary. This random stop had nothing to do with the region except that Saudis like birds especially as pets. It was fun being able to hold the different birds.
Taif actually has frequent rain and is known for growing fruit. We sampled figs, mangoes, 2 types of cactus fruit, grapes and cherries. This was the best mango we have ever had. Cactus fruit was full of seeds and not good.
Other highlight was climbing the minaret of a really old mosque. The safety and upkeep of historic sites is lacking as seen by the moat we had to cross.
Days in Taif ended with dinner with our guide who told us the story of how he got married and mentioned his father has three wives. A teaser for the next post. Charlotte got to meet the wives.
Too much to write about. Action packed first day. Charlotte and I are the only two on the tour. Guide drives us around to all the stops and restaurants. Guide buys us drinks and coffee while we wait in the car. We are not allowed to even carry our luggage 20 feet to the car. Someone takes care of everything. We pick the restaurants, guide orders and pays for whatever food we want. Everything is included.
Started tour by visiting 50,000 square foot house turned into Museum in Jeddah. Family moved out and left everything as it was. It was a 1985 time capsule. Family moved to a new house because wife was tired of kids touching all of the antiques so they built a new house and left the antiques in this one. House had indoor fountain and waterfall. You can barely see Charlotte sitting at end of the long dining room table
Had Yemen food for lunch. This was a banana, honey dessert
Visited the parks along the Red Sea.
Finished day in old Jeddah which is the original walled city. Guide warned us about the temperature. Said we would melt and would be soaked with sweat. He was right. Charlotte barely made it back to car. 100 plus degrees and humid.
Old Jeddah is in disrepair, but is being restored as part of new Tourism push in Saudi. Old Saudi is known for the wood Roshan on the outside of the buildings. The wood prevented people from seeing the woman inside the house, but allowed air flow for cooling. The amount of Roshan was a sign of the wealth of the family.
The radio weather report a few days ago was: “Hot and humid forever. If you go outside this weekend, you’ll be the only one”
The humidity combined with the heat makes it very uncomfortable outside. After 6 pm is it bearable. 12-3pm it is miserable.
On the Western side of Saudi Arabia is a mountain range where the temperatures are in the 70’s. We leaving today for 8 days to explore 4 cities.
On a side note, the grocery store was having a foods around the world display. For the USA, the food selections was Quaker Oats and Cheese Balls. Cheese balls are a classic American food.
Uqair is an ancient fort and the first seaport on the Persian Gulf. This place is located about an hour drive South of where we are living. There were plenty of signs on the drive warning of camel crossings.
It was 110 degrees by the time of arrival. Still had to wear face masks. There was no one else at the site. Most of the place was in ruins, but the palace and the fort were open for touring.
Ruins not open for exploring
This was a great place for pictures. The most popular pictures are of the stone columns that were part of an open air market.
Place was open to walk wherever you wanted with plenty of places to trip and fall.
Blair Witch 4 was filmed here.
Next to the fort was an ancient palace with views of the water.
Matthew of Arabia 