Saudi Arabia is Islam’s birthplace and spiritual home, represented by the cities of Mecca and Medina. The country is rich in attractions, from echoes of “Lawrence of Arabia” along the Hejaz Railway to the sculpted red dunes of romantic deserts with the carved temples of Madain Saleh, known as the second Petra, and the sophisticated rock art at Jubbah. The pristine, azure waters of the Red Sea ache to be explored. In the south, the jewel in the Kingdom’s crown, Asir, reveals breathtaking mountain scenery where mysterious and spectacular villages wait to be discovered.
We were undecided about which route we had to choose for our drive from Qatar to Jordan. As usual, Google offered us the route via Riyadh and Hail, but we experienced that highway several times and did not want to drive it again (very bad tarma and high traffic). Also, we did not believe...
It is believed that Al-Hofuf and the whole region of Al-Ahsa were part of the ancient land of Dilmun that is referred to in Mesopotamian texts. Also, there is speculation about Al-Hofuf being the ancient city-state of Gerrha, as the Greek geographer Strabo mentioned. The recent history is...
We made a short stop in Riyadh to refill our water and meet some friends from before. In the afternoon, we decided to visit the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum (Saqer Al-Jazirah Aviation Museum), which showcases some of the oldest Saudia airline jets, helicopters, and flawless tales of...
Cliffs of The Edge of the World (1131 m) dramatically rise from the desert just around 80 kilometers northwest of Riyadh. The Edge of the World (Jebel Fihrayn) is an unexpected and dramatic geological wonder in the rocky desert. It earned its nickname because you have an uninterrupted...
We used this tiny village as our starting point for “The Edge of the World.” Since our first approach was unsuccessful, we did overnight next to the minimarket and bakery (fresh huge bread 1 SAR) and to the house of our driver, who promised to bring us there again tomorrow...
We stopped at Old Deira Al Ghat Heritage Village, around 250 kilometers from Riyadh. It is situated on the northern bank of the Wadi Al-Ghat and stretches over 1,5 kilometers. It is one of the largest traditional villages in Saudi Arabia in the Najdi style. There is a museum located in...
We made another crazy stop in Saudi Arabia and hope it is the last one on this trip. We followed the road trip guide and arrived at Al Mansour Palace in Al Awsajiyah. Unfortunately, it’s just a ruin, and sadly, we did not find any information about this tiny forgotten palace...
We didn’t expect much from this stop, but to our surprise, we found a lovely old town with a collection of old mud houses built with adobe, clay, and mud. Most of them were completely demolished, but some survived the rain torrents and were renovated. Parking location – Uyun...
We made a short stop at partial excavations of a major oasis city along the pilgrimage road (Darb Zubaydah) from Baghdad to Makkah. When the Abbasid Caliphs took power in 750, one of their first major decisions was to move the capital of the Caliphate from Damascus to Kufa in...
We finally made it to the probably most famous rock formation in the Al Ula region. We were lucky enough to meet a friendly guy, Saud, with his old 2WD Nissan, who drove us around the desert rock formations for a couple of hours (50 SAR tip). We saw a Chinese Dragon, a Baby Elephant, a...