We stopped at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, known as “Ithra” (‘enrichment’ in Arabic). It opened in 2017 and immediately became an icon and symbol of changes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And not only because of its jaw-dropping design, which represents a throng of oil-bearing rocks smoothed by desert winds, all wrapped in a 350km-long steel pipe. But mainly for its ambitious vision as Saudi Arabia’s first all-cultural destination. It’s a structure that must be seen to be believed. Inside, you will find a staggering 85,000 square meters of space, housing a museum, theatre, library, cinema, exhibition galleries, ideas lab, and knowledge tower.
Travel Tips – Exit from Bahrain
Some people told us that we had to stop a few hundred meters before the bridge toll gates on the way from Bahrain to buy the insurance for KSA (7,7 BHD / 7 days), but nobody controlled anything at the border. Then, we paid a toll of 6 BHD for the bridge causeway. At the border, all procedures were done within minutes. We went through passport control (no stamps), we got stamped our CPD, and since they couldn’t find the truck in the system, they made a manual exit slip for us. On arrival at KSA, they checked the visa and stamped the passport, then we registered the truck with customs, and after speedy customs control (they opened just a few cabinets, no search), we left for Dammam.
Parking location – ITHRA: 26.337792N 50.121084E (🚻, no overnight parking)