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 knew there should be a nice wadi on the way to Al-Madīnah. But on Google, we didn’t find anything about it, so it took us an hour, with the help of locals, to find the correct way to the wadi. It’s a lovely spot for overnight. Still, except for sounds of nature, you will...
The motto of the city is “Jeddah is Different.” And they are right. The city is the perfect blend of old and modern. The historic crossroads of pilgrims and traders and the traditional gateway to Mecca, Jeddah is the most fascinating of Saudi Arabia’s major cities, with...
We spent the whole afternoon alone on the long stretch of white sand beach Al-Nuhud near Al-Birk. Someone put a lot of money into building a 3-lane road around the beach, parking bays, and every hundred meters toilets with showers. So it’s the perfect spot to relax after some long...
Jazan, formerly Al-Tihameh, is a town and port in southwestern Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea opposite the Farasān Islands. Defined by the 1934 Treaty of Al-Ṭāʾif as belonging to Saudi Arabia, Yemen has claimed the town since the 1960s. The surrounding area is well cultivated because of...
It is a group of more than 170 coral islands in the Red Sea located 40 kilometers off the coast of Jazan. The climate in the Farasan archipelago is characterized by a long hot season (April–October) and a short, mild one (November–March). We had a bearable average temperature of 36°C with...
We thought we already saw all the crazy mountain roads carved into hills in Saudi Arabia, but today we realized how wrong we were. We took route #1801 from Wadi Lajab toward Jazan through the Faifa Mountains. After a few kilometers, crazy unmarked ascents started, and just in the middle...
One of the most beautiful canyons in Saudi Arabia is Wadi Lajab in Jazan province. We drove there from Dhahran Al Janub on dangerous roads #2002 and #158 with very steep ascents and hazardous descents. Since the roads copy the Yemen border, we passed many army checkpoints. It is part of...
The old village of Dhahran Al-Janub is a beautiful testimony to the old mud-brick houses. It is located above 2160 meters on a plateau formed by the Sarawat mountains. It lies along a meander of the Wadi Kutam and was a stopover for Yemeni pilgrims on their way to Makkah. It is abandoned...
Today, our friend Sultan arranged to visit a “Camel Camp” in the desert. So his friend took his luxurious Range Rover and drove three of us, Sultan and a secret police officer, around 100 kilometers east of Najran. We had a great afternoon in the desert playing with camels...
Najrān is a town oasis in the southern Asir region in the desert along the Yemen frontier next to al-Khali (“Empty Quarter”) desert. It is the capital of Najran province and is one of the country’s fastest-growing cities (pop. 600,000). In earlier times, it was called...