Leaving on a Jet Plane …
Exploring a little bit further afield is not as difficult as at first may seem but the large distances involved will mean hitching a ride on something a little bit faster than your 4WD. The national airline, Saudi Arabian, flies to 25 destinations within Saudi Arabia. Either use a travel agents' or hotel chain's package or do a bit of research and put something together on where you want to go yourself. Outside of Riyadh I have only listed the worldwide chains that have hotels in the region - for independents and youth hostels check with your travel agent. If you want your own transport while away, either pre-book a hire car from one of the usual suspects in Jeddah that has a branch at your destination or have yours transported for you. All the major travel agents are able to arrange this and you then have the comfort and familiarity of your own vehicle. From Jeddah to Riyadh, for example, a Toyota Prado would cost approximately SR400. Before you plan anything, get yourself a copy of the Lonely Planet Guide entitled 'Arab Gulf States', (much better for this region than 'The Middle East' by the same publishers) available in Jarir Bookstores. Although a little old as it was published in 1996, it is packed with useful information - just bear in mind that any prices mentioned may be a little out of date. In the meantime, here are some ideas to get your feet itching:
Riyadh
There would appear to be a
healthy rivalry between residents of Riyadh and Jeddah. "We’ve got the sea and the reef" … "ahh,
but we've got the Faisaliah Tower and Harvey Nichols" and so on. Go check
it out! A return ticket to Riyadh
will either cost you 16-17 hours driving or an hours' flight each way and
SR540 per adult in Economy. Treat
yourself to the ultimate in luxury and stay at the new Al
Faisaliah Hotel (01 273 2000). The
Al Khozama Hotel (01 465 4650) is
also now part of the Al Faisaliah Centre but more reasonably priced.
The big chains are all represented here: the Inter-Continental
(01 465 5000), Holiday Inn (01 478
2500), Hyatt (01 479 1234) Marriott
(01 477 9300) and Sheraton (01
454 3300). For something a little
more personal why not try an independent: Al
Mutlaq (01 476 0000) has large rooms and a long serving staff to offer a
warm welcome; the family-run Assamer
Hotel (01 463 2002) has a health club and swimming pool and each bedroom
has a small kitchenette; or the recently refurbished Andalusia
Hotel (01 461 1000). Get to
know the place - the road signs are mostly in Arabic so it would be worth
booking a limousine through your hotel unless of course you have some friends
that know their way around. Riyadh
is a fascinating steel and glass oasis, almost nothing predates WWII and most
of it is less than 20 years old.
Riyadh’s
reputation as a shopping paradise obviously needs to be thoroughly researched
- start with the Kingdom
Centre and Faisaliah Tower in
Olaya - the latest additions to the shoppers' circuit with trendy new shops,
great children's play areas and food courts to satisfy the pickiest appetite. Other
malls include Al Akariah with over 300 shops including the clothing, shoes,
cosmetics and jewellers and the Al
Khozama Centre is attached to the hotel of the same name and has an
interesting art gallery, a florist, antique shop and delicatessen.
The downtown area is where to find all the traditional souqs.
Riyadh has plenty more to
offer than just shopping malls though. There
are museums to visit, sights to see and parks to play in during the cooler
months. The Riyadh Museum (01 411
2576) has displays including clothes, musical instruments, weapons, cooking
utensils, jewellery and items from archaeological digs in the Eastern
Province. It also sells guides
for all the other museums so this should perhaps be your first point of call.
The newly-built King Abdulaziz Historical Centre is the centrepiece of the Kingdom's
100 year celebrations and the efforts of more than 3500 architects and
designers have gone into its construction.
The National Museum is a
masterpiece of design - the architects' aim was to combine "Saudi's rich
cultural heritage and local building traditions with the most advanced
technologies". The Masmak Fortress
is literally the heart of Old Riyadh.
When the future King Abdul Aziz regained control of the city in 1902,
it was this garrison that he had to conquer.
Built around 1865 it was extensively renovated in the 1980s and
converted into the current museum in the early 1990s.
Check with the Riyadh Museum however if the Masmak is open as it is
liable to close at short notice. The
Murabba Palace was built by King Abdul Aziz in 1946 and again, the
Riyadh Museum has a good guide for sale.
You should perhaps schedule
your Riyadh visit in February, to coincide with the Jinadriyah
National Heritage and Cultural Festival.
Organised every year by the National Guard it takes place at a special
site 45km north east of Riyadh and includes traditional dancing, art and craft
shows, camel racing, lectures and poetry reading.
If you are interested in the
history of the country then while in Riyadh you must
visit Dir'aiyah, the ruins of the
first capital of the Al-Saud clan. Open
from Saturday to Thursday 7am-6pm and Friday 1pm-6pm, still photography is
permitted but not video. Settled
in 1446 by an ancestor of the present royal family, it reached its peak of
prosperity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,
only to fall, after a six month siege in 1818, to the armies of the Ottoman
Empire. The Al Saud family and
followers moved to Riyadh and reconstruction of Dir'aiyah's ruins began in
1981.
The above of course is just a
taster - for more in depth information on the city
'Riyadh Today' will give you everything you need.
Abha
Set in the dramatic Asir
Mountains in the South West, Abha
is close to Jebel Sawdah, the highest point in Saudi Arabia at 2910m.
Flight time from Jeddah is 1 hour and a return ticket will cost you
SR360. Popular as a summer
destination to take advantage of the relatively cool weather, reservations are
advisable. Visit the intriguing Shada
Palace, built in 1927 as an office/residence for the King's governors in
the region, restored and reopened as a well-stocked museum in 1987.
The Asir National Park Visitors'
Centre offers a fascinating scale model of the park, information on the
geography, flora, fauna and culture of the area, as well as an observation
deck with a outstanding view of the valley below.
The Inter-Continental (07)
224 7777 set in the mountains to the west of Abha is said to have been
originally designed as a palace for a prince.
Najran
The Lonely Planet Guide
describes Najran as "one of
the most fascinating and least visited places in the Kingdom".
Close to the border with Yemen, it occupies an oasis that stretches
some 20km along the Wadi Najran and has been occupied for an astounding 4000 years.
Najran has one of the Kingdom's most modern and interesting museums,
with exhibitions of archaeological finds, local crafts, tools, early 20th
century photographs and detail of the importance of Najran itself, mentioned
in the Koran as Al-Ukhdood. There
is also Najran Fort, built relatively recently in 1942 as a self-sustaining
community with its own stock pens, food storage rooms and a radio station.
Najran is famous for silver jewellery and baskets so a visit to the
souq is recommended, but be prepared for some hard bargaining.
Do not leave without taking the drive up to the largest dam in the
Kingdom, in the hills above the town. The recently arrived Holiday Inn (07)
522 5222 is the only hotel in Najran to have a swimming pool.
Jizan
and the Farasan Islands
While there is not a lot to
see in Jizan/Gizan on the West
Coast by the border with Yemen, if you are a keen diver or birdwatcher then
you will probably want to go to the Farasan
Islands and this is the port for you.
Before you leap on the ferry for the 3½ hour journey, the souq
in Jizan is worth a visit as it is one of the most traditional in Saudi. The
ferry to the Islands goes once a day and as it returns immediately you will
need to camp over night on the main island.
While there are few English speakers, the islanders are welcoming to
foreigners. Saudi Arabian will get you to Jizan for a mere SR380 and the
ferry is even cheaper - it's free! There
are no international hotels in Jizan but the Al Hayat hotel has the rare distinction of English-speaking staff
(07 322 1055).
AL
Khobar, Dammam and Dhahran
The scale of development here
has been as dramatic as in Jeddah although it is not as immediately obvious.
The pearling and fishing communities of Al Khobar and Dammam were
transformed with the discovery of oil - and Dhahran began as a collection of
camps for Aramco engineers. While the region is probably best known for the Al Rashid
Mall in Al Khobar (so good that shoppers come all the way from Riyadh!) and
the incredible 25km causeway to Bahrain there is more to explore.
Tarut
Island
is also connected to the mainland by a causeway and is the location of one of
Saudi Arabia's most photographed ruins, Tarut
Fort. The large,
well-preserved and restored remaining section of a huge structure built by the
Portuguese over 400 years ago is believed, on the evidence of a single stone
staircase, to be built on top of a site that is 5000 years old.
For access, you will need to get a permit from the Regional Museum of
Archaeology (03 826 6056) but all you need produce is your passport and the
permit can usually be issued that day.
There are daily flights from
Jeddah to the new King Fahd International Airport at a cost of SR700.
For accommodation there is the Gulf
Meridien (03 864 6000) in Al Khobar and the Dammam
Oberoi (03 834 5555). The Al Gosaibi (03 894 2466) in Al Khobar is also recommended.
Medain
Saleh
If you don't feel at home with
nature enough to take a 3-4 night camping trip as suggested, then perhaps you
should take the more luxurious approach offered by Golden
Eagle Tours of Riyadh (01 491 9567) or the Sheraton Madinah (04 846 0777).
Both have packages to include flights to Madinah, coach trip to the
site and 'five star' camping in the case of Golden Eagle! They also take care of the complicated process of getting
visit permits, which are essential. Having
traveled with Golden Eagle Tours I cannot recommend them highly enough.
No attention to detail is forgotten and the guide who is with you for the
whole trip is charming and quietly spoken and an absolute mine of information
on the region.
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So there you go, a few things
to keep you busy - remember that there is much more to explore than just the
places mentioned above - Tabuk for
its fort and huge station on the Hejaz Railway; Taima
- a former capital of the Babylonian empire, on the road between Tabuk and
Madinah, with the ruins to prove it; the forests outside Al Baha in the South, the Bedouin
market in Nairiyah, 250km north of Dammam; the Al Ahsa Oasis near Hofuf,
south west of Dammam - one of the largest date palm oases in the world.