From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia

The last weekend in January we decided to make a drive out through the mountains in search of Al Nakhal dam. Not really in search of…it’s pretty easy to find on Google Earth and by GPS. There is a rock outcropping on the way where we stopped and took in the view. The wind was gusty, and you can see sand kick up where the gaps allow.

We drove to the dam and parked at the bottom of the access road. It was a short walk up the hill to see a dam. In the desert. Holding back mud. There was a small pool of water, and the water line on the surrounding rocks was a good indication of how useful this dam is when the heavy rains come to prevent flooding downstream. The road in followed the floodplain, and there were several spots that were washed out from even controlled releases.

We took a different route back towards the highway, and I decided to cut off the pavement at an open area. We explored the tracks and happened upon a herd of camels. There was a momma and baby, and the momma didn’t like us being anywhere near them. We were watching the camels, thinking how “back country Saudi” the whole episode was, when a car zoomed past about 100 yards away. It was the highway just over a small hill.

We headed back on the highway and as we approached civilization I pulled off again into the dunes. Flying solo, I wanted to make sure we had cell coverage in case we got stuck. We played a little in the truck then played a little outside.

The next night, we left out for a quick abaya shopping trip to Top Center. As we were heading back, a car pulled out in front of me at a red light and stopped. So I stopped. So then the guy behind me didn’t stop. It was luckily just a bump. We called the traffic police and they gave us another number to call. Najm is a company that handles accidents. The traffic police only get involved if there is a crime or serious injury.

The driver was from Medinah and spoke very little English. I called my friend who spoke Arabic and he called his friend who spoke English, and we turned the evening into a social event on the side of the road. Most accidents end up this way in Yanbu, with a crowd gathered round and then visiting with each other as traffic is snarled all around. We had already pulled over to the shoulder, so traffic was flowing by without issues.

After a few attempts, Greene and Dani got the Najm guy to the scene. He took photos with his cell phone, filled out the report on his cell phone, and printed a small ticket for each of us. Fortunately, the other guy was covered, so his insurance would take care of my repairs.

Dani went with me to get the estimates. We went to shop #1, he gave us two other shops to go to. We visited both of those and they gave me an estimate for labor and then a list of parts that would need to be replaced. Then I paid them 30 riyal for an estimate. We took both estimates back to shop #1. He then gave me a third estimate and sent me to Toyota to get the cost of the parts. I then returned to him (the next evening) and he gave me a formal estimate to take to Najm. Najm keeps bankers hours, so I had to wait a couple of days to leave work early and get everything in order. I still needed to get a stamp from the traffic police, so I headed downtown with Greene to the station. We walked around looking for a way in with no success. We were about to leave when we found a policeman parked outside of one of the gates. He was on his phone and I showed him the paper from Najm. He motioned to wait until he finished his call.

We followed him through the local jail. Right past cells with guys in thobes kicked back and reading or sleeping. We went upstairs and into a room with a counter stretching across most of the room. I walked over and spotted about 8 guys sitting behind the counter. From Greene’s viewpoint, they weren’t visible and just started popping up one by one, each one looking more sheepishly than the last at the uncovered head in the room. We were led back downstairs and into another office, where the guy looked, stamped and signed. I dropped it off at the Toyota dealership after our trip to Al Ula and soon had it back on the road in perfect shape.

Valentine’s weekend brought an overnight trip to Al Ula and Madain Saleh. It is a 4.5-5 hour drive, depending on your adherence to the speed limit. And the number of potty breaks. You take advantage of potty breaks if you find a decent restroom on the way. No Bucees to be found. The terrain abruptly changed as we approached Al Ula. We headed to a resort for lunch and waited on our tour guide.

Elephant Rock was our first stop with the tour guide. His tour guiding: “No history. Only beautiful rock.”

Madain Saleh is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, the first in Saudi Arabia. The first stop was a small group of buildings and train with a museum for the Al-Hijr station on the Hijaz railway. The Hijaz was intended to connect Damascus to Medina, but never made it all the way. It was the target of T.E. Lawrence’s attacks during World War I.

The next stops were the crypts carved out by the Nabataeans from the first century BC to the first century AD. We visited a place of worship and climbed to the top of an outcropping. The stark difference between sites here and the States is the lack of death prevention controls. There are no handrails, no warning signs, no areas that are off-limits. The hike up consisted of a few areas where we were all 2 feet from the edge of precipices 5 to 100 feet high. We finally reached the top, and the heart-attack kid Macy perched on the side of a cliff and actually caused the tour guide to say, “Please, be careful.” (The Saudis are notoriously laissez-faire when it comes to safety, summed up with the words Inshallah – Allah’s will. Appalachian equivalent is “The Good Lord willin.”) So when the Saudi guy asks you to be careful, well, you’ve accomplished something special. On the way down we passed a large family with several children under the age of 5 headed up the same path we just came down. They will all be fine, Inshallah.

We made the twenty minute trip up north to Mdakhil Camp. The camp was set back from the road several kilometers in a holler. I don’t think they call them hollers here, but that’s what they are. We arrived at sunset and the temperature dropped quickly. There was a large tent to hang out in, and we were served dates, Turkish coffee and tea. There was another family there from Jubail, and several others who looked to be a small group of singles. The singles hung out at the door of the tent and smoked shisha while the families migrated inside and got some rest after a long day. The kids started playing a game and eventually had everyone (adults included) up and participating. We had chicken mendi for supper and put the kids to bed. The adults gathered around the fire and talked some more before running out of steam. The night sky was fuzzy with stars and was the most beautiful we have seen on either side of the world. The tents had no heat, but very heavy blankets. We all slept relatively well, considering the temperature dropped to 45 that night.

We woke up the next morning to a quick breakfast followed by desert adventures. Greene and I took in the sunrise on the surrounding rocks, grabbing some pictures and climbing to up to take in the entire camp. The kids rode a camel and 4-wheelers for a while, then we all decided to go out for a hike through the wadis. We took the vehicles back a short distance, then decided the sand was getting too soft to risk going any further. We hiked back through the cliffs and crevices, finally ending up at a small pool of water. We passed giant black bugs, the leftovers from someone’s supper the night before, many unique rock formations, and areas where people have probably camped for thousands of years. Every turn held a unique alleyway, every campfire blackened rock told hundreds of stories. The hike was, and still is, one of the highlights of our Saudi adventure.

We hiked back out to the vehicles and were met by a local police officer. He wanted to escort us back through town and make sure we got on our way. We left out, me trailing the officer and Dani behind me. I came around a corner a saw him stuck halfway up the small incline right before camp. I had no choice but to come to a stop at the bottom and Dani stopped behind me. He backed down the hill and we helped push him onto another track to avoid the incline. I backed up as much as I could and made one run at the hill, but had nowhere near enough momentum. I backed down and turned onto the new track, but bogged down trying to leave the old track. Some pushing and rocking finally got me on my way. I went around the rock to solid ground and parked to go see if Dani needed help. He came around the corner bouncing, not daring to slow down for any reason. As we left camp, Dani talked to the policeman and told him he would give them a call to let them know when we were headed back towards Yanbu.

We hit the road for Al Ula and lunch. We stopped and grabbed some fast food which took so long we ran out of time to do anything else. Al Ula has many ruins built from the 1300s that were inhabited up until the 1980’s. The town grew up around these ruins, and they remain in good condition. Maybe we will overnight in Al Ula on our way to Petra, to visit the largest Nabataean settlement.

I set a personal record for youngest driver spotted on a restroom break while returning to Yanbu. I was at the back of the truck grabbing some drinks when I heard an engine chug, then fall silent, chug, silent, chug, silent. I turned around to see a small Toyota come around the corner. The kid was maybe 8. He would sit down in the seat and push the gas. Chug. He would then pull up on the steering wheel and look over it. Silence. It was either/or, gas pedal/look over steering wheel. And down the road he went, safely to home, Inshallah.

The ride home was interesting and we just took in vistas that opened up before us as we dropped around 700 meters during the 5 hour drive. Even though the road was the same, the views were completely different and we would crest hills to vast expanses of sand and mountains. We passed a large gathering on the side of the road that appeared to be the start or finish of a horse race, with colorful flags dotting the area. Buses, cars, and trucks parked on the shoulder and pedestrians sprinted through the smallest gaps in traffic.

It was a fun-filled weekend that allowed us to explore the natural beauty of Saudi Arabia. We saw another side of the terrain and the people that will be a long cherished memory. The small crowds at the tourists attractions are not due to the lack of memorable spots to visit, but to Saudi’s reluctance to admit more tourists than already visit the country for Umrah or Hajj. The best part was lack of cell signals and TVs.