February 27, Al Ula

After an encore marvelous breakfast, we headed to the airport on our way to AlUla. Even more pilgrims. It is interesting to contemplate them walking through the desert wrapped in two simple cloths and wearing sandals probably less than 100 years ago. And now they are looking not so different at the airport with their cell phones. I really look forward to seeing so many more of them in a few days when we visit Medina.

As we wait for our flight, a few background points - with the help of ChatGPT, so feel free to move past. The pictures in this post are all from Al Ula area as we worked our way through town.

Why is Saudi Arabia called Saudi Arabia? (a very short history)

Saudi Arabia is named after the House of Saud, the family that unified most of the Arabian Peninsula.

For most of the last 1,000 years, the region was made up of tribes, trade routes, and religious centers rather than a single state. In the 18th century, the Saud family formed an alliance with a religious reform movement looking to bring back more traditional Muslim values. That alliance collapsed and re-formed more than once over the next century. The Saud family continued to unify and eventually gained control over the Mecca & Medina areas of the country as Ottoman control weakened. Ultimately, in 1932, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud unified the regions and declared the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Starting to pump oil in 1938 was a huge bonus.

Subway clothing observations (since we spent a bunch of time on it yesterday)

Men: most men wear a white robe called a thobe. White color is traditional, formal, and practical — it reflects heat and is considered clean and appropriate for daily wear in a hot climate. There is a dry cleaner near our hotel specializing in thobes, lots of them. On the head, many men wear a red-and-white checkered cloth called a shemagh. It is usually held in place by a black cord called an agal. 

Women: most wear a floor-length black robe called an abaya that covers their arms to the wrist. About half cover their face with a niqab or mask, as of covid mask. Many abayas are clearly fashion pieces, with lace or leather details, structured cuts, bejeweled trim, or designs that resemble trench coats or long jackets. Most wear sneakers underneath. So, also cultural, fashionable, and practical. Many also wear a digital ring watch in bright colors - haven’t seen these in a while :)

Dubai tends to display wealth more openly and ostentatiously, especially in public spaces like malls — designer bags, shoes, and visible luxury signaling seem to be part of the culture. We just went to one mall here, downstairs at the Kingdom Centre, which was under construction, so the basis for comparison is limited, but the displays here seem much more modest, though nevertheless stylish. 

Speaking of transport, our 6 subway trips yesterday cost us $1.50 total. Pretty cool. We also saw a bunch of bikes and scooters for rent. Very well-run infrastructure.

Lastly, we hit Souk Al Zal before calling it a night yesterday. Souk Al Zal felt similar to some of the souks in Dubai — rows and rows of stores selling jewelry (lots of women in those), watches, fabrics, and agal. We didn’t see spices or fruit, but there was a small antique market with interesting items — old telephones, some genuinely real old with no dials, and others clearly just old stuff from the 80s and 90s. There was also a small open area in the middle with chairs and what looked like an auction or some kind of performance going on.

And now, onto AlUla. So excited to be driving here. Hard to believe we were in the US just a few days ago. The landscape looks a little like a mix of the Grand Canyon and Capidoccia. There are very few people here - maybe it’s Friday, and it is a small town, and not that many people were on our flight, so that meant that most of the time there was no one else on the road, and we could pull over at any time to take pictures. 

Our hotel, oh boy. We’ve encountered places like this only a few times in our lives, like the Anatolian Houses Cave Hotel in Cappadocia, Turkey, and Dar Tourkia in southern Morocco. This one is in the middle of the actual ruins, a very large site, just lightly restored. The hotel itself felt like staying in Diriyah.

The hotel team put on a little show to "stimulate our five senses." The visuals, yes, very much so. Then we ate dates, our trusty go-to snack while here, they had two new kinds we haven't tried yet. They then gave us ice-cold towels to freshen up. We also smelled various essences to pick one for our room and were promised the last sense — music — after sundown.

We left our stuff in the room and headed out into the ruins. Amazing. We were the only ones. This is what Diriyah probably looked like before it was restored — staircases going nowhere. 

We walked around and frantically called our parents to show them this marvelous thing. Then we continued walking and came into a date grove. There were dates lying on the ground everywhere. Amazing!

The highlight of the day's plan was seeing Elephant Rock. It is a rock formation that looks like an elephant. ChatGPT suggested saving that sight for after sunset, but everywhere else said to get there early before sunset and find the best position for viewing.

We had a little time, so we drove to Harrat Viewpoint too. It is positioned right above the hotel, on a hill about 1,300m tall. It took about 30 minutes to drive up the serpentine road and then along the mountain plateau. The views along the way were amazing — tons of other formations, some looking like a sphinx, a lion, and other things. If they ever get hot air balloons going here, it would be a spectacular experience. 

Harrat Viewpoint has a great infrastructure — comfortable seats for sightseeing, bathrooms, a restaurant, and parking. Entrance was free, possibly because it was not sundown yet. We thought it would be an awesome spot to watch the sunset at some point, so we headed over to Elephant Rock.

There, it was just a rock with an interesting formation. Also nice infrastructure, with a coffee shop, restaurant, and beautiful seating areas. However, unsuitable for sunset watching. We walked out of the complex, climbed up the nearest rock, and watched the sunset from there.

Then we went back to look at Elephant Rock after dark — it is nice before and after, but not during sunset. It is kind of a closed-in territory, and one cannot see the sun setting there.  It is lit after dark, but not as much as some AI-generated images might suggest.

A ton of Russian speakers, some even Russian Arabs, dressed like locals. And Asian tourists, with a few women dressed, as Polinka would say, “не по погоде” big time — taking pictures and selfies :)

The verdict: Harrat Viewpoint, and especially the journey there, is totally not to miss. New adventures ahead!