February 28, Day 4, Al Ula and the war

First off, we are OK. We are in Al Ula on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula — away from Riyadh, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain — places we will not get to see this time.

We found out about the attack on Iran right before going on a tour. There were Americans, Russians, English, and several people from Asia on our tour. It was a very nice tour of Dadan, but the guide did not have our full attention; everyone was checking their phones every few minutes. The most up-to-date resource was Al Jazeera.

Initially, for a few hours, it looked like there were retaliation attacks on the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. It was surreal to be seeing some of the aerial shots, especially of Dubai, which we’ve been to before. We started canceling our bookings in the other countries on our itinerary, but did not plan any changes in Saudi Arabia. But as time went on, Saudi Arabian leaders expressed that they would be supporting the US in this, and then attacks hit near the capital and in the Southeast, where the oil fields are. And even though these attacks were deflected, it started to feel much closer.

Our guide said his duty is to support the king and that it was sad there would be an impact on tourism — it had just started to recover to pre-COVID levels. We then decided to head directly to Jeddah tomorrow, which was our final point here anyway, and look for a flight out in the northwest direction.

It’s very sad. We are sad that Americans are likely engaged in direct combat, that lives are being lost, and we are very sorry for all the people in the area who are affected. This beautiful region was starting to re-stabilize after Afghanistan and the Gulf War. The US had no business starting a special operation here.

A quick update on our day in Al Ula; it started early with a tour to Hegra. Magnificent sight… but we booked a tour with GetYourGuide, and it was a mistake. We should have driven to the site directly and then grabbed a golf cart with a ranger or a 4x4 and gone at our own pace. Instead, about 10 of us — including a small group from Estonia — were herded onto a large bus to visit four sites with minimal commentary.

Our afternoon tour was to Dadan and Jabal; the guide was much better, but as I said, we were distracted. As we usually do when our thoughts are in disarray, we headed into town where people live and had a perfect dinner at Al Rais Fish. It very much restored our focus for the rest of the day. We followed that with freshly made round lavash from a tandoor on the way back.

By the way, last night we ate at the hotel restaurant — as usually happens, a misalignment of expectations. The hotel is very nice, and they told us the chef is from Spain. The restaurant was booked for the evening, but they squeezed us in. And the food and service were nice, but not as amazing as we imagined. In contrast, the fish place featured plain plastic tablecloths, basic plastic cutlery, and it was one of the best fish places we’ve been to — definitely one to write about :)

Also, last night, we walked around the restored old town (where people don't seem to live) and the ruins near our hotel. It’s a massive complex with lots of restaurants, coffee shops, and stores, but there were maybe ten visitors in the streets. Maybe it’s Ramadan — but I hope they get more. You can tell a ton of effort went into building this out, and it’s a shame so few come, and now, with decreased stability in the region, it's even less likely.

We brought a small handheld telescope with us to watch the alignment of the planets today. But we haven't yet found a spot without light pollution to give it a good look. Maybe you can still catch it in the US. 

We rolled our bodies back to the hotel, bought our plane tickets, and packed. So our adventures are to be continued.