SAUDI PICTURES


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NAJD, RIYADH PROVINCE

This beautiful scenery is easily accessible from the capital city Riyadh. Expatriates call it the Hidden Valley, because it involves taking a turning of the main Riyadh Makkah highway, and driving onto a subsidiary road towards Al Hair before following a road sign posted Wadi Nisah.

RIDGE WALK

This small horse-shoe shaped ridge is about six kilometers long, and it makes a nice walk for much of the year, because there is plenty of shade offered by the vertical rock walls. The nick in the ridge is a pleasant vantage point from which to observe the burning desert.

SUN AND SHADE

The best time to go walking is the late afternoon, when the sun is not so strong. The sunsets are very beautiful in the desert. These cliffs make a pleasant spot from which to observe the road.

SARAWAT MOUNTAINS, SAUDI ARABIA

The Sarawat mountains extend down the side of the Red Sea from Jordan to Yemen. The southern area, called Al Asir is one of the most heavily populated areas of Saudi Arabia, and it has become an area attracting local tourism.

The climate is unlike that of other parts of the kingdom, with some rainfall and cool breezes. Once opened up to tourism, the place could become a paradise for walkers and rock climbers, since there are no landmines. Additionally the puritannical nature of the saudi regime has been effective in keeping out long haired hippies and suchlike, although prosperity has brought its own problems with the large influx of foreign workers. Resentment of many people was exacerbated by the deportations of yemeni workers during the 1991 Gulf War. The recent border disputes between Yemen and Saudi Arabia are not unconnected with these events.

TAHIMA CAVE

This cave is in a small rocky outcrop near to the road from Makkah al Mukarama to Mastabah. Inside the cave is cool and shady, while the outside temperature is about 40 Celsius.

TAHIMA SUMMIT

At the top of the summit some one had put a 7 UP can on a pole. It is a pleasant vantage point from which to watch the traffic.

KING SAUD UNIVERSITY

This is the main administrative block of King Saud University. The car parks nearest the entrance are reserved for the most important people. I was entitled to park in the second car park, except that when I arrived late, all the places were taken. On these days I would park on waste ground near the hospital. That had its advantages, since at King Saud University the only place anyone could buy cigarettes was at the hospital itself.

ERITREAN STUDENTS

There were many eritrean students at King Saud University. Here some of them are enjoying a traditional dance in the desert.


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