Middle East Archives - Tattered Atlas Tales

On September 27th, 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia introduced an eVisa program. One of the most secretive countries on Earth had been gradually adopting tourism, but this program blew the doors open. Unfortunately, the program was put on hold due to COIVD, but has since been reestablished. People from 49 countries can now visit for up to 90 days on a multiple entry visa that can be obtained online in about 15 minutes.

This means the intrepid traveler can now visit sights that have been off limits for a long time. Cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, old towns like Al-Balad and Al-‘Ula, epic deserts in Qassim and The Empty Quarter, amazing road trips in the south, diving in the crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea, religious experiences like Medina, archeological wonders like Hegra, architectural wonders like the Maraya Concert Hall, and more camels and Arabic coffee than you’ll know what to do with: these are now all within reach.

Saudi is more than just sheesha and sand. Tourism is in its infancy, so patience is required, but the hassles are well worth the experience.

I spent three weeks traveling around the Kingdom. You can read about my experience here. What follows is a guide to visiting Saudi yourself. Everything included in this guide is from firsthand experience.

COVID INFORMATION

As of March 5^th, 2022, visitors no longer need a negative COVID test to enter the Kingdom. As of March 9th, 2022, you no longer need proof of vaccination to enter either. You will still need to have insurance that covers COVID, a health disclaimer form, and the Tawakkalna application installed on your phone. You will also want to register your vaccine status (if you are vaxed) with Muqeem before arrival. Outdoor mask mandates have been removed, but some indoor rules still apply.

Insurance:

Covered in the insurance section below. I was never asked for proof of insurance when I visited in January/February of 2022.

Health Disclaimer Form:

I don’t believe I was asked for this either, but it can be found here.

Tawakkalna:

The Tawakkalna application is not just for visitors. Most people in the Kingdom have it installed on their phone. You can download it but cannot register yourself until you are in Saudi Arabia. I tried to use a VPN to register before I got there but it does not work over VPN. In fact, it probably won’t work even if you are in the Kingdom if you have VPN active. I’ve heard reports that even having VPN software installed can cause it not to work.

The app will show a barcode surrounded by a color-coded box. You will be asked to show it when you enter some places in the Kingdom. If you are Green, it means you are fully vaccinated (plus booster) or have been tested recently. The other colors vary.

Mine was purple even though I am fully vaxed. That meant I was supposed to quarantine for 5 days and take 2 PCR tests (under the rules when I was there). I was sent in circles on the phone with Tawakkalna support, the Ministry of Health, and Muqeem. It was a nightmare. Then I got a hold of a local woman who told me to delete the app and just show my vaccine card when asked. That worked. I used my vaccine card for the first week in the country, but I did get two PCR tests during that time, just to make sure I would be good for the rest of the trip. I got the app to turn Green before my first domestic flight. I could have survived the entire trip without it though. The new rules in effect in March negate this problem.

Muqeem:

The Muqeem Portal is where you will register your vaccine information 72 hours before arrival. When you get done, you will receive an arrival form. Keep this form. You might be asked for it. This form can also be used to prove you are fully vaxed in case they don’t link your vaccine status with Tawakkalna like they are supposed to.

As of Feb. 1^st, 2022, you will need to prove you’ve received your booster shot (if your second dose was received over 8 months ago) for most vaccines in order to be considered fully vaxed. Again, you don’t need this to enter the country anymore, but you may need it while in country.

COVID Testing:

I paid $40USD for a PCR test in Riyadh. It was advertised as a 24-hour turnaround, but I got results back in about 18 hours. There was a 4-hour option for $120USD. I used an Al-Borg location. It was a throat swab.

This site has a list of testing locations

U.S. Citizens:

When returning to the United States, all passengers two years old and above will need a negative COVID viral test taken within one calendar day prior to departure for the U.S., or documentation for ‘proof of recovery’ in the past 90 days. I used proof of recovery for return from Saudi Arabia without issue. I just needed to provide documentation of a positive test no older than 90 days and a letter from a physician saying I was fit for travel. I have also used BINAXNOW Ag Card tests with the Navica app to return from other countries. They are quick and easy home tests with official documentation.

Masks:

People wore masks almost everywhere in Riyadh when I was there in January/February 2022, but they were less common in Jeddah. Masks seemed optional outside the main cities.

VISA

Visitors from 49 countries can apply for a one-year, multiple entry eVisa allowing stays of up to 90 days.

The visa fee (which includes medical insurance covering COVID) is SR480 (about $130USD).
You must have at least 6 months validity on your passport.
Overstay fees are SR100 a day.
It took about 15 minutes for me to receive my visa via email.

INSURANCE

Health insurance covering COVID is mandatory, but you purchase it with your eVisa.

When you purchase your eVisa, it will make you purchase health insurance.
This health insurance is included in the eVisa cost of SR480.
The health insurance document will not be emailed, it has to be downloaded from the eVisa site after you’ve been approved.
I was never able to download the insurance document.
I was never asked for the insurance document.
I have no idea what the insurance covers.

I like the peace of mind of having real travelers’ insurance, so I also purchased a policy through iati.

ARRIVAL

Arrive at your airport of departure prepared to explain yourself. Many airline agents will not be informed on the rules for entering Saudi Arabia. Sometimes they will ask for a “quarantine package”, or even ask if you are a pilgrim or diplomat. They don’t realize the Kingdom has opened to tourism. I didn’t have these issues, but it’s best to print out information from the consulate site, a copy of your accommodation booking, vaccine card, eVisa, etc. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be.

I arrived in Riyadh, but I believe the process is the same in Jeddah.

There was a long line for immigration when I arrived at 8:00pm.
Those of us traveling on tourist visas were pulled from line and directed to another, much shorter line upstairs.
Once upstairs, I was asked for my eVisa, passport, and proof of vaccine.
After the girl reviewed my documents, she took my photo and my fingerprints.
Once that was done, I was given a slip of paper which allowed me to skip the long line at immigration.
Luggage was sent through a scanner at customs, but I didn’t have to remove anything from my bag.
I arrived in Terminal 1 in Riyadh, but I walked to Terminal 2 after passing customs.
Terminal 2 is where most of the cash exchange, ATMs, and SIM shops are; it is also where you can meet your Uber if you go that route.
Buying a SIM card at the airport is highly recommended. Some people I met up with later had a very hard time finding one outside the airport. There are shops, but the system was always down, or they were closed.
I paid SR160 for 50GB on the stc network.
Once you have a local SIM, you can register on the Tawakkalna app and (if you’re lucky) it will have your vaccine info and show Green around a QR code.
I paid SR120 for an Uber from the airport to the old town.
The whole process, from landing until my Uber dropped me at my hotel in the old town, took a little less than 2 hours.

MONEY

The Saudi riyal (SR/SAR) is the official currency of Saudi Arabia. The exchange rate has been fixed at SR3.75 to $1USD since the 80’s, although you won’t get that rate if you exchange cash in the airport. I really didn’t find anywhere that had a great exchange rate. The good news is most places take credit cards and some businesses and tour guides will accept USD. I didn’t have Euros with me, so I can’t speak to that. ATMS are easy to find, so I recommend using them to get cash for those times you’ll need it. I found I used cash mostly when on the road between major cities.

Saudi Arabia is not a budget destination. I am not a budget traveler, so I didn’t dig deep for deals, but overall, I found Saudi to be quite expensive compared to other countries I’ve visited in the Middle East.

If you want to travel on a budget, I don’t recommend traveling solo. The more people you have, the more you can split the costs. For example, a rental car, taxi, driver, gas, and/or private tour will cost the same whether you have one or four people.

Saudi Arabia is a very large country, so distances between places are great. Renting a car for your entire trip is an option if you have time (I would just be careful with the ultra-budget companies), but domestic flights are reasonable and can save you a lot of time driving through featureless landscapes for hours on end.

Examples of what to expect to pay (based on what I paid for what I consider 3 1/2-star traveling):

Hotels with breakfast: Average SR375 a night (some a bit more, some less)
PCR Test (24-hour turnaround): SR150
SIM (50GB): SR160 including VAT
City-based Uber: SR15-30
Food: Ranges from SR35 for fast food to SR100-200 for a meal in a nice restaurant
Alcohol: Doesn’t exist
Sheesha: SR100-150 (most expensive sheesha I’ve ever had)
Rental Car (with extended mileage): SR100-300 a day (depending on agency, how many kms, type of car, and insurance you need)
Gas/Petrol: SR2.19 per liter
Domestic Flight: SR130-375
Single dive in the Red Sea: SR420
Full-Day Private Tour with guide: SR750-1100
3-day Empty Quarter Small Group Tour: SR3000 per person
7-day Group Tour of Jeddah, Medina, Yanbu, Al-‘Ula, and Tabuk: SR8000 per person
3-Day Private Tour of the South with driver/guide: SR4200 (this would have been the same price if I was with 3 more people, but I was alone, so I didn’t do this. I rented a car and explored the south on my own).

Back to to

SIM CARDS & WIFI

Sim cards are easy to pick up in the airport. There are plenty of stores outside the airport, but for some reason I found them to always be closed or to be experiencing issues with their system. Maybe it was just bad timing, but I would recommend getting one at the airport to save yourself the hassle. 5G is available in most of the country and relatively fast Wi-Fi can be found in most places (unless you are deep in the desert).

I bought a 50GB stc card at the airport and paid SR160 (including VAT). The service was great in most locations. My main service is AT&T, so when I did not have good coverage with stc, I would switch to my primary SIM and use my international service. That was very rare though.

Here are some sample rates from a place in Jeddah…

TRANSPORT

Public transportation is almost non-existent in Saudi Arabia. There is a metro system being built in Riyadh, but it is not complete yet. I know people who have traveled some of the country by bus, shared taxi, and hitchhiking, but they don’t recommend it. Due to the lack of a true public system, and the sheer size of the country and great distances between places, I chose to take a few domestic flights and rent a few cars. I used Uber and Careem in the big cities.

Taxi:

Taxis are available at the airport and in the major cities, but I preferred to use Uber and Careem for a set rate and to avoid the language barrier.

Uber and Careem:

Available at most airports and almost everywhere in the main cities. I used these services mostly while in Riyadh. I switched back and forth based on availability and rate. Most of the cars and drivers were good. I only had a couple experiences with bad cars and unsafe drivers.

Private Driver:

I hired a private driver to take me out to the Edge of the World and the Red Sand dunes outside of Riyadh. I paid SR1000 for a full day of sightseeing outside Riyadh with a private driver in a 4×4 vehicle.

Car Rental:

Rental car prices vary depending on where you are, how far you are going to drive (most come with a set km limit per day, which you can extend by paying more), where you are going to drop the car, if you want insurance, type of vehicle (4x4s are more), and what company you go with. I went with SIXT in Jizan and Budget in Jeddah and Qassim. I mapped out my route ahead of time, made sure I was going to be within the km limit, and determined what kind of vehicle I would need. If you are going to drive in the south, I highly recommend something with power to get up and down the steep inclines and switchbacks. I messed up on my calculations in Jizan but was not fined for the kms. I paid an extra SR180 for my car in Qassim because I wanted to drop it off in Riyadh, but they included the extra kms for free. I found the whole process very easy each time. Booking ahead is recommended, but you can also just walk up to the rental car booth and get a car on the fly.

Female Driving:

Women are allowed to drive and rent cars in Saudi Arabia.

The Road:

I heard horror stories about drivers in Saudi Arabia, but I didn’t find them to be any crazier than anywhere else I’ve driven. The cities can be chaotic, but it is easy driving once you are out on the open road. Sometimes a two-lane road will turn into a three or four lane road as drivers take to the shoulder to let others pass, but there are speed cameras and speed bumps everywhere, so the crazy drivers have been curbed a bit. Most of the highways are well maintained. Overall, it is a very easy country to drive.

Gas/Petrol:

Rental cars will not come with a full tank. Be sure to fill up when you can because there are long distances without a station. Most stations accept credit cards and will pump for you. I found a lot of stations in the south were closed on Friday. A lot of stations will not open until later in the afternoon on Fridays, so plan accordingly.

Domestic Flights:

I flew Saudia and FlyNas domestically and they both provided good experiences. I showed up to the airport 50 minutes before my first flight and still made it on time. I never paid extra for carry-on, yet always carried on a medium-sized backpack and a small roller bag. Security is a breeze. I never had to remove anything from my bags. I booked all flights online between 24-48 before takeoff. All flights ran on time. Average flight price was around SR225.

Tour:

If you don’t want to drive or fly in Saudi Arabia, you’ll probably need to book a tour.

LODGING

I can only speak to the places I stayed or visited, so this is not an exhaustive guide to lodging in Saudi Arabia. Lodging can be found easily, even last minute for most places. I never had a hard time finding a place the day of arrival. Usually I prefer Airbnbs to hotels, but the amount of decent Airbnbs is quite lacking right now. There are many apartment style hotels though. I chose my hotels based on my ability work from them (fast Wi-Fi, etc.).

Unmarried couples CAN stay in hotel rooms together. A few people I traveled with did this.

Four Points by Sheridan Riyadh

I picked this hotel because I had Marriott points to burn, and it was only 10,000 points a night. Very comfortable spot walking distance from everything in the old town. Fast Wi-Fi in the rooms. Friendly staff and decent breakfast. I had to extend my stay here due to dealing with the Tawakkalna app debacle and they were very accommodating. I extended day by day with no prior notice and there were no issues.

Riyadh Airport Marriott Hotel

Very nice hotel with free parking and good breakfast and fast Wi-Fi. I only stayed here because I arrived at night and was flying out to The Empty Quarter the next morning. I used Marriott points here as well. I left most of my stuff at the hotel for a few days while camping in The Empty Quarter. When I returned from camping, they gave me a conference room to get changed, cleaned up, and organize my luggage before my flight home.

Courtyard Jizan

Another Marriott property that accepted points for my stay. Nice hotel connected to the Al Rashid Mall. The mall was packed. It was a fun place to people watch. The hotel offered free parking and fast Wi-Fi. They also had an indoor pool.

Park Inn Najran

I chose this property because it was the first hotel I saw when I arrived in Najran, and I was exhausted. The staff were extremely friendly. The rooms were decent. I do feel like there were probably less expensive properties in better locations (this was a nice and safe location, but a little far from anything to see).

Shada Hotel Salama Jeddah

This boutique hotel was beautiful. It had so many unique touches and design ideas. Breakfast was decent and it was walking distance from the corniche. I stayed here as part of an expedition I was on. It was pricey for the area, so I stayed in a cheaper place right next door when I came back to Jeddah on my own.

Lotaz Hotel Jeddah

This hotel was just a couple hundred meters down from the Shada. It didn’t have all the unique touches the Shada provided, but it was just as comfortable and was about half the price. The staff were very helpful as well.

Yanbu

I honestly don’t remember the name of the hotel I stayed at in Yanbu, so I guess it wasn’t memorable. My advice would be to stay as close to the old town as possible and to not spend more than one night there unless you are diving every day.

Al’-Ula

Unless you want to fork out a lot of money for one of the up-and-coming resorts in Al-‘Ula, I recommend camping or a farm stay. I was with a group in Al-‘Ula and we stayed in trailers on a citrus farm. The trailers were heated and had bathrooms and were very comfortable. The owners gave the group a tour of the farm and cooked us a whole goat in the ground for 24 hours. It was a very cool experience.

Ewaa Express Tabuk

New boutique hotel with a cool design and pool table in the lobby. The reception people have a lot to learn, but the beds were very comfortable, and the place was extremely clean. Best breakfast of all the hotels I stayed at.

Al Malfa Resort Qassim

The Al Malfa Resort used to be a private residence and is surrounded by date palms. It’s in the middle of nowhere, about a half hour from Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport. It’s also about a half hour from the largest camel market in the world, on the outskirts of Buraydah. The rooms and food are nothing special, but it is a great property if you’re looking for some peace and quiet. After weeks on the go, it was the perfect place for a couple days of downtime. It helped that I was the only guest in the entire place.

The Empty Quarter

The Empty Quarter is all about camping, preferably outside under billions of stars.

FOOD & DRINK

Unlike most places I’ve traveled in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia cities are full of American-style fast food franchises. McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Burger King, Hardy’s…they are everywhere. Then you have all the falafel and shawarma joints as well. Motorbikes zip along everywhere, delivering this fast food to people’s homes. That’s not to say you can’t find more authentic food though. It just takes some time and effort. I traveled with a couple vegetarians for part of my trip, and they survived, although I wouldn’t say they ate well. Again, this is not a compressive guide to Saudi cuisine, it is just a list of some of the unique things I tried while in the Kingdom.

Al-Baik

Saudi’s own fast food chicken joint. This franchise offers cheap chicken to the masses. There is always a line, so I had to check it out. It was decent. Better than KFC, but not as good as real fried chicken.

Arabic Chicken Stew

I ate a lot of this while out in The Empty Quarter. Just a simple stew with chicken and veggies, but it had great flavor.

Arabic Coffee

Coffee is even more popular than tea in Saudi Arabia, but it’s not the type of coffee most Westerns are used to. Yellow in color, due to the light roasting method, and extremely bitter in taste, it is not going to be for everyone. I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I enjoyed a small cup almost every day. I liked the spice, but wasn’t crazy about how it made my mouth feel a bit numb.

Bailia

This was the biggest surprise. A hot street-snack of chickpeas, beets, pickled cucumbers, and spices. It’s not pretty, but it’s an amazing mix of sweet, savory, and spicy. I only found this in Jeddah and Yanbu, so I think it’s a coastal thing.

Camel Milk

If you happen upon a camel farm, you might be offered fresh camel’s milk. I declined the offer because I’m not a big milk person (especially warm milk straight from the source), but I’m sure it is a unique experience.

Dates

Dates of all kinds can be found in Saudi Arabia. I don’t know the difference between them all, but some of them were above and beyond any dates I’d ever had before. If you’re offered dates, try them. It might take a few times to get the best, but you’ll know them when you taste them.

Ferek

Brown bread mashed up with sugar and spices. Great flavor, but very dry. I ate it with a little leben (fermented milk) to add a some moisture.

Hummus

Hummus here is like hummus anywhere else, but I did find a green hummus that had basil added and it was amazing!

Jareesh

A porridge type dish made with boiled wheat and seasonings. Sometimes it comes with meat, but when I ordered “white jareesh” it did not. A very simple dish, but it is tasty and filling. A good option if you are in an expensive restaurant and on a budget.

Kabsa

Huge plates of rice, with meat and veggies on top. This was the most common meal I experienced in Saudi Arabia. Sometimes it was chicken, sometimes lamb, and one night it was an entire goat that had been roasted in the ground all day. The quality of this dish varies, but no matter how good it tasted at times, I was over it by the time I left the Kingdom.

Khubz

A wheat flour-based flatbread that is served with most meals. Very good when it’s fresh.

Ma’amoul

Flour-based cookies stuffed with dates and sprinkled with powered sugar. Addicting.

Murtabak

Fried pancakes with ground meat and vegetable. One of the many small plates that will be piled on the table at any restaurant.

Seafood

One of the best meals I had was in Yanbu. Seafood chowder, fried fish, grilled fish, fish cakes, etc.

Tea

Tea is enjoyed by Saudis any time of day. You will be offered tea (and coffee) everywhere you go. Usually black tea, served in a glass.

Za’atar

Named after the spice blend on top, this is flatbread with sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds. I had it with breakfast quite a few times.

DESTINATIONS & HIGHLIGHTS

Saudi Arabia is a very large country. Many of the interesting places are far from each other. To really experience the country, you will need a lot of time, be open to taking domestic flights, or just focus on a few areas. I spent 3 weeks and could have easily used another week or two. I visited 8 of the 13 provinces and 7 of the 9 main regions. I could have spent less time in some places (Riyadh) and I would have liked to have had more time on others (The South), but I feel like I experienced quite a bit in my 3 weeks.

My expectations were almost non-existent going into the Kingdom. To be honest, when I thought about Saudi Arabia, I thought about deserts. I found it has so much more to offer.

My path was scattered, and I will probably change it up next time, but I started in Riyadh, then flew to Jizan and rented a 4×4 and drove along the Yemen border to Faifa, then on to Najran, then to Abha, and then back to Jizan. After that, I flew to Jeddah to meet up with a friend who was leading a group expedition. The expedition took us from Jeddah to Medina to Yanbu to Al’-Ula to Wadi Disah to Tabuk and the surrounding areas near the Jordan border. Then I flew back to Jeddah for a few days. Back on my own, I flew to Qassim, where I rented a car and explored the area before driving back to Riyadh. Then I flew to Wadi ad-Dawasir to join a camping expedition into The Empty Quarter (Rub’ al Khali). I came back to Riyadh from the desert overland and departed from there.

These are my Top 10 Highlights of Saudi Arabia.

#1 The Empty Quarter (Rub’ al Khali)

The Empty Quarter is not a place you can visit on your own. There are no roads or cell service. You visit with an experienced guide like Meteb and his crew at Amazing Tours. They have tricked-out Land Cruisers with a huge supply of water (via a facet near the rear tire), winches, air compressors, satellite phones, and a thousand liters of fuel. They don’t use GPS though. They have it in case they get into trouble, but they like to hone their skills with manual navigation.

It seemed like we were driving aimlessly around The Empty Quarter most of the time. The terrain was an optical illusion. We’d be speeding at 140km an hour on what looked like flat terrain and all the sudden the vehicle ahead or behind us would disappear, and then we’d be climbing and sliding down a giant dune. It was like skiing with bad goggles; there was no depth perception. I was expecting an adventure, but I wasn’t expecting a full two day adrenaline rush.

We were offered tents each night, but I decided to sleep outside. There was only a sliver of a moon and billions of stars. They were above me and on both sides of me to the horizon.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this amazing adventure.

#2 The People

Most of the people I interacted with in Saudi Arabia were happy to see foreigners. They were always interested in where I came from, why I was there, and what I did back home. I was lucky enough to meet locals from all walks of life; upper middle-class people in the tourism industry, local farmers in the north, Bedouins in the desert, and everyone in between.

People in the south were very welcoming, if a little confused by my presence. A guy in a roadside convenience store offered me free popcorn as he quizzed me about what I do for a living. A man let me into the Al-Aan Palace when I knocked on the gate. He gave me a quick tour before he had to go pray. The various hotel staff fell over themselves to show me to my room and help with my bags and assist with anything I could possibly think of.

I had lunch one day in a very nice restaurant overlooking the Jeddah corniche, with my friend who makes a living blogging about off the beaten path destinations, a couple who plan trips abroad for affluent Saudis, and an archeologist/travel coordinator. We sat around eating and smoking sheesha and talking about the future of the Kingdom. We were the only ones in the restaurant. It could have been a Bourdain episode.

Read my personal blog for more stories about the people of Saudi Arabia.

#3 Al Qassim Camel Market

The largest camel market in the world must be experienced at sunrise. Situated on the outskirts of Buraydah, the market is an amazing cultural experience. I went too late on my first try and things were winding down, but I set out in the dark on the second day and arrived right in the middle of the action.

It was freezing outside, but so worth it. It was chaos in the best way.

I was the only foreigner there and no one paid me any mind. I was walking around in the mud, with my camera and GoPro out, and no one even noticed. They were much too busy chasing and haggling over camels, then having those camels craned into the beds of pickup trucks.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this market.

#4 Wadi Al Disah

This mountainous region and oasis between Al-‘Ula and Tabuk was an absolute surprise. Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations, but it ended up being one of the best days of the expedition. Just rolling through incredible scenery in 4x4s and stopping for some short hikes; it was one of those places I would have never been able to experience if I was traveling solo. We had a great lunch at a beautiful Bedouin farm with camels and goats before heading out and up to Tabuk.

There are 4×4 “taxis” near the entrance and exit that can take you into the area for the day but I did not get their prices. I wouldn’t try to drive in yourself unless you have a 4×4 and know the area very well.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this area.

#5 The South (Road Trip)

I booked a flight to Jizan on Saudia, rented a car in the airport from SIXT, and set off on a solo road trip along the Yemen border from Jizan to Faifa, on to Najran, then up through Abha, and back down to Jizan.

The drive was amazing. The road running along the Yemen border transitions between desert, green misty mountains with monkeys everywhere, mud villages, insane switchbacks, red sand desert, black fields of lava rock, camel crossings, goat gatherings, etc. I have never been to Yemen, but the architecture in this region looks like the photos I’ve seen from that Republic to the south.

There were various checkpoints, but I was waved through all but one; where some young soldiers decided to mess with me by claiming my documents were no good and that they were going to have to arrest me. They told me this with hand signals and gestures because they didn’t really speak English. I was nervous until they handed my passport back, started laughing, and told me to “Have nice day!”

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this drive.

#6 Al-Balad, Jeddah

By far the most well-preserved old town in Saudi Arabia. So many of the old towns are under construction and in the process of being modernized, while Al-Balad is perfectly restored in a way that maintains what it used to be. We were there when early evening turned to night. There were many locals out and about. Old men playing dominos and drinking tea, families strolling around, women painting on the street, and young people flirting in the corners. As the sun set, the lights came on and added to the beauty of the old buildings. It really is a unique place.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos of Jeddah.

#7 Rea Sea Diving (Yanbu)

We took a couple boats out from Yanbu to Al Bareedi island the next day. I had a moment of euphoria on the boat. Something about racing across the sea with the sun on my head and droplets of water splashing up from below. The island was beautiful, with white sand beaches and crystal-clear water, with an apocalyptic abandoned oil refinery in the background.

We took one of the boats out to a reef not far from the island. It was a shallow dive, but visibility was amazing. I followed a sea turtle for awhile and saw some smaller life, but the coral itself was the highlight. When I go back to Saudi Arabia, I will dedicate more time to diving.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this vacation within a trip.

#8 Mada’in Saleh (Hegra)

Hegra (Mada’in Salih) is an archeological site in Al-‘Ula. It is the remains of a Nabatean city from about 2000-2500 years ago. These were the same people who built Petra.

Just a few years ago you could have wandered around these sites, camping wherever you wanted, but now that the Kingdom is opening to tourism, they understand the potential of this area and are putting infrastructure in place to cater to high-end tourists.

I think Petra is the more impressive site, but it was still fun riding around in open air Land Cruisers and checking out insanely old stuff carved into insanely huge rocks.

This site requires reservations, and the bus schedule can change without notice. Al-‘Ula has their own tourism commission that does not communicate with the rest of the country very well.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this site.

#9 Medina

The city of Medina has always been open to non-Muslims (unlike the city of Mecca), but I was surprised we were able to enter the haram area without any issue. It is a regular city. The draw is Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet’s Mosque); the second largest mosque in the world. Built by the prophet Muhammad in the first year of the Islamic calendar (622 CE), after the migration from Mecca to Medina (called Yathrib at the time), the mosque is the second holiest place in Islam and serves as Muhammad’s final resting place.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from Medina.

#10 Ushaiquer Heritage Village

I drove from Unayzah to Riyadh, with stops in Al-Ghat (viewpoint and mud village), Ushaiqer Heritage Village (lots of local families and nice old women giving me short tours of all the buildings), and a drive by Diriyah (but didn’t stop because it’s closed for renovation). The entire drive took about 6 ½ hours and there wasn’t a lot to see, but it was cool to be off the lightly beaten path.

Ushaiqer Heritage Village was just a random stop, but there were a lot of families and very friendly locals there and it just stuck with me as a highlight of the trip.

Read my personal blog for more stories and photos from this drive and village.

TOURS

A quick Google search will provide you with a plethora of tour options for Saudi Arabia, ranging from mid-tier to high-end. Many of these tours are run by international companies. I cannot speak to those, but someone I met had a good experience with Wild Frontiers. I don’t have personal experience with them.

These are the local people and organizations I used or had direct interaction with. If you are looking for something these people don’t offer, they can always point you in the right direction. Consider them trusted sources.

88 Destinations

I had an amazing experience with Sara and Abdullah from 88 Destinations. I did not book a tour directly through them, but they coordinated an expedition led by my friend Joan. Sara was with us most of the expedition and she has all the connections you would ever need in the Kingdom. Sara and her guides were able to get us access to places we would have never been able to get on our own. I would also like to call out both Sara and Abdullah for always being available via WhatsApp, even before I was on the expedition, to help with small issues I ran into from time to time.

Against the Compass

Joan Torres is a travel blogger from Spain who leads expeditions to off the beaten path countries. He has traveled extensively in the Middle East and always works with the best people in each country/region. I first met Joan in Kurdistan and then traveled with him in Afghanistan. His expeditions are a mixture of the main sights and immersion into local culture. I highly recommend joining one of his upcoming expeditions.

Amazing Tours

The company name is generic, but there is nothing ordinary about Meteb and his crew’s expeditions into The Empty Quarter. They have tricked-out Land Cruisers with a huge supply of water, winches, air compressors, satellite phones, and a thousand liters of fuel. They don’t use GPS though. They have it in case they get into trouble, but they like to hone their skills with manual navigation. Meteb and his guys are masters of the desert and spending a few days with them, and sleeping under the stars, was the highlight of my Saudi experience. The Empty Quarter tours run every weekend, except for summer when the heat is unbearable.

Ahmed

If you are in Riyadh and want to explore outside the city, shoot Ahmed a message via WhatsApp at +966 55 545 2982. He can bring you out to the Edge of the World, a remote Red Sand location for the sunset, mud villages, etc. Extremely nice guy. He speaks enough English to get by and offers reasonable rates and is always on time (something rare in Saudi Arabia).

CULTURE

Culture will be added shortly.

SAFETY

Is Saudi Arabia a safe country? Isn’t it dangerous to go there? These are always the first questions I am asked. The answer is Saudi Arabia is as safe as the United States and most European countries; meaning it is a safe place to visit if you don’t purposely put yourself into a dangerous situation. This isn’t a country where you want to get arrested or piss off the government, so be respectful of the culture and the laws and you will be fine.

Female Travel

I am a man with a beard, so I am the last person to speak about the safety of female travelers in Saudi Arabia, but I can promise there are no rules stopping woman from solo travel in Saudi Arabia. Woman can rent cars and drive, they can book hotel rooms, they can move around freely without a guardian. When it comes to dress, you will want to respect the local culture (especially in mosques), but you will not have to completely cover up. The girls I traveled with for a short time wore regular Western travel clothes (and even bikinis when we went out on the Red Sea); they just covered their head and shoulders when entering religious areas.

Cities

I felt safe in every major city in Saudi Arabia. I walked around by myself during the day and night, took Ubers and taxis all over, and I never felt unsafe. The most dangerous thing about walking in the cities is that the sidewalks end and you can find yourself in the middle of an intersection. It is best to get a ride to an area, then walk that area before getting a ride to the next area.

Unlike many Middle Eastern cities, you will not be hassled by vendors or people on the street. I was asked for money a total of one time my entire stay in the Kingdom.

Driving

Saudi Arabia has a reputation for crazy drivers, and while city driving can be a pain if you don’t know what you’re doing, I did not find it any crazier than any other Middle Eastern country. There are many speed bumps and cameras on the highways, so it is best to keep to a reasonable speed and get over if a car wants to pass. Sometimes a two-lane road will turn into a three or four lane road as drivers drive the shoulder to let others pass.

There are various checkpoints in the south along the border with Yemen, but I was waved through all but one; where some young soldiers decided to mess with me by telling me my documents were no good and they were going to have to arrest me. They told me this with hand signals and gestures because they didn’t really speak English. I was nervous until they handed my passport back, started laughing, and told me to “Have nice day!”

Desert

The desert, especially The Empty Quarter, can be extremely dangerous if you don’t employ a professional to guide you. Do not go too far into the desert without supplies and a guide.

The same goes for the Edge of the World. Some Italian tourists recently drove a pickup truck off it, resulting in 9 casualties

Crime

The crime rate in Saudi Arabia is low because the punishments are severe. Shari’ah law is a foreign concept for those of us in the West, but it does discourage crime. I had no problems while I was there.

War & Terrorism

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been fighting a proxy war in Yemen for the past seven years and there is always a risk of Iran-backed Houthi drone attacks in the south. I didn’t feel any sense of danger during my time down there, but there was a heavy patrol presence and miles of barbed wire fence along the border.

Evidently, the Saudis launched the heaviest air raid in more than two years against Sana’a while I was just 65 miles away as the crow flies. The strike was in response to a Houthi attack on a target in the UAE. A couple days later, while I was in Jizan, another strike killed 70+ people and knocked out internet for the entire country of Yemen.

Please check the security situation and visit this region at your own risk.

READ & WATCH

By no means an exhaustive bibliography of Saudi history, literature, and film, this is just a list of what I read, listened to, and watched before I traveled to the Kingdom.

Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia

Very informative documentary covering the history of Saudi Arabia and Iran, including many interviews with credible sources from political, religious, and military backgrounds. The focus is on the two big powers in the Middle East, but it also covers the entire region from the 1970’s to present day.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

This two-hour Frontline documentary covers the rise of Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). There is a focus on the Jamal Khashoggi murder, but it goes beyond that to examine the young prince’s vision for the future of the Kingdom.

Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif

One woman’s heroic journey to normalize female driving in Saudi Arabia.

Ibn Saud by Michael Darlow and Barbara Bray

The ultimate history of the founder and the founding of the current Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

MBS by Ben Hubbard

A deep dive into the upbringing, personality, politics, and vision of the young crown prince; the first of his generation to rule the Kingdom.

The Perfect Candidate

The story of a young female doctor who runs for office in her local city elections, on a campaign to pave the road to the hospital. It felt a little too safe, and almost like a made for TV movie, but it was cool to see something filmed in modern-day KSA.

The Qur’an

It is almost impossible to understand the people and culture of Saudi Arabia without an understanding of The Qur’an. I listened to an English translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.

Saudi Arabia Uncovered

This does not represent the Saudi Arabia I visited. This documentary is only seven years old but is already so out of date. The only reason I list it here is because it does show how much has changed in such a short period of time.

Saudi Women’s Driving School

Extremely basic documentary covering an extremely important turning point in Saudi history.

Theeb

The story of a young Bedouin boy in the Ottoman province of Hijaz during WWI. It’s a coming-of-age drama and a good look at the area before the current Kingdom existed.

Wadjda

The simple story of a young girl living in Riyadh who doesn’t understand why she can’t do the same things as her friend, just because she is a girl. Impressive acting and even more important because it was the first feature film made in Saudi Arabia, and it was made by a female director.

The post Saudi Arabia Travel Guide 2022 appeared first on Tattered Atlas Tales.

Stories from Saudi Arabia 2022

kmartini — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 23:56:52 +0000

Stories from Saudi Arabia 2022

This is a personal travel blog. A travel guide for Saudi Arabia in 2022 can be found here.

ARRIVAL

Bureaucracy, Hospitality, and Sand: Traveling in a Newly “Open” Absolute Monarchy During a Pandemic

I arrived at night.

The runway was wet, and everything hid behind an orange glow from the blurred window of the A330 aircraft as we taxied in. I was coming in blind with no real expectations.

A delayed overseas flight, a near miss connection in Germany, 20+ hours behind a mask, a couple hours sleep, and a stack of documentation in hand (the visa being the simplest to receive and understand), I was taken aback by the bright light of the intricately designed Terminal 1 at King Khalid International Airport; complete with a large fountain, arching ceilings, and men in white and women in black guiding us to the correct line for processing. Residents this way, business visitors that way, tourists come with us.

Situated less than an hour north of Riyadh, the capital of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, RUH is one of the entry points for tourists who are not only now allowed, but “invited” to enter the historically sealed off and secretive Kingdom.

After some photos and fingerprinting, I was in an Uber heading to my hotel near the old town.

The easy part was done.

TAWAKKALNA HELL

Saudi Arabia has been one of the least friendly countries when it comes to tourism, but a new evisa program, introduced a few years ago and then put on pause due to COVID, allows multiple entry for a year and can be obtained online in less than 15 minutes. The caveat is you need to fill out a lot of COVID-related forms. The information in those forms feeds into an app called Tawakkalna. The app provides a barcode to be shown whenever entering a building or site in the Kingdom. If it’s green, you’re good. Mine was purple.

According to Tawakkalna, I was supposed to quarantine for 5 days and take 2 PCR tests. Evidently, another department called Muqeem did not register my vax info with the app. This is where the problems started.

The Tawakkalna people told me to call Muqeem. The Muqeem people told me to call the Ministry of Health. I called the MoH and listened to their anti-smoking message for an hour. The Ministry of Health told me to register with Absher. The Absher app told me I had to find a kiosk to register myself. But wasn’t I supposed to stay in the hotel? “Oh yeah, better call the Ministry of Health then.”

I went in circles for a good 24 hours. I was so close to leaving the country. I hadn’t slept worth a shit and wanted an alcoholic drink and was done with the Kingdom. I had only been there a day.

FREEDOM & APPREHENTION

Then I was put in touch with a local woman who had the answer. “Here’s what you’re gonna do. Delete that app and play dumb when anyone asks for it.”

So that’s what I did.

I left the hotel and went to explore the city, by foot. Not the best idea. Sidewalks in Riyadh are a new thing, and they are not finished. You’ll be walking along, minding your own business, and find your path has led into a major intersection. Riyadh is where the sidewalk ends.

I learned to rely on Uber to get from area to area.

RIYADH

I visited Al-Safaa Square (Chop Chop, where executions take place) and saw the blood drains had been transformed into fountains.

This is where I was told by a security guard the square wasn’t open until 4:00pm…with no logical reason why.

I visited the Masmak Fort (where Ibn Saud fought the Battle of Riyadh against the Rassheds in 1902) only after walking around it multiple times trying to find an entrance, then sneaking through a government parking lot to find the nice guards very welcoming.

I went to the National Museum. Museums are not really my thing, but this one was pretty well done and was very clean and quiet compared to the frantic city outside.

I went up in Kingdom Tower, where no one asked me to buy a ticket until I got to the 50th floor. That’s where the elevator operator asked me for one, offering to go buy one for me while I went to see the view from the 99th floor. He did just that and gave me the change when I was done.

Things don’t always run smooth or make sense in the Kingdom, but most people are very helpful in steering you in the right direction, or trying to remedy a problem, as long as what you are trying to do falls in line with the defined set of rules.

THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

I booked a driver to take me out to the Second Edge of the World (the first Edge was closed because some Italian tourists drove a pickup truck off it, resulting in 9 casualties).

The driver flaked on me when I was already outside the city at the rendezvous point but put me in touch with a guy named Ahmed.

Ahmed cancelled plans with his family to run me out there.

I saw the sunset and spread some of my dad’s ashes before we had to rush back to the car because there were gunshots echoing through the desert. They weren’t shooting at people, but it is a large open space, and we didn’t want to catch a stray.

ADVENTURES WITH AHMED

Ahmed was so nice I booked him to take me to a mud village and the Red Sands the next day.

We climbed around the ruins, drank Arabic coffee and tea, picked up a Bahraini girl who was teaching English in Riyadh, then went out to get lost in the Red Sand.

NABD AL-RIYADH

I worked from Riyadh at night and explored by day. I was able to sneak away a couple times to experience Nabd Al-Riyadh: a nightly live music and cultural event in the square. It was cool to see something that never would have been possible just a few years ago.

COVID STUFF

Having only planned on spending two days in the city, I ended up there much longer than expected because I was hesitant to try to fly without the app.

After 2 negative PCR tests, my app was green and I was ready to go!

I saw some cool stuff in and around Riyadh, but it ended up being my least favorite part of the Kingdom. The rest of the trip made up for the hassles I dealt with though.

ON THE ROAD

Tourism in Saudi Arabia is in its infancy, but the country is on the cusp of becoming a destination, which makes it an exciting (if somewhat frustrating) time to visit. The Kingdom has so much to offer in terms of history, nature, and culture, and is marketing itself so aggressively, that it’s hard to imagine how much things are going to change in the next five to ten years.

The country is huge, so you need a lot of time to see everything. Joining a tour is an option but can be expensive, especially if you’re rolling solo. I considered hiring a 4×4 with a driver and guide for the south (near the Yemen border), but it was too expensive. The price would have been the same for me alone as it was for four people traveling together.

The good news is domestic flights, rental cars, and hotels can all be booked on the fly.

Instead of a tour, I booked a flight to Jizan on Saudia, rented a car in the airport from SIXT, and set off on a solo road trip along the Yemen border from Jizan to Faifa, on to Najran, then up through Abha, and back down to Jizan.

THE SOUTH

The drive was amazing. The road running along the Yemen border transitions between desert, green misty mountains with monkeys everywhere, mud villages, insane switchbacks, back to red sand desert, black fields of lava rock, camel crossings, goat gatherings, etc. I have never been to Yemen, but the architecture in this region looks like the photos I’ve seen from that Republic to the south.

This was my first time driving in the Middle East. There was a 500km cap on the rental contract, which I thought would be fine because I was thinking in miles instead of kilometers. I ended up doing 1000km but they didn’t charge me extra, so it wasn’t a problem. Gas was set at SR2.18 per liter (about $2.20USD per gallon), I ate cheap street and fast food, and even with staying at western style hotels, it was way cheaper than it would have been with a guide…and I had complete freedom.

Driving was a breeze in a 4×4, but I would not have wanted to tackle those steep roads in a less powerful vehicle. Saudis have been notoriously crazy drivers, but the speed bumps and cameras have calmed things down a bit. The only issue I had was my GPS map spun like it was on crack while in the south, making it a little difficult to follow along. I also had a scare when I couldn’t find an open gas station on a Friday; a day I was going to be covering hundreds of kilometers through the mountains. I finally found one on the edge of town.

There were various checkpoints, but I was waved through all but one; where some young soldiers decided to mess with me by telling me my documents were no good and they were going to have to arrest me. They told me this with hand signals and gestures because they didn’t really speak English. I was nervous until they handed my passport back, started laughing, and told me to “Have nice day!”

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

BORDERLANDS

I had heard two things about the south before going: one good and one terrible. The first was about their coffee. Arabic coffee is served all over the country at any time of day, but the south is supposed to have the best. The coffee beans are only lightly roasted (instead of burnt) and are ground and brewed together with cardamom. It has a unique bitter taste and is yellow in color.

The second was that it was dangerous due to its proximity to Yemen. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been fighting a proxy war in Yemen for the past seven years and there is always a risk of Iran-backed Houthi drone attacks in the south. I didn’t feel any sense of danger during my time down there, but there was a heavy patrol presence and miles of barbed wire fence along the border. Evidently, the Saudis launched the heaviest air raid in more than two years against Sana’a while I was just 65 miles away as the crow flies. The strike was in response to a Houthi attack on a target in the UAE. A couple days later, while I was in Jizan, another strike killed 70+ people and knocked out internet for the entire country.

SAFETY

Again, I always felt safe while there. Without the news, I would have never known anything was happening across the border. The only time I felt in danger was when I misjudged my timing and had to take a work call from the car while driving into Jizan during rush hour. Nothing like driving into a foreign city in the dark while trying to navigate a Zoom meeting.

EXPEDITION

After spending a week in Riyadh and exploring the south on my own, I flew to Jeddah to meet up with Joan (who I traveled with in Kurdistan and met up with in Afghanistan) for his group expedition.

Sara, a local Jeddah resident (and local celebrity), was our coordinator. This was the part of the trip where I saw some of the most amazing sights Saudi has to offer. I also learned a lot about (and got to experience) real Saudi life and culture.

The first stop on the expedition was Al-Balad: Jeddah’s old town. By far the most well-preserved old town in Saudi Arabia. So many of the old towns are under construction and in the process of being modernized, while Al-Balad is perfectly restored in a way that maintains what it used to be.

JEDDAH NIGHTLIFE

After spending about 3 hours walking around Al-Balad, and trying bailia (a street snack made from chickpeas, pickled cucumber and beets, salt, and cumin) from a street vender, we had dinner.

I learned a lot in conversations with Sara. She said 70% of Saudi’s population is under 40 and they support MBS and all the changes he is making. She also told us about her tv show and family. At one point, she compared us to camels in the sense that locals will stare at us like we stare at their livestock.

I also had the most expensive sheesha I have ever smoked. $30USD. Seems crazy, but it’s a country with no alcohol, so a couple hours of sheesha in a fancy outdoor spot, while watching the young and beautiful out on dates and hanging with friends, was much less expensive than a couple hours in an American bar.

SHADA

All hotels in Saudi Arabia have a sticker on the wall or ceiling pointing the way to Mecca. The Shada boutique hotel had a much fancier marker.

HEJAZ RAILWAY

We also visited The Hejaz railway (coming from Damascus) at its endpoint in Medina. The Ottomans planned for it to reach Mecca, but WWI crushed those dreams.

MEDINA

The city of Medina has always been open to non-Muslims (unlike the city of Mecca), but I was surprised we were able to enter the haram area without any issue.

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet’s Mosque) is the second largest mosque in the world. Built by the prophet Muhammad in the first year of the Islamic calendar (622 CE), after the migration from Mecca to Medina (called Yathrib at the time), the mosque is the second holiest place in Islam and serves as Muhammad’s final resting place (under the green dome).

SUNSET PICNIC

We ended the day having a picnic and watching the sunset over the city. Then we packed up and drove through the evening to somewhere completely different.

THE RED SEA

Yanbu was a great spot to catch a boat out on the Red Sea, but as a city it left much to be desired. Maybe it was the long drive from Jeddah to Medina to Yanbu, but I was tired and achy when we finally rolled into town.

A few of us grabbed some local fast food (liver and hummus, etc.), but most of the group went to the hotel. The driver took them to the wrong place and refused to help them unload their bags when they got to the right one. Then he came to pick us up and parked in a coffee shop drive thru and had cars honking at him. The next night we asked him to drive a few of us to the old town. He drove us somewhere, and it wasn’t old, and when we asked him to find someone to get directions, he just went to the back of the van and smoked a cigarette. He was an interesting guy to say the least.

Some of the group got up early and went to the fish market the next day, but I slept in.

Two boats took us out to Al Bareedi island the next day. I had a moment of euphoria on the boat. Something about racing across the sea with the sun on my head and the droplets of water splashing up from below. The island was beautiful, with white sand beaches and crystal-clear water, with an apocalyptic abandoned oil refinery in the background.

A handful of us signed up for diving. It was a nice dive and I got to follow a turtle for a while. Unfortunately, they took us in two groups, so we were out there for way too long. The group still on the island thought we’d drowned.

YANBU

When we got back to town, I was exhausted again, but went into the old area with some of the crew. There was a huge cruise ship in dock and there was a walkway called Tourist Street. The old town was not old at all; it was the first tourist trap I’d seen in Saudi Arabia.

After way too long, the rest of the group met us at Lawrence of Arabia’s house, where a couple locals struck up a conversation and gave us a farwa coat, and then we went to an amazing seafood dinner. Everyone was starving and silent as they shoved food into their mouths.

I’m glad we got out on the sea and were able to dive, but I was also glad to leave Yanbu the next morning.

MADA’IN SALIH

Hegra (Mada’in Salih) is an archeological site in Al-‘Ula. It is the remains of a Nabatean city from about 2000-2500 years ago. These were the same people who built Petra.

I think Petra is the more impressive site, but it was still fun riding around in open air Land Cruisers and checking out insanely old stuff carved into insanely huge rocks.

The area of Mada’in Salih is mentioned in the Quran. Specifically, the story about how the Prophet Salih tried to convince the tribe of Thamud that there was only one true God. When he couldn’t stop them from worshipping false idols, even after producing a miracle in the form of a pregnant camel rising out of one of the rocks, God killed the tribe with a massive earthquake.

Or so the story goes.

It’s for this reason many followers of Islam do not visit the site. There used to be a fatwa issued by the Saudi religious authority prohibiting people from visiting the area. That’s all changed with tourism becoming a growing industry in the Kingdom. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the area is one of the most visited places in Saudi Arabia, even though many people still consider it cursed.

ELEPHANT ROCK

We watched the sunset at Elephant Rock. This site is a good example of modernization done right. Comfortable seating pits were dug into the sand, allowing people to relax and socialize without affecting the natural beauty of the place.

Even more than being on the boat, this is the place where I really wanted a drink. I ended up having a coffee and bumming a smoke (my first in years) just to do something. The cigarette sucked and it didn’t sate my appetite for a beer, but the desire to drink faded as we moved on.

AL-‘ULA

The main strip in Al-‘Ula looks like a movie set. It is a façade. The actual “old” part is hidden. It’s the Disney version of what Saudi Arabia was like years ago.

We had a traditional dinner, sitting on the floor, while listening to live music from a small stage across the street. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (the religious police) no longer have any power in the Kingdom, so music in public settings is not uncommon, but there was something different about the scene in Al-‘Ula.

I felt like I’d stepped into someone’s Instagram reel. I wasn’t surprised the next day when I learned there is a woman on Al-‘Ula’s tourism board whose sole job is to manage influencers.

This was not a place trying to attract backpackers. They wanted another tier of tourist in this area; the type with money to burn.

DADĀN

Dadān is an archeological site of a kingdom dating back to the 7th century BCE. It is mentioned in the Bible. There was some cool ancient graffiti, and some nice girls working at the women-ran craft store, but I couldn’t really get into it. I think I was just tired.

MARAYA CONCERT HALL

I messaged Sara while we were at Dadān and asked her to try to pull some strings and get us in to see the Maraya concert hall, which she did. It ended up being a big ordeal because representatives from 21 countries were having lunch there. Sara’s friend ended up coming and escorting us on a drive around the building, but we were unable to leave the van. Still cool to be able to see it though.

THE FARM

We stayed in trailers on a citrus farm while in Al-‘Ula. The owners of the farm gave the group a tour of their citrus trees (which I missed), and they setup a tent at a viewpoint for us to have dinner in, but the goat that had been cooking in the ground all day wasn’t ready until very late, so we ate in the dining area.

Everyone went into town before dinner and were exhausted by the time we ate. I stayed behind and enjoyed some alone time while they were gone, so I was one of the few who wasn’t grumpy at dinner.

The goat tasted amazing.

Our slightly controversial Pakistani driver ate the tongue and cheeks while everyone else waited for him to drive them to the other farm.

WADI DISAH

Our driver left for Jeddah that night after dinner. I had issues with him in the beginning, but he ended up making me laugh quite a bit. I think his shyness was misunderstood as rudeness.

We said goodbye to Sara the next morning before heading to Tabuk in three Land Cruisers with a new guide and drivers.

We spent the day in Wadi Disah along the way. The mountainous region and oasis were an absolute surprise. Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations, but it ended up being one of the best days of the trip.

Just rolling through incredible scenery in 4x4s and stopping for some short hikes; it was one of those places I would have never been able to experience if I was traveling solo.

We had a great lunch at a beautiful Bedouin farm with camels and goats.

One of the drivers almost fell asleep on the way to Tabuk, and the hotel couldn’t find our reservations when we got there (“Are you sure you’re at the right hotel?” “Nope, not at all”), but these types of things were par for the course by this point.

HISMA

Tabuk as a city didn’t have much going on, but I bought some local clothes for an upcoming adventure, and we watched the Saudi-Oman match while having a quick dinner.

The purpose of being in Tabuk was to visit Jabal Hisma.

Hisma is essentially an extension of Wadi Rum (where I camped when in Jordan). I was unnaturally cold when we first started exploring, but it warmed up as the day went on. It was another day of exploring by Land Cruiser. Our driver hit a berm a little hard and we cracked the front bumper pretty good. We walked down to a Bedouin camp for lunch while they worked on the car. It was an extremely peaceful place, and I took a quick nap under the tent.

We spent the day in the desert before returning to town, grabbing some quick food, and saying goodbye to those who were not returning to Jeddah. Then most of us caught a late flight.

EXPEDITION ENDS

Back in Jeddah, I said goodbye to most of the crew and planned the next leg of the trip.

Joan invited me to join Sara and her husband for lunch. Sara and Abdullah’s main business is organizing trips abroad for Saudis. Their friend who is an archeologist joined us. It was a very nice restaurant with panoramic views of the city. We sat around eating and smoking sheesha and talking politics and the future of the kingdom, etc. We were the only ones in the restaurant. It could have been a Bourdain episode.

Random story, but one of Sara’s best friends is the niece of Osama Bin Laden. Not that weird, because the Bin Landen’s are a huge family, but still sad that a bunch of normal people have to live with the name Bin Laden.

That night I tried Al Baik (Saudi’s own fast food chicken joint) for the first time.

QASSIM

On my own again, I caught a flight to the Qassim region. I landed at night, picked up a rental car (with an option to drop in Riyadh), then drove through the fog to the Al Malfa Resort in Unayzah.

The resort used to be a private residence and is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by date palms. I arrived late and the five guys in the lobby did not speak English and were not expecting me.

I learned the next morning I was the only guest in the entire place. I asked them how to get to the camel market and they gave me directions to the grocery store. After some back and forth, they understood where I wanted to go, but couldn’t understand why I wanted to go.

I got to the market too late the first morning. Things were winding down. So, I went to see a mud village, but it didn’t exist anymore.

Back at the resort, I just enjoyed the solitude and the beauty of my surroundings. I watched the Drew Binsky video from the south that had all the Saudis upset, read more of the Qur’an, had some laundry done, and asked one of the maintenance guys to help me up onto the roof to watch the sunset.

It was a nice relaxing day after having been on the go for two weeks.

CAMEL MARKET

The next morning, I arrived at the largest camel market in the world at sunrise. It was freezing outside, but so worth it. It was chaos in the best way.

It was hands down one of the most local and eye-opening experiences of the trip.

That night my app turned from Green to White (Incomplete). I think it had something to do with the new triple vax rule that went into effect Feb. 1st. I gave up on the app at that point.

THE ROAD TO RIYDAH

I drove from Unayzah to Riyadh, with stops in Al-Ghat (viewpoint and mud village), Ushaiqer Heritage Village (lots of local families and nice old women giving me short tours of all the buildings), and a drive by Diriyah (but didn’t stop because it’s closed for renovation). The entire drive took about 6 ½ hours and there wasn’t a ton to see, but it was cool to be off the lightly beaten path.

RIYADH TRANSFER

I checked into a hotel right at the airport and packed a small bag to take out to the desert. The rest of my stuff would stay at the hotel, where I’d pick it up before my flight home after the Empty Quarter.

The next morning, I flew from Riyadh to Wadi Al-Dawasir to meet up with Meteb and drive into the darkness of the largest sand desert in the world.

WADI AL-DAWASIR

Flying into Wadi Al-Dawasir was bizarre. Nothing but desert and circle crops growing clover for the camels. Meteb picked me up from the tiny airport. We loaded into a couple Land Cruisers and took off into the night.

Meteb runs these trips every weekend from November through February. It’s too hot in the summer.

We drove about an hour out of town and then pulled off the road and started racing into the darkness. I have no clue how he knew where he was going. Visibility was zero.

After stopping to deflate the tires, we continued through the nothingness until we saw a small circle of lights. It was our campsite for the night. The driver with the supply truck had arrived and setup camp earlier.

Coming out to the Empty Quarter alone (or with anyone who doesn’t spend half their life out there) would be suicide. Meteb and his crew have tricked-out Land Cruisers with a huge supply of water (via a facet near the rear tires), winches, air compressors, satellite phones, and a thousand liters of fuel. They don’t use GPS though. They have it if they get in trouble, but they like to hone their skills with manual navigation. There is no cell service out there, so they use walkie talkies to communicate between vehicles.

We sat around the fire and had an excellent chicken stew while Meteb briefed us on our rough itinerary.

There was no way of knowing what our surroundings were that night because it was too dark. We were offered tents, but I decided to sleep outside. There was only a sliver of a moon and billions of stars. They were above me and on both sides of me to the horizon. I slept in my down jacket, a mask (for the sand), and a beanie. I wasn’t cold, but a little uncomfortable on the hard sand.

I learned the next day, when I got up with the sun and had some zaatar and tea for breakfast, that we hadn’t even entered the Empty Quarter yet. We were right on the edge.

RUB’ AL KHALI

It seemed like we were driving aimlessly around The Empty Quarter. The terrain was an optical illusion. We’d be speeding at 140km an hour on what looked like flat terrain and all the sudden the vehicle ahead or behind us would disappear, and then we’d be climbing and sliding down a giant dune. It was like skiing with bad goggles, with no depth perception. I was expecting an adventure, but I wasn’t expecting a full two days of adrenaline rush. No photos or video can show what it was like. A lot of it was like being on a boat on the sea, rather than a Land Cruiser on the sand.

I say it seemed like we were aimless because that was an illusion as well. Dropping pins in Maps.me along the way showed we were traveling on a defined path all the way back toward Riyadh, but you would have never known it. Meteb and his guys are seriously master navigators.

There was no visible difference between hard and soft sand. We got stuck a few times, but Meteb was always able to get us out with some maneuvering and a little patience. The supply truck got stuck once. That was the only time they had to use the winch.

We had lunch in a small area with some poisonous greenery and some shade, we stopped and picked up some wood for the fire that night, then we found a random place to watch the sunset and set up camp.

The locals told stories around the campfire. One thing I never knew is that the British are responsible for Arabs from different countries wearing different colored scarves. The British couldn’t tell them apart, so they sold red ones cheap to the Saudis, green ones cheap to the Iraqis, and black ones cheap to the Palestinians.

I set up a tent that night and finally finished The Qur’an, but I moved back outside before going to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking there was something in my tent (I was sleeping next to it). I was completely freaked out until it started to blow away. It was just the wind.

MIRAGE

The next day was more fun in the sand, then we hit a dry lakebed that was 10 times the size of Riyadh. It had been dry for around 12,000 years. I spread some of my dad’s ashes there and collected a few rocks for my daughter.

They encouraged us to collect rocks. That is sure to change once tourists start flooding the place.

We saw some sand fish (I don’t know what they are really called), but no matter how hard Meteb tried, they refused to bury themselves with vibrations like they are known to do.

DEPARTURE

Our last stop was at a water well used by the Bedouins. There was a small pool that some people swam in, but it was freezing so I passed. We had a nice lunch there and then drove to the exit of the Empty Quarter (via Layla) and back to service and civilization.

We only scratched the surface of the Rub’ al Khali, but it was the most remote place I’ve ever been.

We dropped the others off in the Diplomatic Quarter, then Meteb took me back to the hotel, where I used a conference room to change and wipe myself down with shower sheets, then I went to the airport and started the 24-hour journey home.

I didn’t get rid of all the sand until I was in Colorado the next day.

The post Stories from Saudi Arabia 2022 appeared first on Tattered Atlas Tales.

Touring Iraqi Kurdistan 2021

kmartini — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 22:07:00 +0000

Iraqi Kurdistan Expedition 2021

Against the Compass Expedition

I started following Against the Compass while on lockdown due to the pandemic. My travel plans had been put on hold and reading about Joan’s adventures was the next best thing to being out there myself.

Having always traveled solo, or with family or friends, I was hesitant to book a “group tour”, but I had to believe this “expedition” would be something special. I was not disappointed.

Joan brought together a diverse group of people, coming from very different places, but with the same mindset. Age, nationality, and background didn’t factor in at all; we were all there for the same reason…to absorb everything Iraqi Kurdistan had to offer.

The 8 days I spent with the group never felt like a group tour. It felt like traveling with friends. Our local guides became our extended family and Joan’s experience traveling the region in the past helped chart the best course.

Can Kurdistan be experienced solo?
Of course. It’s an extremely safe destination.

Would I have gotten as much out of it on my own?
Absolutely not.

There are places I wouldn’t have known existed or wouldn’t have gained access to without a local guide. And I would have missed out on meeting an amazing group of people (local and from abroad) whom I now consider friends.

Erbil

This is Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurdistan isn’t technically a country, as it’s part of Iraq, but the Kurds are very proud of their ethnicity and culture; they define themselves as Kurds, not Iraqis.

There are Kurds living in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, but Iraqi Kurdistan is the closest thing they have to their own land. It was made possible when the U.S. enforced a no-fly zone in northern Iraq after the first Gulf War.

Kurdistan is a very safe place. It is the Iraq the U.S. envisioned for the rest of the country. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its issues with corruption, refugees (an Iranian Kurd immolated himself in front of the embassy a couple days before I arrived), inner strife (between the PUK, PDK, PKK, etc. etc.) and the occasional bombing, but statistically speaking, Erbil is much safer than most European cities. Petty crime is almost non-existent, and we were able to walk around at night and hail cabs without issue.

ISIS never got to Erbil, partly due to the Peshmerga (Kurdish military forces) holding their ground against the Islamic State.

The Kurds are extremely welcoming people, and their capital was a great place to start the Against the Compass Expedition around this small corner of the world.

Mor Mattai

Mor Mattai Monastery is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, dating back to 363AD. It stands on a mountain about 20 miles from Mosul.

The frontline between the Peshmerga and ISIS from 2015-2017 was that hill you see in the distance. If ISIS would have advanced, the monastery would not be standing today.

Our local guide used to escort foreigners (mostly journalists) to the frontline, but after coming face-to-face with ISIS fighters, as well as being in Mosul before they cleared the bodies and having a bomb go off dangerously close, he decided his life and family were more important than the risks he was taking.

Lalish

Lalish is the holiest place of the Yazidis. Every person of faith is supposed to make a pilgrimage here to visit the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir at some point in their life.

It is a beautiful, but extremely sad place. The Yazidis were victims of genocide by ISIL in 2014. Thousands of men were killed, and the women were kidnapped and force into sexual slavery.

The effects felt today cannot be understated, one of which is the bastard children, fathered by ISIL fighters, who are not accepted by the families and are forced into state ran orphanages.

Broke Down

If you journey out of Erbil, you need to make sure you have an experienced driver who carries an extra fuel pump and filter and knows how to change both.

The petrol in Kurdistan is shit, so fuel pump failure is a common occurrence.

Luckily for us, our driver was not only our comedy relief throughout the trip, he was also able to swap out a fuel pump in 15 minutes.

Our guide was apologetic for the short pit stop, but anyone who travels knows this comes with the territory and just adds to the experience.

One funny story that came out of this was when we were talking about the price of fuel and I explained how prices went up in the US due to the pipeline hack. I explained how ransomware works and Karwan translated my explanation to his cousin, Muhammed. That’s when they both started laughing and replied “here, they’d just use a bomb.”

Middle Eastern food is great. Kurdistan’s cuisine was no exception.

But after eating it every single day, I will be happy not to taste another kebab for the foreseeable future.

I do wish I could find the salty, sour yogurt drink here at home though.

Alcohol isn’t illegal in Kurdistan, but it is forbidden by Islam.

That didn’t stop us from hitting the “haram” shops in the Christian districts though.

Farida was a local beer (brewed in Baghdad) that was actually pretty good for a lager.

It wasn’t readily available though, because the Kurds aren’t exactly close with their Arab neighbors to the south.

Duhok

We arrived in Duhok after a long day.

Woke up at 5:45am because I still wasn’t acclimated to local time. Went to a monastery, broke down on the side of the road, experienced the emotional rollercoaster of Lalish, had issues getting into Khanis (ancient ruins from 2500-3000 years ago in the time of the Assyrians), didn’t eat lunch until after 3:00pm, checkpoints, passport checks, etc.

So, when we got to the lookout over the city, where is was so much cooler than anywhere we had been, it was amazing to just sit…sit and look at the view and remind myself I was in Iraq.

Duhok was mostly just a place to grab dinner and spend the night.

An interesting thing happened while we were eating on the street. A young Muslim woman struck up a conversation with Nick while we were eating on the street. She did this in public, in front of her family, and was practically flirting. That’s pretty rare in these type of countries.

Saddam Hussein’s Winter Palace

This was Saddam Hussein’s Winter Palace; one of many palaces he had all over Iraq. It had a helicopter pad, views in every direction, and was very secure… that’s why it’s now a Peshmerga base. He’d be rolling in his grave if he knew it was now occupied by Kurds

Amedi

Amedi is the town I was most looking forward to in Iraqi Kurdistan.

It’s over 5,000 years old and sits on the flat top of a hill. It’s just cool looking.

They say it was the home of the the Magi priests know as Three Wise Men in the Bible, but who knows?

Gali Sheran

When I decided to go to Iraq, I figured there would be some dangerous aspects to the trip. I never would have expected the most dangerous thing I’d do would be walking on the narrow edges of an aqueduct, with a dead drop down a cliff on one side, for a half mile.

I never expected to be swimming in pristine turquoise water either.

Just another example of how you can never really know a country without going there yourself.

This is also where I realized we had been traveling in a Primary School van.

Koya

A museum, a fort, or something. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention at Koya.

The only thing I remember is the Spanish speaking archeologist. The only reason I remember him is because he stalked one of the girls on in our group through WhatsApp for the rest of the trip.

Red Security Museum

The beauty of Kurdistan surprised me. The horrors did not.

The Red Security Museum was one reminder of the awful things that happened not so long ago.

Most of the museum, housed in a former Baa’th security (torture) facility, is dedicated to the Anfal campaign (genocide) perpetrated against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein. There is also a section dedicated to the brave (crazy) people who clear landmines, and another section showing the atrocities committed by ISIS/ISIL in the uncomfortably recent past.

It was a sobering experience on par with SR-21 in Cambodia and the Nazi concentration camps in Europe.

Sulay

Sulaymaniyah is the cultural center of Iraqi Kurdistan. It’s where all the poets and artists come from. It has a very different vibe than Erbil. It feels more open.

Sulay felt more modern as well, with high rise buildings and a hotel modeled off Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

The streets were alive at night.

I ran into a Kurd from St. Louis who hadn’t been back to Kurdistan in 8 years. He said St. Louis is much more dangerous these days.

I also attracted a creepy Iranian tourist who would not leave me alone. Really strange guy who kept asking me why I wasn’t wearing a mask, even though he was the only person among thousands on the streets who was.

We drove up to an overlook for sunset and were able to buy beers at a stand on the way up. We had music, great views, alcohol, and it cooled down enough that some of the crew needed “jumpers”. We all agreed it was one of those moments none of us expected to experience in Iraq. It was one of those perfect moments you only get when traveling

Baderkhan Amer Badran

One of my favorite Instagram personalities is from Sulay. He’s traveled to around 80 countries on an Iraqi passport.

The guy is hilarious and took us to a modern mall to sit at a restaurant and smoke shisha.

He drove us back to the hotel that night and gave us a makeshift tour of his city, including highlights like the park that acted as a killing field but then turned into a hookup spot, and the mosque with a brothel right next door.

Halabja

If you were alive in the late 80’s, you know the name Halabja. It’s the town in Iraq (close to the Iranian border) where Saddam gassed the Kurds in 1988.

Around 5,000 people died within minutes of the canisters hitting the ground; canisters of chemicals dropped from planes; chemicals that smelled like apples when released.

We arrived at the memorial on a special day. I think it was referred to as Global Day.

One thing that hasn’t been publicized as much as the deaths is the missing children. There was so much chaos after the attack, with people running to the hills to escape the poison, that people were lost. Some were taken to Iran, some to Saudi Arabia, never to be heard from again. A lot of these people were children. I am not 100% clear on why they were not returned, but there were women speaking about lost loved ones while we were there.

We also met a survivor who was 18 when the attack happened. He told us about trying to save people and how their limbs would fall off when being dragged. And about people who drank water from the river, which was poison by that point. He just kept talking about sadness.

This was another sobering experience.

Tawella

Two American tourists were arrested in 2009 for wandering into Iran from Kurdistan. Iran said they were spies. The Americans claimed they were just hiking and didn’t know they crossed into Iranian territory. They were held for about 2 years.

The Peshmerga solider at the checkpoint entering Tawella was very clear with us. “You are welcome here, but I cannot protect you on the other side. The Iranians may be nice people, they may be nicer than us, but I can only guarantee your safety on this side.”

Tawella is where you can supposedly stand in two countries at once. One foot in Iraq and one in Iran. It’s bullshit though. Google maps shows you’d need to hike a good mile or so from that spot to be in Iran.

My guess is those hikers knew what they were doing and just didn’t expect to get caught. As for me, I wasn’t taking any chances…even though the joke in our group was that we were there to drop me (“the American”) off for a hike.

Dukan Lake

The calm before the storm cut short our visit to the lake

“Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it’s a start.”

Anthony Bourdain always said food was the great equalizer. That couldn’t have been more true than when Karwan invited us to his home for a meal prepared by his wife.

Cultural, religious, and ethic differences didn’t matter. Watching him interact with his wife and kids, I realized that although we come from different worlds, we all just want what is best for our families. I also noticed his kids watch the same Netflix shows as my girls; just one example of how we have more in common than we might think.

While we were sitting around after the meal, drinking tea, the conversation of multiple wives came up. Karwan only has one wife, but his grandfather has two. This might be shocking to someone from western cultures but believe me when I say some of our practices are shocking to them.

This meal in this home was a highlight of the trip.

Sick in Erbil

Joan and I had a conversation about the travel vloggers who make everything look amazing all the time, when we know that is not the case.

Travel is not always fun. Sometimes it is miserable. I experienced a little of that on this trip.

While the rest of the group was in the mountains making independent films with the handsomest actor/model/barber is Kurdistan, I was in a dark hotel room in Erbil worried I was one of those rare people who got infected with COVID, a second time, after being fully vaccinated. The things going through my mind while my head pounded, and my stomach rumbled, were enough to make me insane.

Luckily it was just a 24-hour thing. I missed the mountains, but Karwan’s dad picked me up the next day for a COVID test and dropped me off to catch a shared taxi to Akre to intercept the crew on their way back.

Akre

So, one minute I’m dying in a hotel room and the next I’m in a car with a group of men I don’t know, flying down the highway to Akre.

That car dropped me off on the outskirts of town, where I caught another ride into the city center. It felt good to be out on my own, and to meet up with the group, but I couldn’t eat lunch, or anything else, for another couple days.

This all comes with the territory though…and in reality, I got off easy. Being quarantined in Kurdistan would not have been a good thing, especially because I had a flight to Kabul in a couple days.

Saying Goodbye

Iraqi Kurdistan was an amazing place full of surprises, but the biggest surprise was actually enjoying being on a tour.

Maybe it wouldn’t have worked if we were in a destination full of tourist attractions (where some people want to hang out in museums while others wanted to be active or drink, etc.) but we were all on the same page in Kurdistan.

I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all had a great time.

The post Touring Iraqi Kurdistan 2021 appeared first on Tattered Atlas Tales.

Solo Travel in Middle East 2019

kmartini — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 19:29:00 +0000

Solo Travel in Middle East 2019

Leaving Colorado

Being in the airport 12 hours after my dad passed was strange. Nothing was real yet.
It was probably the perfect time to go though; before I could comprehend what had happened.

I honestly don’t remember leaving my house, the plane being deiced, or the flights.

I remember listening to a lot of Low and Red House Painters, because it was the only music that sounded good.

I also remember being sure I wouldn’t be able to complete my planned itinerary.
I was sure I would be coming home early.

Beirut

It was raining when I arrived in Beirut.

It had been 28 hours since I left home.

One of the things my dad always found amazing was how nice places were hidden behind shitty façades in some foreign countries.

He wouldn’t have wanted to get out of the cab at my Airbnb in Beirut, but he would have been shaking his head in amazement once we got inside.

I met the owner, cracked a beer, and watched the rain from the balcony before crashing on the couch.

I couldn’t be bothered with getting myself to the bedroom.

Beqaa Valley

“Where are you from?”

“The U.S.”

“Oh, my brother lives in Vermont! Lots of snow. Would you like to buy a Hezbollah shirt? It’s only 5,000 LBP”

It was still storming in Beirut, so I decided to call my driver and head to Baʿalbek .
We drove over snow-capped mountains (sea level to 4,000 ft. in a half hour) and into the Beqaa Valley (aka ‘Hezbollah heartland’).

The ruins are in the middle of the town of the same name, in a place that has been inhabited for 9,000 years.
I had the entire site to myself. I’m not sure if that’s because I was early, or because of the travel advisories (which everyone assured me were unnecessary), but it was amazing to just wander around in silence.
The only issue with being the only tourist is the street vendors and shop owners were a little desperate…hence trying to sell an American a $3.00 Hezbollah t-shirt.

I did a tour and tasting at Chateau Ksara on the way back to Beirut and, amazingly enough, I found myself alone there too. It was a cool spot, with a wine cellar dating back to Roman times. The cellar was discovered when Jesuit monks chased a fox down into it. They widened the space during WWI, when families took refuge from the Ottomans. Now it holds over a million bottles of wine.

Lebanese Uber drivers…

“Beirut has a lot of churches and mosques. People like to pray a lot before they go out and steal.”

“You my first customer from the U.S. You are like a man from a movie…the bad guy”
(laughs hysterically, sees I’m a little uncomfortable, apologizes until I’m laughing with him.)

“Are you Muslim?”
“No.”
“Why you go to see mosque?”
“Architecture, culture, history”
“Oh. I don’t like. I don’t like old stuff. I like the new things.”

Beirut: City of Contrasts

War-torn, hollowed-out, wood and steel carcasses stand in the shadows of modern skyscrapers.
Cranes dominate the skyline, as optimistic investors keep building.
UN helicopters fly overhead in service of millions of Palestinian and Syrian refugees residing in cities within the city.

Hezbollah recruits the disenfranchised to fight Iran’s proxy war in Syria,
while Uber drivers and restauranteurs try to forget ‘the old’ in favor of ’the new’.

It was weird being an American in a country where a good portion of the population sees the U.S. as the enemy,
but everyone I met was friendly and welcoming (if not a little surprised).

I feel like I did quite a bit with my short time there.
I also feel like I slept a lot, for the first time in over a month.
Staying busy and sleeping were both good for me.

Overall, it was a good first stop on my first visit to the Middle East.
Nothing was as I expected it to be, which is exactly what I expected.

Istanbul

I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to spend a single day in a city of 15 million people; a city that crosses two continents and happens to be the largest in Europe. You could spend a week there and only scratch the surface.

But I couldn’t fly directly to Israel from Lebanon (they are not friends) and I figured I’d take advantage of having to go through Turkey.

It took 2 hours to get to the “old Europe” area from the airport on the Asian side. The Blue Mosque was open, but they were renovating, so it almost wasn’t worth seeing. The Grand Bazaar was interesting for the first thousand or so jewelry shops, but then it got claustrophobic. The spice market was colorful, but a bit much to handle after a while.

Hagia Sophia was amazing though. Once a Greek Orthodox cathedral, then an Ottoman imperial mosque, it is now a museum and probably the only place Mary, Jesus, Mohammad, and Allah live side-by-side in harmony. Extremely cool place, but I was done with tourist stuff pretty quickly, so I asked my day-tour guide if we could cut the itinerary short and just grab some food, walk some local neighborhoods, and talk about real shit.

So that’s what we did.

Istanbul

Onder told me about the local elections that happened a few days ago and how Erdogan’s campaign of fear backfired. We talked about keeping Turkey a secular country and about the refugee crisis. We talked about Trump and the U.S., as well as Morocco, Tunisia, and my past few days in Beirut.

We talked about his car accident last year and we talked about my dad and my family back home.

We ate chicken skewers in a bubbling tomato sauce paired with some sort of yogurt drink. We drank potent Turkish coffee followed by Turkish tea.

Then we took a 15-minute ferry ride from Europe to Asia, before he headed home, and I got in the van back to the airport.

It was stupid to think I could really experience Istanbul in a single day…but hell, I’ve had worse Wednesdays.

Jerusalem

Woke up missing Dad in Jerusalem. Had a small breakdown and then went out to explore one of the most interesting cities I’ve ever been in.

I’m not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, but there’s no denying the power (and tension) in a place like Jerusalem…even if that power (and tension) only comes from what people believe about the place.

The extreme importance of the city to the three major monotheistic religions makes it one of the most unique areas I’ve ever found myself. I felt safe the entire time, but it was obvious things could pop off at any time.

I walked in the footsteps of Jesus (Via Dolorosa) and watched people kiss the stone his body is believed to have been washed on.

I watched people stand in line for hours to spend a few seconds in what is believed to have been his tomb.

I joined Jews in placing a note in the Western (Wailing) Wall.

I spent an hour at Temple Mount, where I saw a Muslim man go crazy because two tourists kissed each other…and where I saw Hasidic Jews be forcefully pushed back from the stairs by heavily armed men.

Then I ate some good hummus, bought my daughter a toy camel, and cabbed a few miles to a giant concrete wall.

I crossed that wall into Bethlehem (and into Palestinian territory) before the sun went down.

Palestine

Banksy is an anonymous artist and activist who, among other things, uses street art to spread his political beliefs.
The wall in the West Bank is one of his major canvases; the elimination of the wall is one of his major causes.

Built in secret as an art installation, The Walled Off Hotel boasts “the Worst View in the World”, with each room looking out on the wall. It has since been handed over to a handful of Palestinian families to run. It includes a hotel, dorm-type hostel, bar, small restaurant, art gallery, museum, and a sister store called Wall Mart that sells spray paint, stencils, and rents ladders for use in tagging the wall.

I booked Banksy’s suite for the night. It was hand-decorated by the man himself.

Walking into West Bank is like entering a prison. Lots of concrete and wire. Once in, it’s your average, chaotic border town. Bethlehem isn’t exactly how the Bible explains it anymore.

The hotel is literally right across from a heavily graffitied part of the wall that dominates the town in the area.

I entered the lobby. An old-fashioned bar, Banksy original art, and a self-playing piano (playing original compositions from Trent Reznor, Brian Eno, Jehnny Beth, etc.) greeted me. After a complimentary drink and more logistics than the average hotel, I was shown to my room; though a secret door behind a bookcase that opened when I waived my key across a statue’s chest.

The room was beautiful. The view was ugly, but amazing just the same.

The Wall

This wall is not along any Green Line. It surrounds Rachel’s Tomb and resides on Palestinian land. Hearing it from their side, the concrete structure is there to make the locals feel like they live in a prison. It is purely symbolic. 5,000-6,000 Palestinians illegally cross the actual Green Line to work every day. The wall isn’t about security; it is about something else entirely.

I booked a day tour of Bethlehem and the Aida Refugee Camp. Yamen was an amazing guide and wasn’t afraid to be brutally honest about the Palestinian situation, even regarding how none of it would be possible without the support of the United States.

Aida Refugee Camp

The first thing you see when you enter the camp is a giant key representing their “right to return” to the homes they lost. The second thing is a wall with the names of all the people who have been killed in the camp.

I’m not exaggerating when I say my short time in Palestine (a country that doesn’t really exist) is something I will never forget a single minute of. I won’t get on a political soapbox (even though it sickens me when I realize my tax dollars are supporting some of the things I saw), but you’d have to be a special kind of human being not to feel for what has happened to the Palestinians.

There are 6,000 people living in the camp that was built for hundreds, not thousands.

They say the U.N. stands for United Nothing.

The land the camp resides on is leased for 99 years. In 30 years, they could be displaced and in tents again.

I’ve read so much about the Middle East over the years, and I know both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have committed atrocities against each other, but I don’t know if I’d ever met a Palestinian before. I’ve met many now.

I met kids who were learning ‘beautiful resistance’ via theatre, dance, cooking, and music.
And I saw the tear gas canisters on the roof of their school.

I met people who risked everything to speak out against their “occupiers”.

Children would run up just to say hi and giggle, without asking for a thing. Old men would come up and shake my hand for no reason other than be friendly.

These people are not terrorists.

These are people without citizenship or passports. They will never take their families to the beach, even though the sea is less than an hour away, because it is on the other side of a wall.

Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity is the only reason many tourists cross into the West Bank and occupied Palestine.

A lot people don’t want to learn about the walls and the occupation. They don’t want to visit refugee camps.

They just want to see where He was born. They want to crawl down into that hole and touch the star marking the spot of birth…and maybe take a photo of the manger.

I’m glad I did more than that.

I’m glad Yamen shared the story of his people, took me to an original Banksy stenciled on the side of a gas station car wash, and blasted Drake and that ‘yalla yalla’ song while speeding down the backroads to the Saba Monastery.

Tel Aviv

An hour, and a world away, from Bethlehem is Tel Aviv.

Lots of cafes with outdoor seating. Fashionable young people strolling, biking, and scootering (is that a word?) along the shoreline. Families having picnics while the sun sets over the sea.

Most Palestinians will never see this place.

My driver up to Tel Aviv was in his mid-20s. His family is from Jerusalem, so he can cross the security barriers, but he is not a citizen. We were driving down an Israeli-only highway running through the West Bank, with fences and barbed-wire surrounding us on both sides, when I asked him what he thought the future held for his people. He said the Arab world is more interested in relationships with Israel now and that the settlements would continue until there was no more room for the Palestinians. He thinks the Palestinian cause is lost and the future will see his people erased from the world.

To hear that from someone I could see myself having a beer with was beyond words.

It is weird to say Palestine was a highlight of my trip, but it was. The reason I travel is to see places and interact with people I would have never understood otherwise. I can’t claim to be an expert because I read some books and spent a couple days somewhere, but I feel like there would be a lot less conflict if more people did the same.

Tel Aviv was hard to enjoy after Bethlehem and Aida Camp, which is probably why they won’t let most Israelis visit the West Bank.

Amman

Amman is where I started my trip through Jordan, but I didn’t spend much time here.

If I’m ever here again, I will pick a different hotel; specifically a hotel that doesn’t have critters crawling around and a room that isn’t next to a minaret where the call to prayer blasts me out of bed at 4:30am.

The King’s Highway

A couple nights before I hit The King’s Highway from Amman to Petra, Facebook reminded me about the Leonard Cohen concert my dad and I attended on April 5th, 2009. It had been exactly 10 years. That show is still one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever attended and, even though the reminder was bittersweet, it inspired me to create a Leonard playlist to listen to while on the drive.

I had literally just put on my headphones when my driver informed me we should stop to see an old church with cool mosaics. I was a little annoyed because I’d seen enough old churches, but I went along.

We were stopped by a shop-owner in the town of Madaba while walking up to the church. He was handing out baklava samples and I decided to go in to buy some cashews and almonds.

Mosaics of Leonard and Dylan met me in the shop. Those were the only two items on the walls of the entire place.

I know it was just a coincidence, but it shook me a bit. Seriously, what are the chances?

After Madaba, I hit Mt Nebo (where Moses gazed out on the Promised Land and may be buried), went down to the lowest land on Earth and floated in the salty Dead Sea (which is 34% salt and isn’t really a sea at all), and visited Karak Castle.

Petra

The ancient city of Petra is something I’ve been wanting to see since I knew it existed.

After walking 30,424 steps, 12 1/2 miles, and climbing 153 flights of stairs in a single day, I will say Petra was painful.
I will also say it exceeded expectations.

The history of the place is up for debate, but it’s old. Real old. The sheer magnitude of the place almost hurt my brain. From the second you exit the Siq and see The Treasury, until you walk out of the complex on shaky legs and aching feet, your mind is blown.

I joined a tour group so I would have people to camp with at Wadi Rum later. I became friends with the guide, Hasem, and one of the Canadians in the group. We were the only ones who went to drink at Cave Bar each night. The local guides love Cave Bar. It’s expensive, even by U.S. standards, and the drinks aren’t great. They love it though…because of the Argentinean singer. They were all in love with her. For good reason.

One night, after a heated discussion with Hasem’s cousin about the Israeli occupation (his grandfather’s farm was taken by Russian Jews), we saw a bar fight. Two guys were carrying a drunk guy to his car. They tried to get him into the passenger seat and he started swinging. Before we knew what was happening, a bunch of guys came out swinging. Bottles smashed off the windshield of the car…one guy jumped on the roof…it was chaos. Then the cops came and the car took off. I have no clue who was driving. Hasem explained no one would be arrested. There is civil law and tribal law in Jordan…and tribal law always trumps civil law.

All my time in the Middle East, that was the only violence I saw.

Wadi Rum

The Jeeps weren’t really Jeeps; they were old Land Cruisers.
Camping wasn’t really camping; it was sleeping in huts the Bedouin maintain.
I wasn’t really Lawrence of Arabia; I just wore the keffiyeh because it kept me from getting sunburned.

The sunset was real though. As was the feeling of being on Mars.

This is the place I let myself become part of the group. It was something we experienced together, and it was awesome in every way. From the ride through the desert, to the sun setting, to eating a meal cooked in the ground by our Bedouin hosts, to the early morning camel procession in the distance.

The only scary part of being out in the desert was Hasem locking himself out of his phone. There is something unnerving about formatting your guide’s phone while in the middle of nowhere.

It all worked out, but I have zero confidence he will remember his new password.

Aqaba

I had a full day in Aqaba with nothing planned.
Diving is good in Aqaba but needed to be booked in advance.

Turns out, I was able to entertain myself by drinking a lot.

I sat on a patio at an “English Pub” with others who were catching the ferry; listening to a mix of country, pop, and metal, while pounding pints of Amstel in the sun like they contained the answer to life.

By the time we got to the ferry, we were feeling no pain. It didn’t even phase me when we found out it had been delayed (from 7:30pm to 10:30pm). We just picked up more alcohol from the shop and kept on drinking.

Turns out the ferry was NOT a party boat. It was filled with conservative Muslims and they were not amused with us.

I ended up having a few too many and don’t remember a lot of what was a very bad journey. We didn’t get to the beach huts until 3am.

I woke up in my hut on the Sinai Peninsula the next morning with texts suggesting I’d been to Saudi Arabia the night before.

Dahab

Dahab ended up being a mini-vacation within a trip.

I dove the Red Sea my first day there, ate in cheesy Aladdin-themed restaurants, watched the wild dogs pee on the creepy child mannequins, and a drank with travelers around the pool each night.

I snorkeled the Blue Hole with a group the last day. I couldn’t dive again because of a flight the next morning.

The time in Dahab was relaxing and just what I needed at that point in the trip.

Cairo

All you see is brown buildings when flying into Cairo. Everything seems to be covered in dust.

I’ve been to many crowded, polluted cities, but Cairo was the first where I couldn’t breathe. The air was thick and tasted awful.

Traffic was insane, and people seemed unhappy. Unfortunately, most of them are worse off than they were before the revolution.

All of that would have been bearable if there was anything to do in the city, but there wasn’t much happening after seeing the pyramids and the Egyptian Museum.

There didn’t seem to be a bar scene…and the cafe culture common in other Middle Eastern countries wasn’t as welcoming.

Egypt is not a place I see myself going back to, even though there are so many things I didn’t see or experience while there.
I just didn’t get a good vibe. Not like I did in Jordan and Palestine.

I usually find crowded, messy, ‘on the brink’ countries exciting and alive, but the small part of the country I visited just seemed desperate.

Cairo feels like its choking on its own breath.

Mena House

I checked into the Mena House for the last few days of my stay. It was a nice escape from the ‘real’ Cairo.

A balcony with a pyramid view, restaurants and bars with pyramid reflecting pools, sparkling clean grounds, quiet atmosphere (almost couldn’t hear the horns outside), and real Wifi were all amazing, but the one thing that really impressed me after staying in ‘basic at best’ lodging was the water pressure. The sweet, powerful water pressure!

There’s nothing better than water pressure!

I slept for a few hours the last night in Cairo, but I kept waking up from weird dreams.
I left the hotel at 1am.
I flew through Frankfurt and Munich.

I had given up on making my connection in Munich, but Lufthansa had a representative meet us at the gate, take us on a cart through the terminal, get us through expedited passport control, and onto the plane just in time.

I went to great lengths to pack carry-on only, but they made me check my bag on most flights.
My bag didn’t make that Munich connection.
It arrived a day later though.

Looking back, I am very glad I did the trip. It would have done me no good to sit at home after that everything had happened.

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