Saudi Arabia Road trip – part one
The history, the scenery and the different tradition of Saudi Arabia can be experienced through driving around the kingdom. The kingdom of civilizations will surprise you wherever you go. Here you will have different routes that you can choose from and experience the treasures of Saudi.
UNESCOs treasure:
Start from Al-hasa end in Jeddah
If you know nothing about Saudi Arabia, or know what you have been “brainwashed” by the biased media, then you will definitely be surprised that we have different registered sites in the kingdom. From the west to the east and stop to the northern side of the kingdom your road trip will be a full of historical treasures.
Al- hasa Oasis
Start from the eastern Arabian Peninsula aka Saudi Arabia, Al- hasa Oasis going to be your first city. Al-hasa not only registered as a world heritage site, but also the largest Oasis in the world. It has 2.5 million date palms. The oasis has historical building, canals, wells, springs, lake and gardens. The archaeological sites represent the settlement from the Neolithic (yep that much old). The most thing I like about this place is the combination of mountain and green in the middle of the desert; just cross the road you will see this beautiful mountain -a unique one-.
Once you have absorbed this beauty with an open heart and mind, you are ready to go to another historical gem.
Al- Turif District
Just 204 miles/ 328 kilometers around 3 and half hours you will reach to the capital of our beloved kingdom, Riyadh. In the north west of the capital and in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, Al- Turif District in Al-Dir’iyah is your destination. This place was founded in the 15th century, and it is the place that our kingdom started from. The district has many palaces and property that now opened for public. Next to the district you will see Al-Dir’iyah oasis.
After enjoying the Najdi Treasure, now it is the time to have some exposure to our ancestors back to 10000 years of history in the north of the kingdom.
Rock Art in Hail Region
687 kms/ 320 miles away from the capital of Saudi Arabia, Jubbah city is located. It is 90 km/56 miles north-west of Hail city. Jubbah has Jabal Umm Sinman (Jabal is an Arabian word of the mountain) that contains many petroglyphs and inscriptions, the area used to have a lake of fresh water that people and animals in Al-Nafoud desert uses it. 330 km away from Jubbah Al-Shuwaymis village is located, this area has two famous mountain Jabal Al-Manjor and AL-Raat, both was located in the Wadi aka valley in English which become a desert- we have to blame global warming, I think! Anyway, those two mountains shows a figure of humans and animal dated back to 10000 years.
A tip from a native: if you planning to visit in the winter, you must camp in the desert, these two areas in Hail are the perfect place for camping. Experience an authentic native Arab tradition –yes, we still do camp in the desert, and we don’t do that in summer because it is HOT. Enjoy!
Al-Hijr Archaeological site
Driving from Al-Shuwaymis village to Al-Hijr is about 412km (4 hours). Madain Saleh or Al-Hijr is the first World Heritage inscribed in Saudi Arabia. This place has inhabited by many civilizations, I have written different post about it, read here and here. The place looks like a open air museum with its 111 monumental and water walls, the place will take your breath. You will walk around and wonder about the history of those people who made this place.
Historical Jeddah:
In Makkah region and 710 km away from Madain Saleh, this place was built by our ancestors (native Arabian tribes & mine part of them) back to the 7th century Ad or even earlier. Despite how it looks today, this place has brought bad and good to our land. We use it for both religious and commercial purposes, back in time our ancestor used to welcome pilgrims to Makkah who arrived by sea and also receiving goods to our city Makkah. Btw, this place dated way back more before Islam. Many migrants now live in this place, so it has zero native spirit, unfortunately; except the historical buildings.
I would recommend this UNESCO route to those who love history, architecture and landscape, you will definitely going to enjoy it.
Flower treasure:
Have you heard about the tulip field in Holland, we’ve got something similar here, however, it is not a man-made. This road trip will contain 4 stops only as far as I remember, and it should be done in spring season – March, April.
The first stop is in southern region Al-Bark city in Assir region. It has this amazing purple filed (not lavender though), it called Gharir flowers.
The second stop is in Altaif city, Al-shafa and Al-hada to enjoy Taif’s roses. Btw, there are several products extracted from these roses- if you want to buy something like let me know in the comment section.
The third stop is in the capital city of Saudi , Riyadh. Rowdat kuraim will cover with white and yellow flowers in the spring.
The fourth stop is up in the northern region in the kingdom (known as the northern border), Arar, and Al-Jawf. The red flower you will see, it grows after heavy raining in the winter. The flower called Al-Daidhan locally, however, the official Arabian name is Shaqa’eq Al-Noman.
photo credit Abdalmajeed Alasiri
insta: mjo5557
no credit 
photo credit Abeer Alqahtani
twit: Ab_Qhtn
Photo credit Adullah Albarqash
twit: @algnobe2000
Photo credit Abdullah Albarqash
twit: @algnobe2000
photo credit Megren Alharbi insta:megrenalharbi 
photo credit Megren Alharbi insta:megrenalharbi 
photo credit Megren Alharbi insta:megrenalharbi 
khaid Alkhala by Turki Alharbi
twitt: turkisaleh1
Hiking treasure:
You can enjoy Saudi Arabia via hiking and driving to those places 😉. I have written a full article about hiking in Saudi Arabia, it includes most of the places I know. You can adjust your road trip according to location.
to be continue…
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