March 4^th 2023

Dther – Jabal Abyad, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 160 (250km)

Miles total: 18’710 (30’130km)

Breakfast is in the midst of beautiful and lonely nature. Of course, we want to explore more and drive around in the area before we get back on the main road.

Once again, long distances have to be covered. Not too far from our destination, we are stopped several times by locals who want to chat with us, film us or give us something. We love Saudi hospitality, but it can get a bit overwhelming at times. Especially in this area it seems to be a bit more distinct :-). One who stops us gives us a 40g truffle. The white truffle is common in this volcanic area and attracts a number of people in search of this rare commodity. The search is not done with dogs. The truffles seem to protrude slightly out of the ground and are recognized and dug up. But now further we go. The last stretch towards the volcano is very difficult! Rocky and bumpy. We are surprised that there are still quite some vehicles on the road at this time (probably truffle searchers), because it is also getting dark now. Despite everything, we drive close to our destination and park our vehicle a little off the road in the dark. After dinner, it is already 9:45 p.m., when a passing vehicle spots us. He honks! Really? We really don't feel like having visiters anymore at this time. I (Stefan) get out and talk to the man using Google Translate. He is persistent and really wants us to continue driving with him so that he can wake up in a nicer place in the morning. Somehow, he is tedious, wants to look into the camper, comes right in and makes himself comfortable on our chair while Maryse does the dishes! But soon we've had enough, tell him that we're staying here and that we want to sleep now. He leaves our home, gets into his SUV, drives about 700 feet (200m) and spends the night near us. He probably meant it well, but he was still kind of an odd guy.

March 5^th 2023

Jabal Abyad, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 10 (10km)

Miles Total: 18’720 (30’140km)

We drive a short distance in the direction of the volcano with the Iveco, then the road leads over a small pass, the road becomes extremely rough. We decide to take it easy on the car and walk the rest of the way. The hike through the volcanic landscape and up the crater is absolutely phenomenal! On one side the black lava field, immediately adjacent the slopes of the white volcanic crater, which are covered with violet flowers at this time of year. 

We climb the crater of the white volcano, Jabal Bayda, over a pathless steep flank. And despite the actually pleasant temperatures, here at 5500 feet (1700m), the ascent in the blazing sun is sweaty. And now the final steps - the excitement is going up! What will it look like inside the crater? In front of us opens the round beige crater, about 3300 feet (1km) in diameter and about 330 feet (100m) deep, covered all around with violet flowers, in the middle a lush green round patch of grass and two small hills. An absolutely surprising and overwhelming picture! The flowers thrive mainly in the water gullies and it almost looks like flower garlands have been placed in the crater. Insanely beautiful! 

We find some shade at a small ledge, and with this view, we even taste the not so great Saudi sandwich bread :-). Newly strengthened, we tackle the path around the crater and are delighted with this natural wonder from every perspective. The view of the surrounding volcanic landscape is also unique! On one side the high crater of the second white volcano Jabal Abyad, glowing in different beige tones, then a barren plain where more craters and rocks rise from the ground and finally the huge black lava field with the beautiful black crater of Jabal Qidr. For the descent, we choose an old steep road and then further across the black lava field. And this, too, is a natural spectacle beyond compare. You can clearly see how the lava flowed here and solidified in the most bizarre forms. 

In between there are even some colored flowers and grasses that grow between the black rocks. Now we go back to the camper, on the way some interested locals stop again, give us biscuits and water and in the evening, we get a cup of camel milk.

March 6^th 2023

Jabal Abyad – Al Sukhanah, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 110 (170km)

Miles Total: 18’830 (30’310km)

We leave the region of the wonderful Jabal Abyad volcanic area. It's the same route back to the tarred road. Again, extremely tedious, rocky and bumpy. And we are stopped again several times by the locals :-).

Back in the civilization, we go shopping, fill up water and have lunch.

How is it for us to be in such places? How are we feeling? Far away from tourist spots in an extremely conservative country that is just discovering tourism? We feel very good and it's comfortable, although sometimes the attention gets too much. Hollywood stars must feel similarly when they drive around L.A. It is also difficult for us to imagine what it is like for the locals when they see western tourists and especially women without veils. Because in places like this, you actually only see the eyes of 100% of the women.

March 7^th 2023

Al Sukhanah – Hibran, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 130 (210km)

Miles Total: 18’960 (30’520km)

Another day of driving along beautiful landscapes :-).

March 8^th 2023

Hibran – Near Hibran, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 40 (70km)

Miles Total: 19’000 (30’590km)

Wonderful day in the midst of beautiful rocky landscapes. Already the view at breakfast is phenomenal. 

We simply selected the upcoming route with the help of satellite images. We are curious what awaits us and whether we can drive this selected route at all. We find out that our Iveco is reasonably sand driving capable. Only when going uphill we feel the 4.5 tons and it becomes difficult to move forward in the sand. 

But we arrive happy and satisfied in the evening at the next beautiful place to sleep in the desert.

March 9^th 2023

Near Hibran – Desert Arch, Saudi-Arabia

Km: 10 (20km)

Km Total: 19’010 (30’610km)

Spending the night in wild nature and be woken up in the morning by the sun in the middle of nowhere. In Saudi for us now almost the order of the day :-). Nevertheless, we cherish each such day anew. Right next to us, a rock arch and petroglyphs. I would say a good start to a new day in the desert.

On the way, millions of flowers line our way again and again and after only 12 miles (20km) of sand, we arrive at our next destination :-). Incidentally, we only drive through untouched sand in an emergency. To our amazement, there are slopes everywhere that are used by shepherds, nomads or off-road drivers. Nevertheless, we often have to use 4x4 and differential lock, as well as have low air pressure in the tires.

Yes, and there we are, at our next sleeping place next to a fantastic, large rock arch! According to the garbage, many local visitors come here too! A tiresome incomprehensible topic. Well, let's take some photos since we're completely alone. But this garbage! We have to put it away, if only for better photos :-). The quiet time soon ended, and a convoy of several vehicles and 15 people arrived. As so often on such desert trips only men, the women are left at home. All from the same family. They spread carpets directly under the arch and of course we are immediately invited to join them.

What awaits us now? Always a surprise :-). Coffee, tea and of course dates, as well as various sweets are served to us. Later we even get a foul (mashed beans) with bread. But now the fear! A barely alive sheep is carried here! We have regrets about the sheep, because it definitely borders on animal cruelty. The thoughts go through with us. Do we have to help slaughter the sheep now? Are we getting a crash course in sheep skinning? Luckily for us, the sheep is soon loaded onto one of the pickups again. It is completely normal here in Saudi to buy a sheep on the street and eat it at the campfire in the evening. This can also be seen in the various slaughterhouse waste at the camp spots. The boys probably learn at school, in addition to the many religious lessons, how to prepare a sheep ;-). We had fun and Maryse even gets a bouquet of flowers from one of the very brave teenagers while the others are having fun :-). Of course, we also filmed and photographed diligently. Maybe by now, we are social media stars in Saudi Arabia. In any case, we soon realize that we are escaping the sheep. Because they want to move on, but ask us to come to dinner with them. We'd rather do without it and enjoy the peace and quiet in this beautiful place. Later, two young men drive by who take pictures of the fantastic arch with their drone. Even these cannot resist of giving us presents. “If there's any trouble, I'm sure we could use a good knife”. One gives us a very classy, limited edition Saudi folding knife. With a bad conscience, we say goodbye to the men. What a day!

March 10^th 2023

Desert Arch – Al Ubaytir, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 60 (90km)

Miles total: 19’070 (30’700km)

Even today we don’t move very far. If we continue at this pace, we'll still be in this huge country for a year ;-). Today we try to ride a route known for soft sand dunes. We drive through narrow rocky passages in the sand and are soon in front of a steep sand dune. As can be seen from the tracks, very few go over it. Most turn around and go back the same way. We try our luck but the 4.5T weight digs into the soft sand! We have already reduced the pressure in the tires from 60 psi (4bar) to 24 psi (1.7bar). It might work if we lowered the pressure to 18 psi (1.2bar), but common sense prevails :-). We only have one spare tire and we are quite far from the nearest repair shop. So, we reverse back down, turn around and drive to the arch where we slept last night.

 Now a local, who speaks good English, stops us. He asks if we saw the petroglyphs? He shows us photos and they are actually really impressive. So, we turn around and drive back almost to the steep sand dune where we were 15 minutes ago :-). And indeed, the great petroglyphs are exactly in the place that the dear man described to us. Here, too, we meet locals, and one of them, somewhat selfishly, immediately has to introduce himself as a "General of the Saudi Air Force". Oh well! We also get fruit from them before they move on. But now is the time and we finally leave this area and head for the main road about 30 miles (50km) away via sand tracks.

On the way, we are constantly surprised by beautiful rocks and meadows of flowers in the sand dunes. We master one or the other tricky passage through the sand and are glad that we have asphalt under our wheels again. As usual, the Iveco poses very photogenic at the next sleeping place :-).

March 11^th 2023

Al Ubaytir – Sahout, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 90 (150km)

Miles total: 19’160 (30’850km)

Before we embark on our next desert trip, we need to get back to civilization to stock up on food, water and fuel. We drive to the main road H'ail – Al Ula and are lucky that there is a small town nearby. There are smaller grocery stores here where we can get everything we need. Finding water is a little more difficult than usual. Normally we get the water in shops for drinking water treatment, unfortunately this is not available here. Since our tank isn't completely empty and we don't need that much water, we quickly buy four 5 gallon (20L) bottles in the grocery store for 2$ each, fill them in our tank and give the bottles back immediately. That works too :-). Incidentally, here in Saudi there are often small or larger public water tanks on the roadside, where you can get small amounts of drinking water for free. For us, however, getting our water for free from such tanks (like other travelers seem to do) is out of the question. Before we are definitely ready for the desert, there is still something to fill our stomachs: due to the lack of alternatives, the usual menu, chicken rice. Let's go. The desert is calling :-). It's about another hour on the asphalt, then our tour begins, which we picked out on the outdoor trail app Wikiloc. After only a few miles on the desert trails, we discover the first spectacular rock formations in addition to the usual grandiose rock formations. At first, we "only" see the large rock arch. But as we walk further back, we also discover a large mushroom rock, a tall, narrow cone and a balancing round stone. And all this in one place! Unbelievable! Of course, some small petroglyphs should not be missing, which by the way are very common here in Saudi.

The further way leads us past many more fantastic rock formations. We set up our camp for the night in beautiful surroundings and while we climb the rocks next to us for the sunset, a white SUV approaches. Four Saudis wave at us and want to invite us to their tent for coffee. We can't bring ourselves to refuse, climb down the rock and soon sit in the tent that has been pitched not far from our sleeping place. The three friendly men from Riyadh go on a three-day trip into the desert, accompanied by Hamid, who rents out the tent, provides food and drink and organizes excursions. In the beautifully furnished tent we will be royally entertained with dates, biscuits, Arabic coffee, camel milk and tea. Hamid puts on a real show making the coffee! He grinds cardamom and cloves in a large mortar and boils them with the coffee powder. This results in a very spicy coffee that takes some getting used to for us. We have a fun time with the gentlemen, however unfortunately communication is limited due to the language barrier. We are a bit irritated when, in the middle of our conversation, the oldest of the gentlemen suddenly gets up, goes in front of the tent and loudly calls out "Allahu akbar" and more into the twilight! We get a little queasy, because we have never heard of this loud way of praying (except for the muezzin, of course). Was this also a call to prayer? In any case, the two other gentlemen soon go to prayer, but in the usual way. Of course, we would also be invited to dinner, which is too much of a good thing for us.

We reschedule for the next morning as they are keen to show us a nice spot near the camp. But before they definitely let us go, we absolutely have to fill three small bottles of camel milk and with a bang we can refuse the large piece of raw meat from the freshly slaughtered sheep.

March 12^th 2023

Sahout – Chicken Rock, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 30 (50km)

Miles total: 19’190 (30’900km)

As agreed, we drive back to the tent of our Saudi friends in the morning and of course we get a cup of tea first. But soon there is a spirit of optimism, we get into Hamid's beige Landcruiser, the three other gentlemen follow in their own car. After about 10 minutes we reach a small rocky valley, where at the back there is a small gorge and at the end of which there is a relatively deep small rocky pool. When it rains, the water collects in this pool and stays in the narrow gorge for quite a long time, due to little sunlight. In the dry desert landscape, water of any kind is of course something very special. However, the Bedouins and their cattle (camels, goats, sheep) are probably no longer dependent on such water points, because there are often large water tank trucks next to their tents or caravans. However, for the few wildlife, this is certainly a valuable water source. As with the volcanoes a few days earlier, the gentlemen teach us that some of the wild plants are eatable. The violet flowers, or especially the leaves, taste very similar to rocket salad. Another plant is very similar in taste to our sorrel; the Saudis liken it to lemon. Actually, we thought that we were going back to the camp now. But soon we notice that the journey goes on and on the same route that we will also drive later. Hamid makes no attempt to turn back and is always happy to show us beautiful rock formations. Twice we cross unusually wide sandy tracks, where, according to Hamid, this year's Dakar Rally passed. 

After about an hour we stop; the three gentlemen from Riyadh say goodbye to us, they are now driving in the direction of the main road and then on to Medina. We take the opportunity and explain to Hamid that we now prefer to go back to the camp because we want to continue driving soon. So, we start the return journey. Hamid knows the desert like the back of his hand, knows exactly which path leads where. We lost our bearings a long time ago. And he also likes to demonstrate his driving skills to us: we have to slow him down twice because he speeds through the desert at 50mph (80km/h)! A small rally driver has definitely been lost to Hamid ;-). Most of the time he drives on the numerous existing paths, sometimes unfortunately also in the middle of untouched terrain. Soon the journey will continue in our Iveco, partly on the same route as with Hamid, but now we can take a little more time to take pictures and admire the beautiful rock formations. Soon we enter new shores, it goes over a small, little-used desert pass, we fight our way through very soft sand, but master everything with flying colours, thanks to the off-road car and Stefan's great driving skills.

In the early afternoon, while we were having lunch next to wonderful rock towers, we were actually caught by a brief thunderstorm! However, this works in our favor because, as we learned a few days ago, the wet sand is a lot easier to navigate. 

The further drive through the desert brings us to spectacularly formed rocks until we settle down for the night on a hill with a fantastic view over the vastness of the desert.

March 13^th 2023

Chicken Rock – Mahajah Mountain, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 10 (20km)

Miles total: 19’200 (30’920km)

The rock arch, also called "Mahajah Mountain", knocks us off our feet! Absolute madness. 

And suddenly we hear and see two SUVs inside the fence! How the hell do they get in? There are four Saudi men around 50 years old. They discover us and immediately want to invite us to camel dinner, but luckily, we already have our own food already on the table. 

This is where the men drove in! We go on a photo tour before we sit down with the gentlemen for a cup of tea. We are suspicious of these gentlemen in one way or another and, as we soon notice, they are also very religious, because one of them explains to us for 10 minutes why Islam is the true religion. Oh well. One of the men is a personality among the biologists in Saudi and knows every plant. They want to move on, but we're not sure if that was their original plan. Because they had already deposited wood at the fireplace and now packed it again. Our assumption in this thriller is as follows: They (like us) have not seen the already demolished fence, because it is hardly visible at first because of a hill. They only discovered us later and therefore started to dismantle the gate. One of the gentlemen then discovered the already broken fence and they drove into it to the arch. Now they probably want to move on because they sense that it is clear to us that they dismantled the gate! Now we are alone again and want to be 100% sure whether it was these gentlemen about the gate, because we quickly saw another vehicle when we arrived at noon. But the soles of the shoes at the gate and at the picnic area are clear. The highly religious elderly gentlemen are petty criminals! Some Saudis have an arrogance and feel that laws and prohibitions don't count for them! Now a few words about the arch. For us, this whim of nature is probably the most spectacular thing we were allowed to see on this trip! A huge rock arch with two other smaller arches on top sits directly in front of another massive second arch and various other rocks. An absolute highlight! 

Not enough, because on the back it has petroglyphs of life-size camels that are thousands of years old! These rock paintings are probably one of the reasons for the new fence. We can hardly get enough of the arches and rocks and are glad that we can spend a whole day here. And what's more, most of the time we're completely alone here and there aren't any crowds of tourists frolicking around the attraction! This is mainly because of the location, because the way here is sandy, rocky and really tedious and time-consuming, plus you have to be able to find it first! We got to know it from other travelers thanks to Instagram and located it with the help of Google Maps and Wikiloc :-). At sunset, it's the right place and time to enjoy a few chips and a malt beverage ;-).

March 14^th 2023

Mahajah Mountain – Qarat Al Hayran, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 120 (180km)

Miles total: 19’320 (31’100km)

In the morning sunshine, we look at the Mahajah arch again in a new light and are just as enthusiastic as yesterday! But now back to the main road. After about three hours of tedious driving, we finally reach an asphalt road again after about 120 miles (200km) of desert driving over the past few days.

We have to increase the tire pressure again from 1.8 to 4 bar (60 psi) after the desert tour. This partly with our built-in compressor (to almost 3 bar / 45 psi) and later at a gas station. Yes, and by the way, our repaired transfer case seems to be perfectly fine. For days, we have very often switched back and forth from 2WD to 4x4 or had to engage the reduction gears! After a long drive without a gas station or restaurant, we finally have our lunch at 5:00 p.m., a new record :-). And now we don't want to drive too far anymore and an hour later we park near the road, next to a wonderful rock formation.

March 15^th 2023

Qarat Al Hayran – Rainbow Arch, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 80 (130km)

Miles total: 19’400 (31’230km)

Just as we are about to fall asleep, the wind begins to blow violently. The gusts shake the Iveco vigorously and something is pattering on the Iveco. At first we think it's rain; but then we realize it's sand flying through the air and hitting the Iveco! Poor guy, hopefully the engine doesn't get too much sand... Luckily the wind calms down soon and we can sleep peacefully. Today we make another short detour into the desert, a very special rock is supposed to await us there. Directly from our place to stay, we take the next best sand track into the desert; The main thing is that the direction is reasonably right :-). This desert is also full of fantastic sandstone formations, formed over thousands of years by wind and weather. With more or less imagination you can always discover animals, faces or objects in the rocks. Stefan and I don't always agree on how similar the rock really is to the shape we discovered ;-). Some of these structures even make it onto Google Maps, such as the "Baby Elephant Rock". 

After a good hour's drive in partly very soft sand, over stone slabs or corrugated slopes, but also over very pleasant sandy slopes, we reach our destination, the "Spilt Rock". And we are really impressed: an unbelievable natural formation! The precision of this split stone is truly amazing! We could spend several days exploring the wonderful landscapes in this part of the desert. But we're moving on, because at some point we have to move forward ;-). But the drive on the little-used main road is also a pleasure, because, as is so often the case, it also leads through the middle of the desert and is lined with a wide variety of rock formations. 

That's why our lunch spot is right next to a great rock arch. And the amazing thing is that we also have this place to ourselves. We are only "disturbed" by a passing native coming from the desert, who briefly greets us and wants to invite us for coffee. Of course, we decline, because this invitation is probably more of an obligatory phrase than a serious offer ;-). 

Not far from us, we suddenly spot about 15 vultures sunning themselves on the rocks and occasionally stabbing at the sky. Sensational, finally we see these animals, because we have often wondered whether there are no scavengers among the many dead camels, sheep and goats lying around in the desert. We have also often discovered traces of large birds in the high rocks, but never seen any! And here they are now! Towards evening we reach today's destination: the "Rainbow Arch". 

Barely 3 miles (5km) from the main road, easily accessible and surrounded by a beautiful rocky landscape, you will find this colossal natural spectacle. A rock arch about 330 feet (100m) wide and about 100 feet (30m) high. We have the place almost to ourselves for the rest of the evening, we set up our camp for the night on the large plain with a direct view of the arch! Like almost every day here in Saudi Arabia, we have a 5-star overnight stay all to ourselves! The evening and the nights here in the northern part of Saudi are still quite cool, sometimes with a cold wind, so that we retreat to the camper soon after sunset. During the day, however, it is a pleasant 77°F (25°C).

March 16^th – 18^th 2023

Rainbow Arch – Al Ula, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 340 (210km)

Miles total: 19’720 (31’750km)

Just under an hour drive from the “Rainbow Arch” and we are in Al Ula.

Al Ula, a completely unknown name for the vast majority. But in reality, it is the tourist hotspot of Saudi Arabia (aside from pilgrimage tourism)! And not without reason! Well, the tourism industry here is just learning to walk with baby steps :-). Because the country has only been open to tourists since September 2019 and then Covid came. Saudi Arabia wants to massively promote tourism and Al-Ula is the flagship project where ideas and concepts are implemented. Here everything is done for the well-being of tourists. Some examples on this topic.

-       On the tourist trails, it is extremely clean and has no litter!

-       At the souvenir stands you will not be bothered at all and you can look at everything quietly (in the rest of Saudi as well).

-       At every street crossing in the old town there are helpful men who direct the traffic and make 100% sure that nobody gets hurt.

-       Beautiful new signs everywhere and everything is spruced up.

-       The people dealing with tourists can speak very well English.

-       There is a free golf cart / or autonomous-drive-van shuttle service from the car park to the old town if you don't want to walk the 200 yards (metres).

-       A modern English radio station "Radio Al Ula"

-       Everything is very well organized!

And you can actually see some tourists here. Among other things, we meet two Eastern Europeans who flew from Budapest to Jeddah for two weeks for 40$ and think that Saudi is probably subsidizing the flights in order to spread tourism out into the world. It is definitely an exciting experience for us here, after the weeks in which we were often alone on the road.

The surroundings of Al Ula are spectacular and the nature is fantastic. Set in a huge wadi (dry river bed), the valley floor lined with palm trees and 1000 feet (300m) high red sandstone cliffs on all sides make it unique.

Our first day in Al Ula. We hear on the radio about the camel race of camel races that's happening right now. We go to the tourist information center and get information. Everything is well organized in Al Ula, so we get tickets for the things we want to visit for the next few days. Of course, everything is electronic and you get the tickets by email on your cell phone, with QR code, information and Google Maps location. So today it's off to the 4-day camel racing event, which made the headlines with the highest prize money ever. Crazy 21 million US$!! This, too, presumably to promote tourism within the Gulf States. The Germans we met at the visitor center are also here. Well, actually not that exciting if it weren't for the flags at the racetrack. In addition to the flags of the Gulf States and the USA, the German and Swiss flags are flying :-). Blatant coincidence or did they hoist them based on the tickets issued?

We are here more for the cultural program (music, dance, etc..) and frills than for the race itself. But the commentator enthusiastically shouts the names of the camels into the microphone as they race towards the finish. All in all, apart from the poor camels, a fun event.

The second day in Al Ula is here and on the agenda, is the most famous sight of Al Ula, if not all of Saudi Arabia. Next to the world-famous Petra in Jordan, Hegra was the second most important and second largest trading city at the time of the Nabataean kingdom 2100 years ago (See Wiki Link). Unbelievable but true, today 131 rock tombs bear witness to this time!

 Unfortunately, for a few years now, Hegra has only been able to be visited with a well-organized tour. We travel 12 miles (20km) from Al Ula by coach until we arrive at the visitor center. Supposedly there is a hop-on-hop-off bus system that runs from one of the four stations to the next every 10 minutes. We briefly visit the museum at the visitor center and immediately miss the first bus. There is confusion among several staff as we want to catch the next bus as all other guests are on the previous bus. Well, we get picked up by another bus (the only passengers), meet the other tourists again and move from station to station. Unfortunately, the whole thing is far too stressful for us, because at every stop you hardly have time to admire the graves for some time. We are probably stressed as it is the last tour of the day before the special evening tours start after 5pm.

Also, everything is extremely regulated, where you can and can't walk, and there are always various "watchdogs" everywhere, so that you don't go to the wrong place. It's also a pity that the tour is limited to four stops, because the area would be massively larger and you could easily spend a whole day here! Nevertheless, it was definitely an unforgettable and beautiful part of our entire trip! But now back with the coach and straight to the camper.

We spend the night nearby and in the morning, we go again near the "Elephant Rock" to admire more rocks. In the afternoon, we tackle the route to the viewpoint. The approximately 20 miles (30km) of good asphalted road has it all. It's so steep that we have to drive at about 6 mph (10km/h) in first gear! We land on a seemingly endless high plateau, 1000 feet (300m) above Al Ula and enjoy a phenomenal view over the gorge-like area around Al Ula. 

The already very eventful day is not over yet, because we still have tickets for another attraction. 6 miles (10km) away from Al Ula we enter a valley. This is only accessible by security barriers if you have tickets. We drive in, a large, flat, beautiful desert valley opens up and there it is, the largest mirror house in the world. We are fascinated by how the rocky desert landscape is reflected in the colossus. 

The building is used for concerts by world stars and for exhibitions. Although we only have a ticket (which was free, by the way) for the outside area, we ask the bouncer if we can take a look inside. He lets us in, and as soon as we're in, the next one asks us if we have tickets to the Andy Warhole exhibition! We look a bit sad, say no, he has regrets and still lets us into the exhibition for free :-). At the end of this top exhibition, we are asked to fill out a survey on the tablet and promptly receive a thick book about this exhibition as a thank you. Here, too, everything is done for the tourists. Incidentally, a very discreet luxury resort is located in this secured desert valley where the night costs 2500$! Now off to the old town. We park next to a truck with Swiss license plates :-). In the old town, we meet the family with two children (10 & 13). They've been on the road for longer and longer over the years. We chat comfortably before we have dinner in one of the chic restaurants. 

Up until a few years ago, the old town consisted of nothing but old mud houses, some of which had fallen into disrepair. Today, a part of the old town with its houses has been renovated, souvenir shops, art exhibitions, hip coffee houses and noble restaurants have emerged. Everything was brought into shape in a very short time.

March 19^th 2023

Al Ula – Al Nashifah, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 120 (180km)

Miles total: 19’720 (31’750km)

March 20^th 2023

Al Nashifah – Abu Rakah, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 30 (50km)

Miles total: 19’750 (31’800km)

Short drive to one of the most beautiful stone mushrooms :-).

March 21^st 2023

Abu Rakah – Wadi Disah, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 110 (170km)

Miles total: 19’860 (31’970km)

“When does Ramadan actually start?” we suddenly ask ourselves as we are on the road and already looking forward to lunch in a restaurant. Googling immediately. However, the internet is not entirely conclusive, but it must be today or within the next two days! Let us surprise ourselves :-).

Then do some shopping and empty the toilet at the gas station. Let’s go. According to Google Maps, today's destination, Wadi Disah, can be reached from two sides. We take the northern entrance. A large sign pointing to the village of Disah, which is at the other end of the wadi (river bed), is posted at the junction; immediately afterwards two more large signs "Road closed" and "Trucks forbidden". Hmm, kind of weird, what do we do now? The road isn't blocked off, so you could actually drive anyway, right? Of course, we do that and after about 1000 feet (300m) we reach a small police check point, we roll past very slowly, giving the police officers time to stop us. Nobody reacts, so we drive :-). We assume that these signs are simply to clarify that this is not a conventional road, as the misleading signpost might suggest. A steep but newly tarred road takes us almost 3300 feet (1000m)! in altitude further down.

We save our brakes and chug very slowly down the mountain. The nature changes suddenly. Just now in the dark stony landscape on the high plateau, we now have a fantastic view of the extensive reddish rocky landscape of the lower region!

March 22^nd 2023

Wadi Disah, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 10 (20km)

Miles total: 19’870 (31’990km)

Today we first explore the wide river bed before going into the narrow Wadi Disah. The rugged rocky landscape is fantastic! But we are not completely alone, because we keep coming across camels, some with their little woolly offspring. We drive into the back part of the wide gorge and finally end up in a dead end. Apparently, we are in a huge rock basin, the only outlet of which is the famous Wadi Disah. We also discover various wonderful narrow side valleys and explore one of them on foot.

Here, too, we cannot help but to be amazed! Now we go back again until we turn halfway into Wadi Disah. Shortly before we have a look at the water point for the camels, where groundwater is pumped up from a deep well. Now the fantastic journey begins through the narrow river bed lined with palm trees, which is framed by high reddish rock towers! Just terrific! We are surprised that there are even a few residential houses in the narrow gorge, which were naturally built on higher places.

Since we still want to enjoy the last rays of sunshine, we stop at a dreamlike place where, in addition to all the beauty, there are also camels romping around. Towards evening a friendly goatherd passes by with his flock and asks for water. We fill him his bottle, give him a pack of cookies, exchange a few words, then he mounts his donkey and rides after his herd.

March 23^rd 2023

Wadi Disah – Shigry, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 90 (150km)

Miles total: 19’960 (32’140km)

Breakfast at one of the most beautiful places of the entire trip so far. Cozy outside next to palm trees and impressive rock faces. The route is only now getting really demanding and from time to time it is difficult to say where the path actually goes through. And that's why we sometimes take the wrong path and have to drive back a few feet. It is slowly becoming clear to us why the route is forbidden for trucks. They would simply be too wide to get through. Sometimes it goes between reed-covered areas, where you can hardly see anything out of the windshield. From time to time we also go through the water, after all we are in a wadi, an actual river bed. Suddenly we are standing in front of half a lake. Does the path really go through here? Effectively, it's the only way forward. Just how deep is it? what's in the water? There is another vehicle behind us. First car, we've seen since last evening. The locals are less concerned about that, and according to the motto "there's been a vehicle there before, we can get through there too" without hesitation in the puddle! Well, if they can do it with their SUV, we can do it too. On the gas pedal and into the uncertain water and back out again. Everything went well :-). 

Later we meet the two gentlemen with the SUV again and they invite us to tea in the wadi. As they are "travellers" they are even allowed to drink tea during Ramadan. Ramadan seems to be a bit flexible :-). At the end of the wadi is the police who check that no one drives in with a truck, non-4x4 vehicle or motorbike. We are through and are still happy once again that everything went well :-). All in all, this wadi is simply phenomenal! 

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March 24^th 2023

Shigry – Al Shiq, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 10 (20km)

Miles total: 19’970 (32’160km)

We are now in the province of Neom, in the northwest of the country, where the epicenter of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (also known as MBS) visionary construction projects are located. And despite many skeptical voices, the realization of the projects is in full swing! We see a number of construction sites in the desert and there is heavy truck traffic on the main road. Where we are now, maybe in a few years the foothills of the 105 mile (170km) long futuristic city “The Line” will be! Unbelievable! In any case, we are excited to see how these projects will continue! After a short drive on the main road, we turn off, a rocky road leads us into the desert, where something rather strange awaits us for this region. The so-called "Grand Canyon of Saudi Arabia"! And indeed, out of nowhere, a deep gorge opens up in the plain! A fascinating natural phenomenon, but we think the title "Grand Canyon" is a bit exaggerated ;-). We take a short hike to the beginning of the gorge, where the water falls from the plain into the gorge when it rains. Hard to believe that such a gorge could form here in this dry desert area!

We set up our sleeping place a little away from the edge of the gorge, because we discover threatening cracks on the edge!

March 25^th 2023

Al Shiq – Tabuk, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 70 (110km)

Miles total: 20’040 (32’270km)

After breakfast, we take another short hike. This time in the other direction of the canyon, where there are always smaller side canyons and water inlets. Unfortunately, the view is very limited because of the haze. Then we continue in the direction of Tabuk.

Today we have to visit the city, but more out of necessity than pleasure: we have to do our laundry. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that today is Sunday and we're facing closed doors for now! The city doesn't really have much to offer for us that is worth seeing, but for Muslims it is an important place of pilgrimage. The city is said to have been visited by the Prophet Mohamed, it is frequently mentioned in the hadiths (accounts of the actions and thoughts of Mohammed) and in the small mosque At Twaba, the ninth chapter of the Koran was revealed to the Prophet. We visit the Souk (shopping/market district) which is not busy as it is a Sunday. However, we notice the many dealers who sell small twigs to passers-by. This chewing stick is probably particularly popular during Ramadan, because it may distract you from hunger, thirst or a lack of nicotine. We don't see anything special about the small mosque, we are rather surprised that this important place of worship looks in need of renovation. We spend the night undisturbed and quiet in the parking lot of a huge park. Only the volleyball team that puts up a net near us at 9:00 p.m. and starts their training is a bit strange :-).

March 26^th 2023

Tabuk, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 30 (50km)

Miles total: 20’070 (32’320km)

We hand in our laundry and, to our displeasure, can't pick it up until tomorrow. So, we stay another day in the city. We pay a visit to the post office to send our postcards. But we can't believe our ears: postage costs an exorbitant 13$ per postcard! This goes against the grain and we postpone shipping to the next country. We spend the rest of the day shopping and writing reports.

March 27^th 2023

Tabuk – Bajdha, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 60 (90km)

Miles total: 20’130 (32’410km)

So, we go to the laundry around 2:00 p.m. as agreed. The nice guy from Bangladesh says that the part of the laundry that we didn't want to let dry smelled a little funny and he washed it again today. Five minutes later it's ready, we pack everything up, pay 30$ (!) and off we go. Our fears are probably true. They washed the clothes we didn't want in the tumble dryer yesterday instead of today and left them wet for hours. It smells awful even after re-washing it! We must take our bin and wash it again! Near the village of Bajdha we turn into the Hisma desert, stand next to the first wonderful rock formations and hang the washed laundry in the evening sun.

March 28^th – April 1^st 2023

Hisma Desert, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 100 (160km)

Miles total: 20’230 (32’570km)

Before we leave the place, we cook something for the poor dogs. A full pan of rice, corn and peas! Probably not their favorite food, but they eat it! An older German couple, also with an Iveco, stops at our place and we chat a bit.

But now, definitely off to the desert! The pictures speak for themselves! We spend unique 6 days here. We are persistently surprised by the unique nature. Behind every hill, around every corner lies a magnificent landscape. In between camels and very rarely a car!

Take your time and enjoy the beautiful pictures in the slide-show :-)

Every night we have a unique place to sleep all to ourselves. Every morning we are overwhelmed by the rocky landscape around us!

We often go for a walk in the morning and climb the rocks around us before we set off. Unfortunately, we can't always have breakfast outside because it's just too cold. Sometimes the mercury drops to 36°F (5°C) at night and during the day when the sun is shining we wear a sweater because of the cold wind.

One of the highlights in this desert is definitely the gigantic rock arch! It's a steep climb on foot until we're right in front of it. We feel like dwarfs, surrounded by an immense semi-circular hole in a huge rock. Spectacular!

One of the gorges is also unique. Between two huge rocks we drive 650 feet (200m) into the extremely narrow gorge. Now continue on foot and suddenly the gorge opens up and we continue. We just squeeze through until we almost get stuck :-)!

In addition to gorges, rock arches, stone mushrooms, red sand and unique rock formations in the desert, the valleys with the seemingly endless rock towers are an unparalleled spectacle.

The pathes we drive are not always easy, but with 22 psi (1.5 bar) in the tires (instead of 58 psi / 4 bar), four-wheel drive and diff-lock, we can surprisingly get through almost anywhere and only have to reverse down a few times.

Most of the time we simply navigate with satellite images, but we are always amazed at how many paths criss-cross the desert. Maybe you're wondering: "What do they do if the car breaks down in the desert?". And yes, every day we wonder if we'll get out of the desert alive! No, joking aside :-)! Believe us, with a 24-year-old vehicle with 187’000 miles (300’000km) and a patched transfer case that is constantly under heavy use, this thought is omnipresent. Well, we're in a manageable part of the desert, never more than 25 miles (40km) from a main road, so you could walk :-). Besides, you see a car somewhere every day. Some Landcruiser even comes to see us twice in the evening to ask if everything is okay :-). And we always have water and food with us for many days. So, we never take a serious risk.

The Hisma desert. Another highlight in this always surprising country!

April 2^nd 2023

Hisma desert – Alaqan, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 40 (70km)

Miles total: 20’270 (32’640km)

We leave the loneliness and soon see the first trucks thundering down the main road as tiny cubes. And there is the tar. It feels incredibly calm :-). We head for the nearest gas station, which is only 4 miles (7km) away. With a pressure of 22 psi (1.5 bar), we chug along at just 15 mph (25km/h) so that the flat tires don't overheat. The landscape along this main route is no less spectacular. At the gas station, we pump up the tires and buy provisions for the next few days.

We immediately turn off the main road onto a smaller road and make a small detour to another rather unspectacular rock arch away from the tarred road.

April 3^rd 2023

Alaqan – Haql, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 70 (120km)

Miles total: 20’340 (32’760km)

Today we're going to the Red Sea. We drive through a beautiful mountain landscape and over a small pass towards the border town of Haql, and suddenly the Red Sea appears far below. Not far away, new mountains begin on the horizon; that must be Egypt.

Like many of these towns, Haql is nothing special, but serves its purpose for us :-). Shopping and getting water. For the night, we drive 6 miles (10km) south to the beach.

April 4^th 2023

Haql, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 20 (30km)

Miles total: 20’360 (32’790km)

Today's plan: Write reports on the beach. But everything turns out completely differently! Out of nowhere, we see a haze over the sea and at the same time there is a slightly acrid, indefinable smell in the air. It seems to us that an accident happened in a chemical factory! After a few minutes, we decide to flee! Maybe something serious happened and we're inhaling some chemical cocktail right now! In a record-breaking 5 minutes, everything is ready and we drive back towards Haql. Hardly on the tar road, a little above the sea, the air is already reasonably normal again! Nevertheless, we want to flee to the mountains. At the crossroads that leads into the mountains, we see an Iveco like ours, with German license plates. Of course, we stop and chat with the two retirees. They are traveling with a guided motorhome group of about six like-minded couples. We'll say goodbye soon and drive off. But what is that? Hard to believe! The front left tire is flat! Out of nothing! Well then, change tires! We can roll the defective tire straight to the gas station and the workshop there! Practical. It's 11am, the store is closed, Ramadan opening hours! We also drive the Iveco to the gas station, stand in the shade and wait and wait! Around 1:30 p.m. we ask the gas station attendant when the workshop opens and he says: 4:00 p.m.! But the workshop down the road is open. So, load up the tire and drive on for 300 feet (100m). But this one should not open until 4:00 p.m. either. We use the time for our homepage and organizing the border crossing to Jordan. Finally, at around 4:30 p.m., the workshop opens. But now everything is going very quickly! Give the tire, take out the tube, look for a leak, think about it, take a new tube from the shelf, put everything back together and screw on the wheel! Everything is done in about 30 minutes! The young man seems a bit exhausted and once again we wonder about the meaning of Ramadan. How would we look like at 5 p.m. if we hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since 6 a.m.! He only wants 17$ for everything! Including hose! Unbelievable how low wages must be in Saudi! Of course, we give him a tip and he gladly accepts the 20$. He also gladly accepts two small bottles of water (which we received as a gift a few days ago)!

Since it is already evening, we wait for the sunset (Ramadan) and can finally go to an Indian restaurant for something to eat. Here, too, the prices are unreal for us. Delicious vegetarian food and two drinks for 6$! We drive back to the beach from which the acrid smell drove us away in the morning.

April 5^th 2023

Haql, Saudi-Arabia

Today is dedicated to writing reports and sorting photos. Before we enter the next country, we want our homepage to be up to date. We are not completely alone in the small bay, next to us a fisherman is trying his luck in the crystal-clear water. At some point, we start talking to him, but then we all have to flee into the camper because of the annoying flies and two hours later we already know a lot about the man named Ali and he about us. When saying goodbye, he announces that he will come again at around 8-9 p.m. Is that okay for us? And sure enough, at 9:00 p.m., Ali knocks on our camper again, with a small bag that he hands over to us as a gift. Inside are two boxes. We expect a lot, but not this: Stefan opens the box and a set consisting of a watch, cufflinks, keyring and ballpoint pen appears! My box contains a necklace, finger ring and ear studs. We are speechless about these very generous gifts! We spend another two comfortable and interesting hours with Ali, who has been with the military border guard for 13 years. We are amazed at how well he knows Switzerland and Europe in general. He lists countless tourist spots, e.g. Interlaken and Gstaad, which he knows from the internet or from stories and pictures from his friend who went on a trip to Europe.

April 6^th 2023

Haql – Georgios G Shipwreck, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 30 (40km)

Miles total: 20’390 (32’830km)

We are still drawn to the south instead of the north because we are only 20 miles (30km) away from a well-known shipwreck. And there we are, seeing the wreck. Well, it's worth seeing, but not as spectacular as it's marketed. But the area is very nice and it was worth it. We also know that the wind should come and I (Stefan) have the bright idea to take the kite out. Maryse is skeptical whether it's worth it and, as we later learn, is absolutely right! Can we kite here? Because Egypt is only 10 miles (16km) away! The Border Patrol drives by and we ask them. Completely confused, they call their boss, Jabreen! He comes by, looks at a kite video and says it's forbidden because we're too close to Egypt. We have fun, he looks at our Instagram posts and finally agrees anyway. We have an hour to kite! But the wind? It’s weak. I still want to try it, we prepare everything in no time at all and I get into the water. Now the wind is going down and I have to swim back in the water with the kite. A little disaster.

Luckily, I'm still alive. Oh yes, and he writes on his mobile phone with Google Translate: "Don't tell my boss that I gave you permission to kite :-)". First of all, I don't get any trouble at the station, but rather soup and something to drink, since everyone is eating. 9 border police officers and none of them can speak English. And off to Jabreen's office. He fills out a piece of paper in Arabic with passport number, name etc.. and I have to sign with my name and fingerprint! Apparently, the note says that I promise not to do kiting anymore, and if I do, I'll get in more trouble. And back to the camper, get some food, put the kite material away and finally enjoy some rest.

April 7^th 2023

Georgios G Shipwreck – Haql, Saudi-Arabia

Miles: 40 (70km)

Miles total: 20’430 (32’900km)

Since we're at the beach and it's really warm, we want to go swimming in the sea. We put on the swimming goggles and make a snorkel with a piece of hose and the kite surfing hat :-). And indeed, it works to some extent and we observe a few fish and a few living corals.

In the evening, we go back to Haql, because tomorrow we want to enter Jordan.

April 8^th 2023

Haql, Saudi-Arabia – South Beach, Aqaba, Jordan

Miles: 30 (50km)

Miles total: 20’460 (32’950km)

The night on the viewpoint was not very pleasant; much too warm in the camper! So, we get up a little tired and are not exactly in the best mood. Not a good criterion for crossing the border, where good nerves are usually required ;-). Yes, today is actually the day! After almost three months, we say goodbye to Saudi Arabia, which has so surprised and fascinated us. We stop briefly at a supermarket and our nerves are immediately put to the test! A young woman drives blindly out of the parking lot with her car and crashes into our left rear side! We get out, two men who have observed the incident are about to join us. Luckily there isn't much to see on the Iveco, unlike the woman's car, which has been badly dented! The two men also think that our damage on the old car is not serious and help the woman drive out of the parking lot. Incidentally, the woman doesn't get out of the car during the entire damage assessment, which we find quite strange... When she drives away, she calls out "I'm sorry" with a smile! Ah, so that's how it works in Saudi! They don't mean it badly, but we are a bit irritated by this accident :-). Before we leave the country, we want to fill up our diesel tank and since it is not possible to pay by card at the gas stations, we search half the city for ATMs that accept our cards without success. We're annoyed, but it gets even better! We are just reversing out of a parking lot when there is a dull bang in the car! Stefan can't stop the car for a short moment! The clutch is unhooked and lies loosely on the stop! Now that can't be true! Since we are half on the street with the hazard lights on, someone stops immediately and offers to help. Luckily, we can take the gear out of reverse and push the car back into the parking lot. The friendly man named Ahmed tells us that the workshops only open at 5 p.m. because today is Sunday. We are amazed that they open at all on Sunday, actually we already expected to have to stay another night in the city. Coincidentally, Ahmed is the owner of a hotel and without hesitation he offers us to wait there. Since it is only 11 a.m., the camper is standing in the blazing sun and the temperatures are already around 90°F (30°C), we gratefully accept his offer. In the hotel, which is only five minutes away, he even provides us with an air-conditioned room! Once again, an experience that demonstrates the unreserved willingness to help of the Saudis and Muslims in general! We use the time to write reports and after 4 p.m. we make our way back to the car. The workshop that Ahmed showed us earlier is only a 5-minute walk from the car. The mechanic has just come from prayer and we explain our problem to him. We immediately drive his car to the Iveco, he takes a quick look and the case is immediately clear: the clutch cable isn't torn, it's just unhooked. Since we are well equipped with tools, he immediately starts repairing it. Once he drives back to the workshop to get something (which we actually would have had ;-). After about 10 minutes the cable is attached to the coupling again and we can continue! That's what we call expeditious work! We hand him 30 riyals (approx. 8$), he accepts it gratefully and rushes away in his car. Since this incident has now been resolved faster than expected, we can still tackle the border crossing. We stop looking for an ATM and try to pay with dollars at the next gas station. To our surprise, the gas station attendant agreed without hesitation and we drove to the border, only 6 miles (10km) away, with a full tank (a good 55 gallons / 200 litres). Luckily everything goes very quickly here too. We don't even have to get off the car to leave the Saudis. On the Jordanian side, too, everything is reasonably organized: stamping passports (visa on arrival!), taking a car insurance and processing customs documents. Within an hour we have left the border behind us. After a short drive, we meet the first hotel complexes and restaurants south of the port city of Aqaba, where we treat ourselves to something to eat. Somehow it seems very strange to us when we enter the restaurant filled with tourists. It's quite a change and we feel a bit out of place at first ;-). We stay overnight in a quiet beach car park.

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