The gateway to Al-Ahsa from the Arabian Gulf

Located 70 kilometers from Al-Hofuf in the Al-Ahsa region, the port of Uqair is testimony to the historical importance of the area as a gateway to the Al-Ahsa region from the Arabian Gulf. If the currently visible remains are more than 300 years old and were built during the Ottoman period, the occupation of Al-Uqair Bay as a port dates back at least to the Islamic era.

The complex of Al-Uqair is organised in three main ensembles: the port, the fort, and the accommodation. Al-Uqair is also a beach located 25 kilometers north of the fort.

The port and warehouse

The facilities of the port are fenced but still clearly visible.  They comprise the buildings that used to host the administration offices and the warehouse where goods were stored before being shipped out or sold to the nearby souq. The main building is finely decorated and is a good example of a mix Saudi and Ottoman architectural features.

The old fort and souq

The main fortification of Al-Uqair comprises buildings for accommodation and offices and also a large courtyard that is accessible via a gate and a passage that runs through the main building. Once past this gate visitors discover the 120 by 55 meter large courtyard surrounded by the protective walls.

Along the northwestern and northeastern walls are two ranges of columns where the shops of the old souq used to sell their products. The rooftop has today disappeared but dozens of columns still with capitals are create a beautiful gallery that helps the visitor imagine the merchants surrounded by their products, scents and spices of the orient.

The accomodation

Built in the same compound than the fort is a series of rooms and a mosque where the inhabitants of Uqair fort used to live and pray. It is in this part of the complex that we find the most beautifully decorated features, with mouldings of Arabic and Ottoman styles. Some of the doors are even crowned by colourful stained glass that is quite rare in the Arabian Peninsula.

Al-Uqair beach

25 kilometers north of the Fort is  Al-Uqair beach that presents an usual feature with Colosseum-like modern constructions that were built on the beach just 100 meters from the sea. These structures offer viewpoints and much needed shade when temperatures rise above 40°C. Small concrete fancy structures are also built along the shore in order to provide shade and privacy to the visitors. It is important to remember that as per local regulations strict dressing code is expected, even on a public beach.

How to visit Al-Uqair

Guides providing visits to Al-Uqair:

A port city that played a great role in History

Yanbu Al-Bahr, usually simply referred to as Yanbu, is a coastal town on the Red Sea, 300 kilometers north of the city of Jeddah and 140 km to the west of Madinah Al-Munawarah. Yanbu has benefited for millennia not only because of its location along the ancient maritime routes and as the natural port of the ancient oasis of Madinah but also from underground water available close to the surface. The beautiful style of old town Yanbu, which is being restored, testifies to the long human presence here.

Yanbu remained a small port town until 1975 when the Saudi government designated it as one of the country's two new industrial centers (the other being Al Jubayl on the Arabian Gulf). Since then, Yanbu Industrial City (Yanbu Al-Sina'iya) was created and large industrial petrochemical facilities were built along the shore.

A city with multiple faces

The Old Yanbu

If Jeddah is famous for its old town called Al-Balad it is not the only city in Saudi Arabia to host such a brilliant example of the unique Hejazi architecture style that is found along the Arabian coast of the Red Sea.

In old Yanbu visitors will find the same shaded narrow streets as in Jeddah and also an open square with an old mosque made of coral stones. The old market of the Old Yanbu is an indoor gallery that offers to visitors the authentic ambiance of the oriental souq while being protected from the sun.

On the sea side is a large esplanade where visitors can taste the delicious local specialties of sea food with fresh fish cooked and served with spiced rice.

The Old Yanbu has another secret: the house where Thomas E. Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, lived between 1915 and 1916 when he supported the Great Arab Revolt. Old residents of Yanbu say the house has not been occupied since the departure of the famous British guest. Nobody dared to live in it even for one night because of rumors that evil spirits haunt the house.

Yanbu corniche

The city of Yanbu is split into two parts that are 20 kilometers away from each other. The northern part of the city hosts the old town and the southern one the industrial city. Modern resorts are found in the south, as well as the corniche were people can enjoy the view over the turquoise waters of the Red Sea and the green mangrove bushes grow along the shore.

Further south along the coast are the impressive facilities of the Yanbu Industrial City (Yanbu Al-Sina'iya) that are visible from the road but can't be visited.

How to visit Yanbu

​The largest oasis in the world

Al-Hofuf is the urban center of the Al-Ahsa region located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It hosts some of the most important typical features of the Eastern Province with the largest oasis in the world, the Jebel Al-Qarah and historical landmarks.

​Mystery of the origins

No ancient remains have been discovered in the city itself although it is possible that such remains existed but have been covered by the urbanisation of the oasis. It is believed that Al-Hofuf and the whole region of Al-Ahsa were part of the ancient land of Dilmun that is referred to in Mesopotamian texts. Also, there is speculation about  Al-Hofuf being the ancient city-state of Gerrha mentioned by the Greek geographer Strabo as having "fancy tools made out of gold and silver, such as the family gold, right triangles, and their drinking glass, let alone their large homes which have their doors, walls, roofs filled with colours, gold, silver, and holy stones". Additionally, some scholars believe that Gerrha is the archeological site of Thaj located 200 kilometers north of Al-Hofuf.

The recent history is clearer as the area came under Ottoman rule in the 18th century and was peacefully returned to Saudi rule by King Abdulaziz Al-Saud in 1913 CE.

​Al-Koot, the historical center

The heart of Al-Hofuf is in the area called Al-Koot where some of the oldest buildings are found, including the Ibrahim Fort and Mosque, the old house of the governor, and the Al-Qaisariah souq.

​The Al-Mulla House

The Al-Mulla house was built in 1203 H (1787-88 CE) by the Governor of Al-Ahsa, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Mullah. This house witnessed the advent of the peaceful conquest of Al-Ahsa by King Abdulaziz Al-Saud on 5th May 1913 when the governor of the city pledged allegiance to the new ruler of Arabia. Its style shows an elegant mix of Arabian and Ottoman architectural elements. The house has been restored and some of its original furniture is exhibited today, including the bed where the King Abdulaziz rested during his stay in Al-Hofuf.

​Ibrahim ​Palace

​Al-Qaisariah Souq

Al-Koot historical center hosts one of the most beautiful souqs of Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaisariah.

​Jebel Al-Qarah, Lands of Civilizations

There is a welcome area with facilities including restaurants and an exhibition about the ancient civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle-Esat.

​How to visit Al-Hofuf

The city of Al-Hofuf appears on Google Maps along with a couple of points of interest.

Guides providing tours to Al-Hofuf

​An historical frame for an incredibly rich history

Tabuk Province has some of the richest history of the whole Arabian Peninsula, and deserves a museum to highlight its heritage. Since 2019 visitors have been able to admire some fascinating artifacts exhibited in the old Hijaz Railway Station in Tabuk city that was refurbished for this purpose. The elegant building has the architecture of the early twentieth and twenty-first centuries mixing together to offer a journey from prehistory to modern times and even into the future, with the city of Neom that will soon rise in Tabuk Province.

The first room is dedicated to the founding of the Saudi Kingdom in 1932 and the achievements of King Abdulaziz in Tabuk Province. Saudi traditional objects, a movie, and a wall designs illustrate the epic saga that led to the country we know today.

There is a very old tradition of rock art and carving of inscriptions in Saudi Arabia and Tabuk Province hosts some of the most brilliant and diverse examples of this tradition.

There is also a room dedicated to the Nabatean period with an imposing representation of the Nabatean tombs at Mugha'ir Shu'ayb. The Nabatean people, who built Petra in today's Jordan and Hegra/Madain Saleh in the 2st century BCE, also settled in the ancient oasis of Maydan in the northwest of Tabuk Province where they built a large city and sculpted typical tombs. There are artifacts of this glorious time of the ancient Arab Kingdoms, notably stones with inscriptions in Nabatean script.

The visit carries on through a gallery displaying artifacts dating back the Stone Age. It includes exceptional human-shaped sculptures found on the prehistorical site of Kuriyat that show the incredible richness of the ancient history of Tabuk Province.

In the final hall interactive information about Tabuk Province today is displayed on screens and walls, showing the geography, population, water management and other aspects of development projects in this region which will host the futurist city of Neom.

​How to visit Tabuk Museum

​Tour operator organizing visits of Tabuk Museum

​The last great ancient oasis

The oasis of Khaybar is located in the Madinah Province, 170 kilometers north of the city of Madinah, in a series of depressions that collects rain waters ​thanks to which ​palm trees are grown for millennia. Khaybar is surrounded by ​the lava fields called "harra(t)", the largest one, ​the Harrat Khaybar, ​is called after its name.

Until today Khaybar benefits from permanent water points that surface at the lowest parts of the oasis and a lush vegetation can grow naturally there. From the numerous wells a complex system of irrigation canals is still used today to water the palm trees and offer a unique sight on how could have looked an Arabian oasis two thousand years ago.

​An ancient oasis

The presence of permanent water points ​in Khaybar attracted people since millennia as attested by numerous stone structures probably dating back to the Bronze Age. Its location along of the western caravan trade road between Yemen and the Levant, made of Khaybar an important oasis city since the 1^st millennium BCE as a stopover between Hegra (Madain Saleh) and Yathrib (Madinah). But the historical importance is also due to two landmark conquests in the history of the Arabian Peninsula that took place there.

Khaybar today

​The old village of Khaybar ​is made of ruins of abandoned ​buildings whose base (probably more ancient) is built with stones and the upper part is made of mud-bricks. ​Mosques, shops, houses and palaces that were ​​inhabited until the seventies are still standing today.

​The cultivated area is at the bottom of the basin ​and is overlooked by several rock peaks where ​old fortifications and villages were built, which matches the description of Tabari. Those natural promontories ​offers great visibility on the ​oasis, especially the one in the center of the oasis where is the main fort of Khaybar.

​Because of its irregular terrain exposed to floods, the modern city was built few hundred meters to the south on a flat land. As a result the oasis with its irrigated palm trees and old houses still probably looks like it was several hundred years ago. Therefore, climbing one of its rock peaks and looking over the oasis offers the experience of traveling back in the time of ancient Arabian oases and the caravan trade roads.

How to visit Khyabar

From The One Thousand and One Nights to the Saudi Kingdom

The city of ​Hail, capital of the eponymous province, is located in the center of northern Arabian Peninsula on the eastern side of the massive Jibal Aga and at the fringe of the vast desert of the Rub' Al-Khali.

History of Hail

Its central position and the wells fed by the rain water drained off the nearby mountains made Hail an important oasis on the ancient caravan trade routes. Although there are no remains from this period the ancient inscriptions found in the surrounding desert attest to this past human presence.

Hail is well-known for the generosity of its people in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world as it is the place where Hatim al-Tai, who was a famous Arab poet and one of the characters of The One Thousand and One Nights, lived. Stories about his extreme generosity have made him an icon to Arabs up till the present day, as in the proverbial phrase "more generous than Hatem".

From 1836 until 1921 Ha’il City was the center of the Kingdom of Hail led by a clan of the Shammar tribe, the Al-Rashid. This Emirate stretched from the actual border with Iraq to Wadi Ad-Dawasir in today's central Saudi Arabia.

​The city of three ​castles

A'arif Fort

Coveted because of its strategic location the city of Hail hosted several fortified buildings protecting its rulers. The oldest and probably the most famous is the A'arif Fort which is built on top of a rock which provides the best viewpoint over the city.

Barzan Castle

Then came the Barzan castle whose construction begun in 1808 by Prince Muhammad bin Abdul-Muhsin Al Ali and was completed during the rule of the second Rashidi emir, Talal ibn Abdullah (1848–68). Barzan Palace consisted of three floors and covered an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The ground floor featured the reception halls, gardens, and kitchens. The first floor housed diplomatic guests, and the second floor was occupied by the royal family.

​Al-Qishlah Castle

The third fortified place is the Castle of Al-Qishlah which was built in the 1940s during the principality of prince Abdul-Aziz bin Musa'ad Al Saud of Ha'il province. It is a two-floor mud palace, with long walls that stretch over 140 meters and are 8.5m tall, and it has eight watch-towers along with the walls with two main gates, east and west.

Its name comes from the Turkish word for fort or barrack (Kişla) and the purpose in building it was to host the troops that were protecting the northern part of the Kingdom. After that it was used as a prison until the end of the principality of bin Musa'ad, when it was re-purposed as a historical building by the government. Today it is still under renovation.

The three castles are located in the city center where there is also the Souq of Hail. Specialities include traditional items, spices, and other souvenirs that take you back in time.

​How to visit the city of Hail

​Tour guides organizing ​visits of ​Hail

​A fascinating ​insight in Saudi Arabia's rich History

​Discovering Saudi Arabia's rich past is an amazing journey that would bring you along thousands of kilometers around the whole Kingdom. An easier way to have an insight of Saudi Arabia's rich History is to visit the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in Riyadh where artifacts from all periods are exhibited and with explanations about their historical significance.

The visit of the Museum is organized through halls that treat of a specific period and that are laid in chronological order. This comprehensive presentation makes it clearly understandable by both adults and children.

​The first hall is about a general presentation of "Man and the Universe" where are exhibited ​ a meteorite found in the Rub' Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), some of the oldest stone tools dating back to ​hundreds of thousands of years in the past. The hall also hosts a complete skeleton of a mastodon that used to live on the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula some 15 million years ago.

​The next hall present some examples of the vibrant rock art that thrived in Saudi Arabia for more than 10 000 year of the Arabian Peninsula

Upstairs is the next hall dedicated to the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. There are exhibited old Holy Qorans and a mural retraces the life of the Prophet Mohammed. The exhibition tells also about the history of the pilgrimage roads and describe how ​the art of Arabic calligraphy developed with a collection of stelaes with Kufic and other early elegant calligraphic styles.

​The last hall ​emphasises the importance of the two holy sites ​hosted in the Kingdom that are Makkah and Madinah​.  Two models of their ​majestic mosques that every year welcome millions of Muslim pilgrims from all around the world.

An icon of the history of Riyadh and Saudi Arabia

​The history of the Saudi kingdoms

The history of Riyadh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are intrinsically linked to the Al-Saud family. This epic history starts in 1446 when Mani Al-Muraydi, an ancestor of the family, moved from the east of Arabia to Wadi Hanifah, a valley located in the central plateau called Najd.

In 1744 CE the first Saudi Kingdom was founded by Mohammed ibn Saud in the city of Diriyah on the banks of the Wadi Hanifah. In 1773 CE AbdulAziz bin Mohammed Al-Saud incorporated Riyadh in the first Saudi State. In 1817 Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt overthrew the Saudi rulers but in 1824 a second Saudi kingdom was established by Turki bin Abdallah bin Mohammed Al-Saud in Riyadh, just 30 kilometers southeast of Diriyah. This second kingdom was overthrown in 1891 by the Al-Rashid family from Hail and the Al-Saud family was driven into exile in Kuwait. But shortly after, in 1902, AbdulAziz Al-Saud led a successful expedition that seized Riyadh where he reinstalled the reign of the Al-Saud and from where he reconquered the kingdom of their ancestors. Hence Riyadh became the capital of the third Saudi Arabian Kingdom, a position it continues to hold today.

The central role of Al-Masmak

The Fort

The name 'Masmak' is derived from the Arabic ‘musamaka’ which refers to a strong building, a stronghold, or a fortress. Its rectangular shape comprises characteristic features of Arabian fortresses with four defensive towers, a watchtower, high walls, stair-shaped crenellations, and triangular reconnaissance points and firing apertures. Its numerous rooms include offices and a mosque with columns that support the roof, and one of the courtyards has a well.

A visit leads people through most of the fort and in each room are old pictures and artefacts that tell the epic history of the Al-Saud family along with the conquest of the fort and the Saudi Kingdoms.

​How to visit Al-Masmak

​Guides providing tours in Al-Masmak

​The iconic watchtower of Qassim Province

On the southwest of the city of Al-Rass in Qassim Province is an unexpected architectural feature. On the top of a small hill where the desert starts stands the slender silhouette of a watchtower. This elegant 27 meter high mud-brick tower is a brilliant example of Qassim traditional architectural heritage, the Al-Shinanah Tower (to be pronounced Ash-Shinanah) that has been preserved till today.

If its function as a watchtower is verified, it is unclear when it was built. Dates ranging from the 12th to the early 19th century are proposed, which make this building at least 200 years old. If the earliest dates may look surprising for a place that was still so remote at the beginning of the 20th century they are in fact credible given the importance of Al-Rass as one the main permanent water points in the center of the Arabian Peninsula, along major trade and pilgrimage roads.

The strategical importance of Al-Rass in controlling the center of the Arabian Peninsula made it a regular battlefield between tribes, Ottomans and Arabs, and more recently in 1904 when King Abdulaziz’s forces expended their control of the Najd into Qassim Province.

How to visit Al-Shinanah Tower

​Tours organizing trips to Al-Shinanah Tower

​The other Edge of the World

​The site of Edge of the World on the north west of Riyadh has become a ​popular destination among Riyadh residents thanks to its green wadi and impressive cliffs located on the Tuwaiq escarpment ​which is one of the most prominent natural features of Saudi Arabia as it spreads over 1 000 kilometers from the province of Najran on the south up to Qassim in the north.

But if you take ​a more southern access to the top of the cliff you will find a similar place that is less known although it is closer to the city and it hosts some unique features such as the natural spur called Khashm Zubaydah and the nearby natural pillar called Faisal's finger. Those places are in fact accessible directly from the Jeddah Highway, west of Riyadh​, as ​just a couple of kilometers passed the checkpoint on the way to Makkah is an off-road access on the right side of the highway ​leading to a track that runs all along the Tuwaiq cliffs towards the north.

​While driving on the track will appear a first type of feature that is not ​found in Edge of the World but ​in the surroundings of Khashm Zubaydah which is some stone structures that lay on the side of the track. Those manmade circular-shape structures are probably tombs that date ​from the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BCE) ​similar to the ones that are found in ​great numbers 100 kilometers on the southeast in Al-Kharj.

​But the ones that were built ​close to Khashm Zubaydah present a collection of very rare types of stone structures. Indeed if some of them have the common half a meter high circular shape with the burial chamber in the center, one structure only ​presents the circle but not the burial chamber, another one is tower-shaped (which is a feature more common to Oman), and a third one was inserted in a more complex a larger structure whose function is unclear.

​All along the track that runs along the edge of the Jibal Tuwaiq are breathtaking viewpoints  from the top of the cliffs but at about 10 kilometers after the road exit the plateau of the Jibal Tuwaiq creates an impressive 2 kilometers long spur that penetrates through the plain ​laying at the bottom of the ​escarpment​. This narrow plateau which is named Khashm Zubaydah is large enough to allow cars to drive safely ​along it for ​nearly two kilometers​ and offers stunning viewpoints nearly on all directions ​on the Tuwaiq escarpment. Close to the end of the track, if you pay attention on the ground you will see some ​layers of flint ​unearthed by the erosion that prehistorical men probably used to make some tools thousands of years ago.

As surprising as it sounds the Khashm Zubaydah hosts some remains of a much more recent human presence with one of the camel trails that were built dozens or hundreds of years ago by the Bedouins who needed to go up and down the 300 meters high escarpment. Few rocks on the southern side of the plateau indicate the starting point from where a track was built until the bottom of the cliff.

​Another 10 kilometers further north is the most famous geological feature of the area named Qadmat Al-Saqtah, better known as the Faisal's Finger, which is a natural sandstone pillar that protrudes 200 meters above the plain ​at the bottom of the Jibal Tuwaiq. Faisal's Finger can be admired from both the top of the escarpment and the bottom from two different accesses that both worth the trip.​ Its name refers to Faisal bin AbdelAziz Al-Saud, the third king of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who reigned between 1964 and 1975 CE.

​How to visit Khashm Zubaydah and Faisal's Finger

The rocky track that leads to the historical and geological features located north of the Makkah Highway is relatively easy to drive with a proper 4x4. The terrain is definitely too rough for a sedan car.

Two obstacles have to be ​taken into account before engaging towards in mind though: some earth banks have been built at the entrance by the Bedouins that live next to the highway and on the way to Khashm Zubaydah a fence shows that you enter in a private property. The gate is usually open but you can never be sure that it will always be.

Be careful as the off-road point is directly from the highway at the beginning of the big slope after the checkpoint, therefore at a place where cars tend to accelerate.