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.
There is a waypoint for the off-road exit leading to Khashm Zubaydah and the viewpoint on Faisal's Finger which is available on Google Maps under the name "Near Edge of the world Dhurma side".
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.
