A forest in the desert - Rawdat Khuraim

It was a pleasant discovery - a kind of forest in the desert! Well, some decent greens and flowers to brighten up the image of the otherwise dry and dull brown deserts of Saudi.

Rawdat Khuraim, about 110 km away from Riyadh towards Ruma, is a lovely break from the monotonous desert views. It's a refreshing picnic location, if only we can get our picnickers to pick up their trash behind them it would be better. But isn't that something "oh yes, we know" statement!

A carpet of refreshing white flowers

Lovely shady areas to plonk and picnic

You get to catch some camel farms and the occasional herd of camels in varied colours.


The basics:

- On Khurais Rd 50km, where you will see an exit for Ruma; take the left towards Ruma and the location is another 50 km from the exit.

- You need to carry some food to eat as nothing much is available there and there is driving to and from involved.

- There are no public toilets at an easy distance, so either empty out completely before leaving home or hold on most part of the day, whatever works for you!

Thamud Arab tribe , Prophet Saleh and Madain Saleh (Al Hijr)

The earliest Arab tribes that find mention are Noah, Ad and Thamud and other subsequent tribes. Allah chose Prophet Saleh, who was one among the Thamud tribe and resided at Al Hijr (Madain Saleh area) to propagate Islam amongst his people. Since he was one amongst them, they didn't believe him and asked him to prove that he was Allah's messenger. Prophet Saleh received a vow from his people that they would believe in him after he proves himself to them and then prayed to Allah on this. To dispel disbelief in him, he created a she-camel from the rocks there and then told his people not to harm it as it was specially sent by Allah. So most of the people from his tribe became believers but the non believers held over them and finally killed the camel.

As prophesied by Prophet Saleh, within three days of killing the camel, a massive earthquake and large rocks falling down destroyed the entire area, meanwhile the Prophet Saleh and his believers had moved on.

This incident finds mention in several places of the Holy Quran, and thus, the place was locally believed to be cursed and has been avoided for a long time. However, now it is increasingly becoming an interesting tourist location and the Kingdom is looking at opening it up further.  

Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia

Madain Saleh is a unique historical site in the north-west of Saudi Arabia, in the Al Hijr Province, current-day province of Madinah which dates back at least to around third century BC.

The place is mentioned in several verses of the Holy Quran and has an amazing history of several successive civilizations that have left indelible marks in the region.

Huh? Madain Saleh?

Madain Saleh (Al Hijr) is the southern end of the early Nabatean Civilization, that inhabited the region from Syria, Jordan in the north, Yemen in the south, and up to the Sinai Peninsula in the West. Their landmarks include the more famous Petra, of Jordan, which was their major city.

The Nabateans were very able traders and Al Hijr (Madain Saleh) area fell naturally in the caravan routes of camel and incense trade. It is also a less-known World Heritage Site.

There are magnificent stone tombs carved on massive rock facades with different kinds of tomb provisions- the family, royalty, nobles; often inscribed with names of those buried and those of the inscribers.

The Ad Diwan is one of the sights in the huge area, which is unique and not to be missed. Just like the 'Khazaneh' or Treasury at Petra, Ad Diwan is a distinct feature of the complex. It was the religious place of the location and several religious signs support it. And a 'siq' or an entrance also leads through the Ad Diwan, just as in Petra.

Another intriguing feature within the complex, though built much later during the late Ottoman days is the Hejaz Railway. The importance of Al Hijr as a crucial trade link declined with the Roman conquest of the region, and trade routes altered to further north of the peninsula from present-day Turkey in the East up to Sinai in the West. And thus Al Hijr just remained as an important link in the pilgrimage route to Madinah. The Ottomans thus built the railway network to help pilgrims travel to the holy lands.

The essentials

It takes almost a full day to see the Madain Saleh complex completely, and appreciation of the carvings and tomb cutout and symbols require a little bit of homework before the trip, to make up for the very few guides and their limitations. Entry into the complex is free but requires a permit that is issued at Riyadh Museum and also at the museum at Al Ula (also spelt as Oula, Aula, for GPS purposes) town, about 25 km from Madain Saleh site, and which will be your base for the visit. Local travel agents at Riyadh and Jeddah can also arrange it for you. As of now, there is only one hotel- Al Ula Arac Resort available, and hence early booking is recommended. The nearest airports are at Al Ula to which Saudia Airlines and Nas Airways fly, though on fewer days of the week. The other more frequent option is to fly to Madinah airport and hire a car (car rentals are available at the arrival lounges 24 x 7) and drive down to Al Ula town (about 360 km through mountainous regions, so around 4-5 hours) and from there on to Madain Saleh (another 20-25 km). There are two routes from Madinah to Al Ula- the first one parallel to the west coast of about 353 km, and the other via Khyber, which most travel agent buses prefer, but is a little longer 376 km.

Tickets to Madinah and the Madinah airport itself can be very difficult to deal with during the peak pilgrimage season and thus best avoided.