Wednesday: Najran - Abha

Wednesday Feb 15

After breakfast this morning we left the city of Najran and headed towards Abha which is 200 kilometers away.  The road started out flat and very desert like and then it changed within an hour to mountain terrain.  We decided to go to the Wadi Farsa which is down in the valley of the Habala mountains.  We spent some time in the old village market run by women. They were surprised to see us and when I spoke Arabic they took me into the tent to ask questions about why we were here and who the other people were.  They would lift their veils - gorgeous women - and turn their faces so the men could not see them.  They would ask me questions to ask the group - what they thought of Saudi Arabia and why they came.  They were not pushing for anyone to buy anything they just loved the idea that we were there.  This is not an area that tourist come to so it was really different for them. They asked why the women covered (wore abayas and scarves over our heads) and I told them out of respect for their customs.  When I said I was from Jordan one woman kissed me and said we were sisters.

In one part of the small market there were people that sell these beautiful flowers and make head pieces with them.  When the group got out their cameras one old lady came out and said no picture! She was so upset, but I explained that we were not going to take picture of the women, but of the men and the flowers. 

One man came out of his stall wearing a bunch of different flowers on his head and kohl around his eyes.  We got his picture and then I asked if he wanted to marry one of the women - he said yes but he already had two wives and 30 kids! The women in the group said he needed to make her number one and she would marry him.  The people around started to laugh and make suggestions, etc… - a great time.  The police that had been with us during the whole trip as guards also joined in with the jokes.

We left and headed out from the valley to go to Al Habala and decided to stop for lunch at a local restaurant that had these small family rooms where we got bbq chicken, lamb and lots of rice on a big tray. It was put on the floor and the group got down to business and did well with the food.  It was excellent.  We left to go to the mountains and take the cablecar across the mountains to the village where the village is on the cliff side, and the people use ropes to get up and down and around on the narrow rock ledges.  I had purchased some sweets and we ate them with coffee (made with cardamom) and mint tea - so nice with the cooler mountain breeze!

 

The guides started sharing pictures of their families and we did the same.  Then they started to sing and dance a bit as the group egged them on. We left for Abha before the souk closed and then to the hotel.  As were checking in the fog started to come in and we were not able to see anything in front of us. 

Najran, Saudi Arabia

Tuesday

We left the hotel early to do our sightseeing in Najran.  Here we started to see the desert and more mountains.  Najran is on the border with Yemen so you will see Yemenis here and also a lot of their handcrafts, such as the daggers well known in Yemen.

Najran is the agricultural area of Saudi Arabia, growing wheat and lots of different vegetables and fruit such as beautiful oranges, apples etc.

It was hot today - 22C in the morning and by afternoon it was 27C. We visited the Al Ukhdood Museum and then the archaeological site.  By visiting the museum first it made it easy to envision the site since they are still working on it. Went to visit a local family related to the driver and saw their land and how they plow the earth and work the soil.  Then off to the Raoumj Castle where the Emir lived and next to it was the local women’s market which we visited and got some incense and other items and then to the knife market which is known for its daggers in all different shapes and sizes.

Afterwards we went to the Najran Dam which was totally dry - they have not had any water for over four months.  Incredible to see a dam so big and it was empty! Hema was the next city of ancient carvings into the rocks and everywhere we looked they had some beautiful carvings of animals, dancing ladies etc.  Quite a long day but saw a lot of different things.  Also, went to an ancient Christian burial ground.

There are so many areas where they have not done any digs yet so you can find arrow heads and other artifacts on the ground. One lady thought that the dung of small animals was actually something interesting and was picking it up until someone told her what it was.  We all laughed so hard and were telling the drivers and they said no problem, take it back to US and see what the customs people say when you try and bring it into the country!

After playing sand games we headed back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Heading out tomorrow for Abha.

Monday's Report from Saudi Arabia

Monday

Today the group had a full day of sightseeing in and around Riyadh. Riyadh is a big city with the problems of traffic and congestion and lots of time needed to get from one side of the city to the other.  We got a great view of the city (and the traffic) from the tallest building here: the Faisaliah Tower.  We took the elevator to the observation deck to see the massive buildings and high rises, all surrounded by miles of flat desert land. The Faisaliah Tower is also a major business center.  As we were getting off the elevator one person in the group recognized the CEO of Mercedes Benz. 

Afterwards we went to the Riyadh Museum, a big place, everything is written in Arabic and English, and spent 2 hours looking at the old sites and also the amount of animals in the area and underwater sea animals and all the artifacts and the work that the Museum is doing in getting back artifacts from countries that had taken them out when they were working on ancient digs here.  They are doing well in that quite a number of items from Britain and Germany have been returned from private collections.

We then went to Masmak Fort and saw a short film on the history of Riyadh, then toured the mud brick structure. One of the ladies had to buy an abaya and another had to have hers shortened which took no time and also cost only about $2 to get it done! 

 

We decided to skip the camel market and instead go to a local festival of culture and heritage that is being held just outside the city, and had just opened two days ago.  The Janadriyah festival is very popular with local families.  The police guards at the entrance were not allowing single young men in, in case they created disturbances. The festival was a great way to see the locals and interact with them.  A number were looking at the group and coming over to us, especially the young girls, to ask where we were from and were happy that we were there. Lots of pictures were being taken by both sides.  We had a group of young college girls that were doing research on why people were visiting the festival, and they started interviewing the group - it was fun for all.

We went to one part where there were men dancing a traditional line dance.  There were replicas of old houses and exhibits on how the great grand parents might have lived. Some of the old homes were similar to the architecture of Yemen. We went to one Mecca house were men were wearing the traditional costumes and reciting poetry.  The group was having their pictures taken by local photographers and then all were given small presents - very nice.  I believe everyone really liked it, even though it was not on the program and they were doing things that the locals were doing.  The newspaper article I read later that day mentioned that 440,000 people had attended the festival within the last couple of days.

We finished our sightseeing and headed to the airport for our flight to Najran. Arrived in Najran and had four wheel drives vehicles waiting for us to take us to the Holiday Inn to check in. Long day.

Update on #Syria, from Rita

Greetings to all fellow travelers that have traveled to Syria with Caravan-Serai Tours.

I have been getting emails from people asking about their guide and my family in Syria that they visited when they traveled with us.  First, I want to thank you all for your thoughtfulness, and let you know that as of today everyone is fine.

I talk to my relatives and also to the office and staff in Syria about two or three times a week to see how they are doing.  It is very hard to say things on the phone but we have developed a sort of code so we know a bit of what is happening. 

As some of you know I lived in Syria from 1972 till 1982 during the time of the civil war we had with Hafez Assad.  During that time there was no such thing as social media, cell phones, etc.  Things were taking place, people were being killed regularly and the massacre of Hama took place and over 10,000 people were killed.  I was living and working in Aleppo at that time.  The only way that we knew that this had happened was people streaming into the city late at night to take refugee in people’s homes and running from the government. The airports were closed and the roads in and out of the major cities were closed off.  The only communication we had at that time was land lines and information from the bus and taxi drivers.  I saw more violence during those 10 years than I though imaginable.

When I came to the states for a visit and mentioned what was happening people did not believe me since there were no reports from the media.  Things are so different now and we are able to get the information out so people in the world know what a violent regime this is.

Most of the fighting that has been taking place has been in Hama, Homs, Idlib, Deraa and some areas on the outskirts of Damascus.  That changed in the last few days with the bombing in Aleppo.

If any of you were on trips where I was leading and took you to my aunt’s home in Aleppo - then you will know that is the area that was bombed. I talked to the family and they are fine and will be staying in their homes and not leaving.  They have food and supplies to keep them going for a while, which is better then the area of Hama and Homs where they have run out of food and medicine.

We have been getting things in to Syria through Jordan. People flying into Amman have taken medical supplies, and funds since banking and all business has pretty much stopped.  We are not able to wire any money in because of the sanctions.  The problem is the sanctions are hurting the people and not the regime.

We have a non profit that has been set up for quite awhile, and we have been able to help different countries in the region in the past year.  If you would like to make a contribution to help, you can send a check to the AACC- Arab American Community Coalition, which is a 501c3 and registered since 2001 in Washington State.  Mail to the office address (3806 Whitman Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103) and if you have any questions drop us an email and I will answer as best as I can.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts about the people that you met in Syria, and across the region, during this turbulent time. 

~Rita

Travel Tip from Caravan-Serai Tours

The internet and email are becoming so pervasive in our communications around the world, and travelers are taking full advantage of the ever changing technology to keep in touch while on the road. Email through hotmail, gmail, and yahoo can be accessed anywhere. Programs like Skype allow you to make internet phone calls anywhere in the world for free to another Skype user - you can even chat by video!

Caravan-Serai Tours also uses these tools extensively to plan our tours and communicate with our coordinators in the region. We use email exclusively to transfer documents that before we had to fax (our fax machine is mostly silent now, hardly ever being used!). This includes copies of passports that are necessary to obtain visa authorization for countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and more. We request a scanned copy of your passport in order to expedite this process. Our coordinators need a clean, legible copy of your passport in order to get the visa authorization, but we also need it for our files and to verify your passport is valid for the time of travel. We insist on a scanned copy to be emailed to us so we can turn around and email it to speed the process and ensure the accuracy of the information provided for visas, etc.

Here is another good reason to have your passport scanned. If you are traveling and lose your passport, you can retrieve a copy of your passport to present to the American embassy when getting a replacement. This will simplify matters greatly if you can produce a clean, clear copy - rather than a folded paper copy in black and white that is smudged and the photo unrecognizable and the text barely legible. You can scan your passport and keep a copy on a thumb drive, or your smart phone, to carry with you, or you can email it to a friend or family member at home who can then forward you a copy if you need it. Also, you can email a copy to yourself to your yahoo, hotmail, or gmail account, or other account that you can access anywhere.

Many of our embassies and consulates have a central (duty officer) email address, so if you do lose your passport, you can email the file directly to them if you don't have a way to save the file from your email. The embassy email addresses can be found at the Department of State website under US Embassy information.

So in preparations for your next tour or travel adventure, scan your passport and save a file at home and with a friend for access from abroad. Keep this file, updating it with a new copy when you get a new passport. Then you will always be ready - to register for one of our tours, or to protect yourself in the case of a lost passport. 

Saudi Arabia Tour Kicks Off

Rita has just arrived and met with the group in Saudi Arabia. She will be sending updates on what they are up to along the way. Here is her first installment. 

 

After 19 hours of flying time, I finally arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  The flight from Frankfurt to Riyadh was packed full of men.  The women on board the full  flight came to about 10.  You could also tell there were far more men on the flight every time you used the restrooms - the toilet seat was always up! Isn't this something that married people always complain about?

I met the group at the hotel and got everyone checked in, then had dinner at the Radison Hotel. The food was great - a nice buffet.  Everyone has traveled a lot on this group and I think it will be very interesting.  One of my distant relatives from Jordan works for the Ministy of Tourism so he stopped by and brought a bunch of nice brochures that I will hand out to the clients tomorrow.

Going through customs and immigration at the airport was very easy and fast - no fingerprints taken, just curiosity about who we are and why we are there. 

The group is made up of 8 women and two men, plus the guide and the driver.  The guys are happy with the numbers.

We are getting up early tomrrow to get to the museum, walk around Riyadh and see a number of other things.  I will write about that and also get some pictures taken. It's been a long day!

Good night for now.

Rita

Iran Slide Show from 2009 Tour

Iran Tour October 2009 Slideshow: Brenda’s trip from Seattle, Washington, United States to 15 cities Tehran, Esfahan, Yazd, Shiraz, Kashan, Hamadan, Choghā Zanbīl (near Shush, Iran), Persepolis (near Marvdasht), Dezful, Bishapur (near Kazerun), Bīsotūn (near Kangavar), Kermanshah, Shūshtar (near Shustar), Natanz and Pāsārgād (near Takht-e-Jamshid) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Iran slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.