We will stay in Saudi Arabia for a total of 2½ months, we mainly travel from north to south along the west side of the country. Nature is sometimes very inaccessible, the deserts are enormous and the mountains steep and barren. Yet we are surprised almost every day by the endless hospitality of the country. People invite us for a cup of Arabic coffee and a date to a fully catered stay in a five-star hotel.
Our journey through Saudi Arabia.
An extensive day-by-day report of our trip through Saudi Arabia can be found on Sonja’s Polarsteps.
The North West
Just past the border with Jordan, we have withdrawn money and I am buying a SIM card, Sonja is approached by Abdullah. We are welcomed to his home with Arabic coffee and sweets.
In the Hisma desert, Mohsin and Bassam invite us to spend the evening with them in their Bedouin tent. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, more and more family members join in and the stories become stronger. The men prepare a meal with chicken and rice that we eat together, with our hands. Sonja is the only woman in the group, but she knows how to enjoy herself.
Furthermore, we are overtaken several times a day by cars whose occupants wave exuberantly and make videos. They often let us stop and offer us a cup of Arabic coffee and a date at the side of the road. We decline the invitations to come home, especially because it turns out that their house is still about 200 km away… The distances in Saudi Arabia are enormous.
The Inland
Further east, in Dumat al Jandal, Abdullah treats us to a night in a hotel and an evening meal.
Later, after he has guided us through the city, he drives us to the butcher and we get a kilo of camel steak from him. Way too much meat for me alone, but there’s no avoiding it. We meet in Jubbah, Solein and Frédérique with their baby Roxalanne, with whom I can share the meat, nicely roasted on the open fire.
We stay for two nights at the Tuwaren Oase and are invited numerous times for a cup of coffee and a date.
One evening we meet Abdullilah and Mohammed who come to inspect our Milady. They are very impressed by our adventure and invite us to eat with them. You simply cannot refuse such an offer. Later in the evening we watch football together. Apparently they take their TV and satellite into the desert more often and don’t miss a match.
On the way to Al Ula, during our lunch break we are visited by a Saudi who spontaneously gives us a bucket of dates as a gift. It turns out to contain over 13 kg of dates!! For now we can move forward.
Al Ula is one of the most tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia and this is also reflected in the hospitality. People are still exceptionally friendly and very interested in our trip: “ Did you drive all the way from the Netherlands, overland? “. But the invitations remain unavailable.
Yanbu
On the way to Yanbu, at Old Yanbu, we are overtaken by 2 Saudis who make us stop. They tell us that we are near the ancient city of Yanbu’ al Nakhl and show us the way. We hear that this city is more than 2000 years old and was an important center for caravans of pilgrims and trade between Damascus and Mecca. When we say goodbye, we receive 2 melons from their own nursery.
Jeddah
In Jeddah we are invited by Faiz to eat with him in the best fish restaurant in the city. He spotted us on the beach of Jeddah where we camped for a few days. Together with Faiz and his colleague we eat at the Al Basali Seafood restaurant where an extensive choice of fish is served. Together with Faiz we choose salmon, large shrimps and two large fish, all of which are freshly prepared for us. During this extensive meal we converse about all kinds of topics and are surprised by the openness of the two Saudis. We agree to meet again later in Taif.
Taif
We are also invited to Taif by a family who overtakes us by car. Unfortunately, our visit to their house is canceled because our engine is having problems. We’ll have to catch up on that later…
Tayma
When we are on the road again with Milady Landy, the problems with the engine seem to have been solved in Jordan, we camp at a nice spot along the road in Tayma. Just in the middle of the desert, a beautiful spot near a characteristic rock.
When we drive away again the next morning, we are greeted kindly by a family in a Bedouin tent. “ Are you coming for coffee? “
It becomes more and more pleasant and eventually the family decides to slaughter a lamb in our honor.
We have a good time for a long time and eventually we can enjoy the meal together with the family.
Al Ula, the Dakar Rally 2024
As we marvel at the cars and trucks at the start of the first Stage of the Dakar Rally 2024, Saeed Al-Mouri comes to visit us. He is a driver for the Saudi Hankook team and is looking for us. ‘You are the owners of the red Land Rover, aren’t you? Luckily I found you!’ We don’t yet understand why he is so happy. To make a long story short: because of the Hankook tires on Milady, he invites us to Riyadh at the Hankook garage to get new tires for free. He also wants to book us a hotel room on the way to Riyadh and in Riyadh. Refusing is not an option! “You are guests in Saudi Arabia and I would like to offer this to you out of hospitality!” Of course we find this very strange and unreal. That same evening we sleep in a five-star hotel in Hail ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! We are also welcomed in luxury hotels with all facilities in Buraydah and Riyadh.
Unfortunately we do not meet Saeed again, we will certainly try to do so later to thank him extensively for this unprecedented hospitality.