MEDINAH
And meeting other Overlander
15th October - 17th October | 2023
The next morning, after all was packed up on the bike, I left towards Khaybar. On the way out of Al-Ula, there were again some construction sites and they were doing a cycle path - in the middle of “nowhere”. I couldn't believe my eyes. Unfortunately, the Old Town of Khaybar was still not open to the public. Apparently closed to construction to make it safe for tourists, but that must have been already for some years …
As it was about 14h00 I tried my luck to get some food in town, but everywhere was closed due to prayer time. I luckily found a fast food restaurant and the only dish I could order was a fried chicken. Ah, well better than nothing. Being a woman, I had to sit in the family section which was a separate section for only females or families. So far so good, but mostly at small places it is next to the bathroom, has no windows (of course) and is sticky. Then came my lunch, and of course I only got a plastic spoon. Have you ever tried to eat a fried chicken with your fingers - ouch, as hot! And on top, it didn't taste too good.
As I couldn't see myself searching for a camping spot somewhere around the old town, between farms, and probably facing some sandy patches, I booked a hotel in Medinah. So after lunch, off to Medinah!
To Medinah, I drove through a volcanic area full of lava fields, which reminded me very much of Iceland (maybe not the temperatures of nearly 40ºC though). How amazing is that!
I arrived at 18h00 in Medinah, at Prayer time, so the traffic was chaotic, in addition, they are also having a lot of road work going on for improvement. The driving style here is challenging as you are ignored as a biker and it seems all without a real rule, except traffic lights. The next challenge was finding the hotel as the location in booking was no hotel. As I must have looked so lost, a local approached me to ask if I needed help. Yes, I do! Luckily he knew the hotel, so he offered to take me there. So I followed him and the hotel was a good kilometre of the pinpoint in booking away! How lucky was that!
The check-in was not easy as the guy didn't speak any English, and probably not used for a female to make a check-in. You would think everything is computerised nowadays! I had to show him twice on my app the booking number until I finally had a room. Standing there in my sauna suit, all day riding in nearly 40ºC - all you want is to get out of your gear!
The next morning I met a lovely French Overlander couple for breakfast. They had parked just on a side street in a quiet area. These overland trucks are convenient if it comes to accommodation as you can basically stay and sleep everywhere. Much easier than with the motorbike to find a suitable camping spot ;-) It was so nice to meet some like-minded people!
The rest of the day was resting and cooling down under the air condition, until about 17h00 when life starts here in the Arabian Peninsula, simply due to the temperatures. But around lunchtime, there was a lot of noise from tooting cars outside of the hotel, so I went to the window to see what was happening. It was the finish of the school opposite the hotel. What chaos down there! I suddenly remembered my bike park down there and the next thing kids climbing on my bike. No, no, no, no! So that is me getting as fast as possible (elevator) down. Of course, no more kids on my bike then, but still enough around it. I asked them not to sit on it as it was too dangerous - glad I had put the steel cores on my luggage so no nosy fingers in my bags!
There was a young guy, I thought he picked up one of his younger brothers. Always telling me “no problem”. Well, in a way yes, but if my bike tips over who is paying for any damage?
He tried to talk to me and the next thing he invited me to his restaurant to come for dinner. He suggested 4 o’clock, which made me wonder a bit about the time. Finally, I realised he meant 4am!! I am surely sleeping then! So I said, I would pass by around 8h30 for breakfast. He gave me his Whatsapp number, but I couldn’t escape giving him my Instagram account (as a sticker on my bike).
At about 17h00 I went by an Uber taxi downtown, to get on a City Sightseeing bus tour (like Hop on-Hop off). After 90 minutes of getting useful information, but also hearing too much “in the name of the prophet” etc, I got off the bus at the main mosque. I had a stroll around the courtyard of the Al Masjid and Nabawi mosque. This mosque and its courtyard have space for 1 Million people to pray, and they are currently extending it for another 500,000 people. Amazing! It is where people usually start their Hadj or the Umra in close-by Makkah (Mecca). The place has its spiritual magic, you can sense it! Unfortunately, the door to the female prayer hall was closed, but walking around the courtyard was really impressive!
After a well-deserved smoothie, I took another Uber back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I had a message from the guy earlier and I confirmed breakfast for tomorrow morning, but I was not too keen on it all. This is the problem if you have problems with saying “No”. I was also in touch with a Belgium Overlander couple and so I suggested to join me for breakfast the next morning, which made me feel a bit better about it all.
Please note, do not speak to me before 8am and you are lucky to get a word out of me before 7am! So the next morning I woke up shortly before 7h30, just before my alarm. Suddenly the doorbell of my hotel room went. WTF?!? Cleaning lady (actually here in Saudi it is only men's labour)? So I went to the door and there was the guy! WTF?! He wants to speak to me if he could come quickly in. NO!!! Due to the noise level, we communicated via Instagram and he insisted on talking to me NOW. I told him to wait until I was dressed and to see him downstairs. He made himself even more popular now!
What does he want?!? I was asking myself whilst getting ready. When I got there he had his friend, all dressed very traditionally in white, with him. After introducing his friend to be his translator, they seriously asked me if I wanted to convert to Islam. WHAT? His friend was good at turning the arguments around, even though I am not a very religious person. Also, I didn't want to offend them too much as my lifestyle is a bit different than the local ones - especially being a woman. However, he made really good arguments, but my way of thinking is still not convinced with it at all. And I started to get a bit impatient, as it was NOT my time of the day and this is already going on for 1 hour! I finally managed to finish that conversation and still had to promise the guy to come for breakfast.
Once my bike was packed up I headed to the restaurant to meet the Belgium overlander couple Tine and Jelle (IG: pandathedefender). It was so great to have same-minded company during breakfast. My “friend” left anyhow as finished his shift, so I was glad to have them around! It was so great to hear their stories as they have been already for almost 2 years on the Arabian Peninsula, amazing! It was also the first time Karak Çaij - that was so tasty! After breakfast, it was time to say goodbye and move in the direction of Jeddah. What a lovely, relaxed couple - and a good source of information!
All day I drove through lava fields, so it was due to the reflection being nearly 40ºC, so I only stopped quickly to top up fuel and have a cold drink. At some remote fuel stations, you would not be able to get 95 oct fuel, only 91 oct and payment only by cash. Like that, I only fueled up like 5-6 ltr to get me going. My Schimmelchen never complained about the fuel, which was a relief.
I arrived late, nearly at sunset, at the crater Al-Wabah, where I pitched up my tent next to one of the picnic areas. I picked the spot hopefully correctly to have as long as possible shade in the morning. It was a beautiful place, but you don't want to camp here when it is very windy.
I slept like a baby that night, the only disturbance was the security in the middle of the night checking me out. Having all the lights shining on me. After they realised I was fine - speaking no English - they disappeared.
I hope you enjoyed my little trip to Medinah with all the people I met there. I know it is a bit of a longer one with only a few pictures, but in nearly 40ºC I cannot face myself to get off the bike to take pictures, especially as there is nothing to take pictures of as so vast. Let me take you into Jeddah in my next blog. Whilst you are waiting have a Karak Çaj.
Places | Cities:
Khaybar, Medinah.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 25050 km
Information Border Crossings:
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Maintenance | Breakdown:
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Health issues:
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Special thanks to: