WADI DISAH
And Meeting Arabic Horses
9th October - 10th October | 2023
After a very simple but delicious breakfast (the traditional homemade bread is just yummy!!) Hamoud showed us his farm. What a lovely little heaven he got! And what a nice person he is himself!
Later that morning we went to the village Al-Dissah village to shop for some drinks and snacks that we would have at the farm of Hamoud's friend. This farm has a fantastic view of the mountains around. After snacking and chatting we moved on to the next farm, where we met his friend Muhammed Ali with his “red Ferrari” jeep. Now it was time for some sightseeing in Wadi Disah.
First, we went into a scenic valley. It was all just jaw-dropping! I would have never imagined Saudi Arabia having so many mountains and such a stunning landscape. Hamoud knows so much about the area; he grew up here and loves hiking. He even pointed out the peaks around us that he already has climbed. After that, we went into the famous Wadi Disah. Due to the difficult, well actually dangerous conditions in some parts, you are only allowed to go in with 4x4 jeeps - no overland trucks or motorbikes! There is security at the entrance to make sure about that. I know of other overlanders that had been turned around with their trucks.
What an amazing place and so green! And that after the summer, even still some trickling water in places. It was so stunning, like in another world. And with all the mountains around. And again Hamoud knew some great places for memorable pictures. Lucky us that he also loves taking pictures! We also walked some parts to experience Wadi Disah better - just an amazing place! If you are ever in the area, you must put this on your bucket list; I am also happy to share Hamoud's contact.
In the evening, on our way back to the farm, we passed again the camel race track and this time we were lucky that there were camels out for training. How lucky is that! Unfortunately, it was only a walking pace, but still great to see all these camels being taken out for a “walk”. Back at the farm, we had again an easy, but delicious dinner. And of course, eating with your right hand only. It is not very easy to break the bread with your right hand only. Luckily being a tourist you get a spoon and they ignore that you still occasionally need your left (the dirty (haram)) hand for eating. I could anyhow just eat that homemade bread ;-)
Hamoud is a fantastic source for all sorts of questions as he travels himself a lot! And as I was curious about the differences between some European habits or ideas compared to local ones, I could ask him a lot, without feeling too embarrassed. Oh, also all day I was in my shorts and had no headcover (well, only a baseball cap) as I was a bit under the “wings of Hamoud”. Which was fantastic as it was still over 40ºC and we were most of the time on our own.
Later in the evening, already cooler and dark, we walked to the nearby fuel station in the hamlet to get a cold drink or ice cream, depending on each desire. It was so fantastic to observe the sky on our way back as no pollution disturbed us. So back to the farm, I tried my luck with some night sky photography, but for that, there was still too much light around, but it was good training having Hamoud as a Pro aside.
What a great day! So many impressions and so much information about the country. And for sure, this area is much better than the stretch I did the first 2 days here in the country. Oh, and tomorrow will be another great day. During dinner, I asked Hamoud, if in his huge family there is someone with Arabic horses and lucky me, one of his cousins in Duba got a stable there. Even better, we can visit him tomorrow :-D
So the next morning, after breakfast we drove to Duba. Paolo will stay there in Hamoud's apartment and catch a bus towards Jordan one of the next days. In Duba, we went first to his apartment in the family home. There we got some Arabic cafe and sweets, done by one of his sisters. It was so delicious. I like definitely the Arabic Cafe, compared to the Turkish Cafe.
Later on, it was time for a bit of sightseeing in Duba and to try Hamoud's favourite smoothie from the shop Signature - indeed delicious! Then it was time to go to the stable of Hamoud's cousin Mohamed. To get there, Hamoud swapped the car with one of his brothers. Now we have a jeep as the road to the stable is too sandy. It was on the outskirts of Duba, close to the sea. And guess what we got again when we arrived. Arabic Cafe and dates. It is here custom to sit together and have a cafe together - it is their hospitality!
As the conversation was in Arabic, and I was the only woman, I decided to walk around to say “Hallo” to all the horses and the one baby camel. There were about 15-20 horses, some of the family, some were delivery horses. After the cafe, I had the honour of riding one of the horses in the arena. I felt really touristy as I had no proper gear, meaning riding even in sandals! Luckily the horse was too tired ;-) Paolo and Hamoud also tried themselves in the arena - we had lots of fun! I helped them both and afterwards I “undid” the horse to release it in his box. I guess the boys working there were surprised by a woman doing that!
Then Mohamed and one of the boys went with two horses themselves down to the beach. We followed by car and whilst they were still out on a hack, we enjoyed the beach and took some photos. And more pictures when they came back with the horses for a bath. It was so scenic during sunset. One of the horses was not yet used to getting into the water, but I was impressed by the gentle way the boy finally got the horse into the water. Mohamed even offered me to ride the horse back to the stable, but I gave it a miss as this horse was a bit more temperamental than the one earlier ;-) However, what an honour!
After we said Thank you and goodbye, we went to town for some (fast food) dinner and afterwards for a nice digestive walk at the seafront walkway. And then it was time to drop off Paolo at the apartment and say goodbye (Boa viagem rapaz!). We drove back to the farm, where we sat later outside still chatting until midnight as it was still nice temperatures.
I hope you also enjoyed my getting so great impressions of Saudi Arabia, impressions I wouldn't have imagined. Whilst you wait for the next blog in Saudi Arabia, please enjoy an Arabic Cafe and some dates.
Places | Cities:
Wadi Disah, Duba.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 24155 km
Information Border Crossings:
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Maintenance | Breakdown:
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Health issues:
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Special thanks to:
Hamoud to be such a great host!