Diriyah, Riyadh

The ruins of the Saud family home town sound interesting and lie on either side of Wadi Hanifah in the suburbs of Riyadh but they were a big disappointment, I drove twice along the road in the centre of the wadi but the whole area is one huge building site.

When the restoration is complete it looks like it could be really interesting but at the moment most roads are closed off and you have to play 'cat and mouse' with construction traffic. Not recommended as a place to visit.

India in Black and White

Sometimes India works in monochrome too. These photos were all taken in Varanasi last year.

You only sing when you're praying...

Tonight I went to watch Al Hilal play Al Nasr in the second round of the Crown Prince Cup here in Riyadh.

Al Hilal are Saudi Arabia's most successful club side having won the Asian Champions League in 2002 and the Saudi Professional League for the past two years. They were coached by former Germany international Thomas Doll... until he was sacked yesterday, even though Al Hilal are in a less than disgraceful fourth in the league.

Doll's replacement at least on a temporary basis, is the former Czech Republic midfielder Ivan Hasek who has a long managerial career including spells at Sparta Prague, St. Etienne and the Czech national team.

The Hilal Ultras

The atmosphere in the ground was almost English. The fans sang a lot and saved particular scorn for one Nasr player who presumably had been an ex Hilal  team member.

The match was only 3 minutes old when the lively Yoo Byung Soo  scored following an error by the Nasr keeper. A second came from a penalty after the same player was hauled down by the goalkeeper. A third followed almost from the restart and Hilal went in at half time 3-0 up.

The second half was a bit more subdued as Nasr failed to convert two good chances. Soo scored his second and Nasr only got a consolation goal when Hilal lost concentration with about 20 minutes remaining. Final score Al Hilal 4 Al Nasr 1 and Hilal are throught to round three.

All in all it wasn't a bad match probably equal in quality to English League 2 and I'll certainly be going back to see another game soon.

Yoo Byung Soo scores his second and Hilal's fourth

Petroglyphs at Musayqirah, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is full of petroglyphs and rock painting sites, most of which remain relatively unexplored. These particular ones are on a huge isolated rock at the foot of an escarpment some 150 kms west of Riyadh on the road to Mekkah. I don't know what the locals know it as but I've seen it called 'Graffiti Rock'.

The rock stands on a desert plain that was a lush green area around 3,000 years ago in the neolithic period when the paintings were thought to have been made. The variety of animals record what must have been a very productive time for the locals.

For anyone planning to visit, the rock is at N 24° 18' 56.4" E 45° 38' 23.9" and can be seen from the road about 3 km to the north. It is accessible with a 2WD by taking the (partly) tarmac road just past the small village.

I did the trip in a morning from Riyadh but it looked like a really nice place to camp and I may revisit.

'Graffiti Rock'

Ibex - But there must be something to just repeating them. An inventory?

Neolithic Wikipedia?

Neolithic woman tells her husband to stop pointing arrows at the dog.

Horses were domesticated in Arabia before Neolithic times.

Not really sure what this is. Lizards?

My favourite - A family of ostriches.

Another ibex.

... and another ostrich.

After photographing the paintings I climbed the escarpment which gave really cool views of the area.

View of the rock from the escarpment.

Najran, Saudi Arabia

Najran, capital of the eponymous Saudi region, lies in the extreme south of the country just inland from the Asir Mountains and close to the Yemen border.  It's always been a troubled area. It was the centre of pre-islamic christianity in the region until they were massacred by their Jewish neighbours from Yemen 1,500 years ago. The locals are all Shia muslims which is at odds with, but tolerated by, the Wahabist rulers of Saudi. Saudi jets last attacked Houthi rebels on the border in 2009 (one of my hosts in Najran recalled being woken by the explosions).

Saudi Arabia is a huge country (about two thirds the size of India) but is well served by airports. The most expensive internal return flight is less than one hundred pounds. Riyadh to Najran only takes just over an hour.

As we flew in I kept wondering when the mountains would start. I knew it was high up (4,000 feet) but as we came in to land it was clear that this wasn't a rocky mountainous area, more a high level desert.

I was visiting Najran on a business trip but managed to tag the weekend on to stay and explore the area. I was looked after by some English teachers from the University of Najran who were very welcoming and generous hosts.

After checking in to the Crown Hotel which like everything in Najran, lies on the 15 km long 'high street', I went for a wander in the farm area between the town and the wadi. What struck me most was how many of the buildings were similar to the Yemeni mud 'skyscrapers'.

Yemeni influence on Saudi architecture

Thick walls keep out the summer heat

Doors to some of the larger houses also follow the decorative style that Yemen is famous for.

Decorative door

In the evening my hosts took me to a 'dance'. It was all male of course and a chance for the men to let their hair down and for the drummers (usually employed for weddings) to practice. It was held in a purpose built open air hall just outside town and the doors were locked once we were all inside, another sign that what happens in Najran is mildly tolerated but a little different from normal Saudi rules. I was also asked not to take photos of the men the men who were dancing.

The dancers were a bit camera shy

The drums were tightened over the fire

Two drummers... relaxing