Saudi Arabia
Preconceptions about Saudi Arabia? Alice Morrison discovers a country undergoing a quiet cultural revolution and ready to welcome visitors seeking desert adventure
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF when you think about Saudi Arabia? It is somewhere I have always wanted to go, having been raised on books like Arabian Sands – Wilfred Thesiger’s epic about crossing the Empty Quarter. I was put off by the difficulty of getting a visitor visa, the thought of not being able to drive or travel without a male companion from my family and an impression of paternalistic authority.
Whilst it’s true that Saudi Arabia remains politically and socially ‘complicated’ (an absolute monarchy rather than a democracy), the country has been engaged in cultural reform in recent years and many traditional restrictions have been relaxed. I got my visa online, booked a flight and set off. If I am honest, I still felt a little apprehensive about how I would be received.
Those apprehensions were put to rest by the time I left the airport. I arrived in Riyadh at around 2am and was met by a cohort of smiling customs officials immaculately dressed in long white thawbs and red and white checked kefiyyahs. I launched forth with my Arabic, and smiles quickly widened: “You are very welcome to Saudi Arabia.” I noticed two things in the queue: there were female Saudi officials at the desks, and some of the foreign women had uncovered heads. One visiting male was even wearing shorts. Saudi society does appear to be changing.
CANYONLANDS
My destination was AlUla in the north-west of the country, known for its gorges, national parks and Nabatean ruins, which rival Petra’s. AlUla itself is a bit like Wadi Rum on speed. Giant rocky outcrops and flat-topped mountains surge out of the sand, which glows white or gold or red as the sun moves across it. As we drove into the valley, I had to stop the car and leap out. A giant wall of mirrors was reflecting the desert back to me. This is the Maraya concert hall, the largest mirrored building in the world.
The next day, we met up with local guide Abd el Rahman to explore the Madakheel canyons. The walk in started in a large, flat sand bed flanked by towering cliff faces, which gave out onto a vibrant blue sky. Acacia trees and small, thorny shrubs were scattered through the valley, and the ground underfoot was alternately stony and sandy. There was lots of birdsong and butterflies.
We put our helmets on – a necessity in this area where the rock is friable and could be easily dislodged by someone climbing above you – then ducked round a large boulder and found ourselves in the beginning of a maze of tunnel. I say tunnel becaus
