We travelled all over Saudi Arabia from late 1979 to spring 1981 Our routes around Saudi Arabia and nearby middle eastern countries. For our travels in other middle eastern countries and our 'drive home' through Jordan, Syria and beyond, see the links at the bottom of this page. Madain Saleh and the Hejaz railway In late March 1980 eighteen of us went on an expedition in a Land Cruiser and two Suburbans to look for the Nabatean tombs and the remains of the Hejaz Railway in the north-west of Saudi Arabia. On Thursday the 27th we drove 454 km and camped beyond Buraydah, then the next day stopped for lunch 358 km further on at the Hanakiyah graffiti rocks in Jebel Uhayn. We continued for 272 km through two police checkpoints and round the Medina bypass and eventually after two failed attempts found the broken but impressive Qasr Al Bint dam near Khaybar, where we camped for the second night. Although about a third of it is missing the dam is 20 metres high and about 135 metres long and the legend is that it was built by the queen of Sheba. On the 29th we drove to Al Ula and obtained our permit from the Emir to visit Madain Saleh. At the former Al Ula railway station we saw the only railway waggon that hadn't had all the wood stripped from it. Near Medain Saleh were the remains of a section of track that had been blown up during the first World War. We explored the Hijaz railway engine shed at Madain Saleh, complete with a rusting steam engine abandoned there. The engine shed and its locomotives have (as of 2012) been restored as a museum. We visited the first-century Nabatean tombs at Madain Saleh, which became Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage site in 2008. The Nabateans 'practiced' here before moving north to create the famous city at Petra in Jordan. More Nabatean tombs. The one on the right still needs a bit of work! On 30th March we followed the Hejaz Railway south past the station at Zumrud. Between Al Jadid, the next station, and Tuwayrah we found the well at the old Turkish Fort Qalat As Sawrah, with iron steps going a long way down to the stagnant water at the bottom. We continued to the station at Tuwayrah where we had lunch. Between Tuwayrah and Wayban, about 120 km south of Al Ula, we found the engine of the Turkish troop train that had been blown up by Major Herbert Garland, mentor to Lawrence of Arabia, with his first automatic mine in February 1917. We found the skeleton of a complete train in a siding at Hadiyah station, about 35 km further on. By 2012 the train had been overturned, presumably someone wanted the rails and sleepers beneath it - see pictures at http://nabataea.net/Hadiyya.html The train in the siding at Hadiyah station. We drove two stations further on and camped for the night at Abu Na'am where we were bombarded by mosquitoes. On the 31st we drove on, across a railway viaduct about 30km south of Hadiyah. We found another complete train at Al Buwayr station, five stops before the southern terminus of the line at Medina. This one was still standing on the rails in 2002, see http://nabataea.net/Buwayr.html At this point we suddenly found a paved road.... road end for some, road start for us. We drove via Medina and Badr to Rabigh on the Red sea coast where we stopped for some rest and relaxation. On the 1st of April we drove the 150 km to Jeddah and camped on the beach there. We spent the next day shopping and sightseeing in Jeddah and on the 3rd drove 230 km to Taif where we looked round the souks before camping in the desert 90 km further on. On the 4th we returned the 825 km to Riyadh. Jeddah We visited Jeddah several times. In December 1979 we camped on the beach north of Jeddah and went snorkelling on the reef, seeing all sorts of fish and collecting shells and corals. We explored the buildings in the old town and the harbour in April 1980. In April 1980 they were renovating the former British Legation building .... .... and by April 1981 it was finished. The Nasif House was another nice old-style building. The Azir region In April 1981 we drove around the mountainous Azir region in the south-west. We stopped for a picture of Duwadimi Fort, about 300 km west of Riyadh. 600 km further on, we stopped in Mishal Street in Taif, to fill up the car for the drive to Jeddah. Shubra Palace in Taif has a very similar style to period buildings in Jeddah. Heading south, we encountered a well-laden truck going down the escarpment, half-way between Taif and Abha. We stopped to see the clock tower in Khamis Mushait near Abha. We started seeing picturesque tower houses in villages further south towards Najran. We headed back to Ad Darb on the coastal plain between Abha and Jizan, where some of the dwellings were basic huts. The modern world seemed a long way away between Ad Darb and Jizan. A timeless camel and donkey caravan plodded across the Ad Darb to Jizan road. We went as far as Jizan in the far south-west of Saudi Arabia, where there was a harbour with fishing nets. Eastern Province We visited the Eastern Province several times. This was decision time on the road 300 km from Riyadh! Fort and palace of Ibrahim Pasha, built in 1558, in Hofuf, July 1980. Oilfield gas burnoff on the Dammam Road, April 1980. Fort Tarut on Tarut Island near Qatif in January 1980. In Tarut, February 1981. The Turkish fort at Darin on Tarut Island in Feb 1981. Alleyways and Doorways in Qatif in April 1980 On a deserted beach by Casino Rahima Albhri near Ras Tannurah in February 1981. Dhows in Jubail harbour in February 1981. If you would like to see our travels around nearby middle eastern countries, just click the dhow. Or if you would like to see our drive home through the middle east, just click the road sign. If you would like to see more of our other travels just click the map.