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Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia - just opened ….

The Middle East is a grand epic, a cradle of civilization & a beautiful, complicated land that's home to some of the planet's most hospitable people. The Middle East is quite simply extraordinary, one of the world's most fascinating & rewarding travel destinations. It was here that some of the most significant civilizations of antiquity rose & fell and where the 3 great monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity & Islam - were born. Left behind is an astonishing open-air museum of ancient cities & historic buildings, the stones of which still resonate with the sounds of the faithful.  

If there is a final frontier of tourism left, it is Saudi Arabia. The birthplace & spiritual home of Islam, Saudi Arabia is rich in attractions & stirring symbolism. For Muslims, the cities of Mecca & Medina, rich in Prophetic significance, have no equal, while the carved temples of Madain Saleh, known as the second Petra & the sophisticated rock art at Jubbah are the Kingdom's greatest pre-Islamic treasures. Come as an explorer, seek out adventure, cut your own trail. Challenge yourself & you may develop an appreciation for this Forbidden Kingdom.

Vast Landscapes |Glimpse of the Future | History Writ Large | Cities & Wilderness

The Middle East is a grand epic, a cradle of civilisations and a beautiful, complicated land that's home to some of the planet's most hospitable people.

In the Middle East, history is not something you read about in books. Here, it is a story written on the stones that litter the region, from the flagstones of old Roman roads to the building blocks of ancient Egypt, & the delicately carved tombs & temples from Petra to Persepolis. This is where humankind first built cities & learned to write, and it was from here that Judaism, Christianity & Islam all arose. Wherever you find yourself, the past is always present because here, perhaps more than anywhere else on earth, history is the heart & soul of the land.

The Middle East’s cities read like a roll-call of historical heavyweights, some of the world's most significant cities - Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo, İstanbul, Damascus, Teheran, Baghdad & Esfahan... Aside from ranking among the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, these ancient-modern metropolises are places to take the pulse of a region.

The ruins of the once similarly epic cities of history - Petra, Persepolis, Ephesus, Palmyra, Baalbek, Leptis Magna & the bounty of ancient Egypt, also mark the passage of centuries in a region where the ancient world lives & breathes. The landscapes of the region are equally spellbinding, from the unrivalled seas of sand dunes & palm-fringed lakes in Libya’s Sahara desert to the stunning mountains of the north and the underwater world of the Red Sea.

It is in the Middle East's cities, too, that you find the stirring, aspirational architecture that so distinguishes the three great monotheistic faiths. There they sit alongside the more secular charms of bazaars & coffee shops that seem to embody all the mystery & storytelling magic of a land that gave us “The Thousand & One Nights”.

Beyond city limits, the Middle East is a land of mighty rivers (the Nile, Euphrates), even mightier deserts (the Sahara, the Empty Quarter and peerless Wadi Rum) & green landscapes of exceptional beauty. Exploring these wilderness areas - from snow-capped summits in Turkey, Iran & Lebanon to the kaleidoscopic waters of the Red Sea - lies at the heart of the region's appeal. The message is simple: forget the cliches that masquerade as Middle Eastern truth - a visit here is one of the most varied & soulful travel experiences on earth.

Above all else, however, your most enduring memory of the Middle East is likely to be its people. Their gracious welcome, many kindnesses and boundless hospitality speak of an altogether more civilised age. At some point on your visit to the Middle East, you will be sitting in a coffeehouse or looking lost in a labyrinth of narrow lanes when someone will strike up a conversation &, within minutes, invite you home to meet their family & share a meal. Or someone will simply approach and say with unmistakable warmth, ‘Welcome’. These spontaneous, disarming & utterly genuine words of welcome can occur anywhere across the region. And when they do, they can suddenly (& forever) change the way you see the Middle East (or as the western Media will have you believe).

From the gravitas of the Sahara to the blue tiles of Esfahan, this is a region for discerning travellers, for those looking for the story behind the headline, and where the bridges between ancient & modern civilisations are everywhere evident. If you believe what the media tells you and decide not to visit, you would be missing out on the journey of a lifetime.

And now, let us talk about the magic of Saudi Arabia that casts a spell on many who visit this charming yet confounding kingdom.

If there is a final frontier of tourism left, it is Saudi Arabia. The world’s last great forbidden Kingdom & an emblem of everything most inexplicable to the West: the Middle East, Islam, oil & terrorism. The prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world. For centuries, the region (not the country as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud) was considered closed to outsiders, penetrable only to the bravest & the boldest, such as Richard Burton, TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) & author Wilfred Thesiger, who travelled across the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula between 1945 &1950 in an attempt to capture the lives of the Bedu people & other inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula.

The birthplace of Prophet Muhammad & spiritual home of Islam, Saudi Arabia is rich in attractions & stirring symbolism. For Muslims, the cities of Mecca & Medina, rich in Prophetic significance, have no equal, while the sophisticated rock art at Jubbah & the carved temples of Madain Saleh called Saudi Arabia’s Petra, numbers among the most magical & monumental sites of the Middle-east and are the Kingdom's greatest pre-Islamic treasures. The Saudis take the responsibility for protecting the integrity of this holy land with utmost seriousness, and Islamic laws are strictly enforced by the mutawwa (religious police).

Other wonders abound, from echoes of TE Lawrence along the Hejaz Railway to the sculpted red dunes of romantic deserts. Fascinating Riyadh is a showpiece for modern Saudi Arabia, while UNESCO World Heritage Jeddah's coral architecture whisks you back to the history of this bustling pilgrim port. The pristine, azure waters of the Red Sea ache to be explored & in the south, the jewel in the Kingdom's crown, Asir, reveals breathtaking mountain scenery where mysterious & spectacular villages wait to be discovered. It is a country with many areas of beautiful oasis & dramatic mountain-tops, beaches & rivers.

Today it continues to exist only in the realms of the imagination for most people, who still relish the sensational stories surrounding it. And yet, ever so tentatively, the country is beginning to permit travellers past its portals. For those willing to ‘risk’ the realm, there may well be a surprise or two. There is a veil that hung over Saudi Arabia that distorts the reality, slightly, that resides behind it. Lift the veil, however & you will find that many conceptions of Saudi Arabia are misconceptions.

Its cities, although having no nightlife, do have plenty of cafes & restaurants. There are also shops galore, from the souk to the huge department stores. Indeed, Saudi Arabia's major cities are generally very modern, with amenities of a high standard.

The Empty Quarter, the largest sea of sand on the planet, is home to dunes the size of ships. The Arabian oryx, one of the most beautiful animals on earth, also lives there. In the far south lies Najran, an ancient caravan stop, where mud-brick forts rise out of the palm plantations & oasis.

On the coast, liberal, libertine Jeddah -  or so it is seen by the Kingdom’s more conservative kinsmen -  is home to sensation-full souqs & lovely coral houses, once the abode of its moneyed merchants. Off its shores lie Saudi’s Red Sea riches - reefs that rank among the least spoilt and most spectacular in the world. To wander in Jeddah is to retrace the steps of traders & pilgrims, who for centuries thronged the streets of this thriving city, infusing it with a vibrancy & immediacy that still endures today. Known as 'the Bride of the Red Sea', Jeddah was welcoming visitors long before the Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan made the town the official seaport for the holy city of Makkah in 647CE. As the commercial heart of the Kingdom Jeddah’s inimitable blend of old & new makes it among the Kingdom’s most magical places as you explore the narrow alleys & ancient heart of Saudi Arabia's most enchanting historic town.

Saudi Arabia has a variety of Museums ranging from historical, archeological, cultural & scientific museums, exhibiting the art, life, handicrafts & antiquities of the Kingdom. The National Museum prominently highlights the history of the Arabian Peninsula & its historical role in Islam expanding as well as the history of Saudi Arabia. The Museum holds many ancient manuscripts that are traced back to many ancient civilizations.

Most memorable for many, however, is the traditional Bedouin hospitality that, like the sand of the Empty Quarter, seems to go on and on forever.

Take the plunge now & yep….. a unique experience is just the beginning……. a warm welcome & historical secrets await you and The Journeys is ready to take you on well, a journey (or journeys) of discovery.

Come……be inspired & discover the World with us

We are in the process of updating our Offerings of experiential journeys to Saudi Arabia. Please contact us in the interim if you want to explore options & we will be happy to offer suggestions based on your personal preferences………