An Exploration of the Northwest Region of Saudi Arabia
Traveling in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for nearly three months was a rich and beguiling experience.
Saudi Arabia is located in southwest Asia. It shares land borders with Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; and maritime borders with Bahrain, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, and Sudan. Saudi Arabia’s land in 95% desert. Rub’ al Khali (also known as the Empty Quarter), the world’s largest continuous sand desert, occupies its south. The Kingdom’s population is over 35 million.
Saudi Arabia has mountains, beaches, coral reefs, grasslands, and forests. Its human history stretches back more than 7,000 years.
Saudi Arabia is the 13th largest nation in terms of land area. The United States is about five times bigger than the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is four times the size of France, Western Europe’s largest country.
Several times in the last decade, I travelled to the then-closed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the Executive Vice President at the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
In 2019, the Kingdom opened its doors and actively started encouraging tourism as part of its Vision 2030 strategic initiative. Increasing numbers of visitors are now discovering that Saudi Arabia is unexpectedly diverse. I couldn’t wait to return.
I departed New York City in the winter of 2022 for a stay in the Kingdom.
On a geological timescale, the Arabian Peninsula is young. It separated from the main African continent approximately 25 million years ago, creating the Red Sea. It is no surprise that Saudi Arabia’s desert has much in common with the Sahara. Indeed, the sands have the same orange coloration due to the presence of iron oxides.
A ten hour flight from New York’s JFK Airport landed me in Jeddah. A quick change of planes and a two-hour flight later, I reached Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport. My first destination was Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. I wanted to visit with my friends for a few days before heading out on my adventure.
For a week, I watched the splendor of the sunrise over the Gulf on Al Aziziyah beach.
![sky glowing orange as the sun rises over trees and water](https://ncusar.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_6781-1024x768.jpg)
The mornings never disappointed.
![Setting sun and moon in the sky above palm trees and water](https://ncusar.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_6884.jpg)
The evenings did not disappoint either…
You must be logged in to post a comment.