“All journeys across the world are infinitely more valuable once they include detours.” – Old Sean
Wobbly Homebound
As I hammer out the notes of this article, I’m currently on the last leg of my weekend road trip to and from Hail, Saudi Arabia. Despite the short time frame of the trip (one weekend), my journey has been saturated with activities and discoveries. I’ve needed to break the adventure into four separate articles, giving each portion of the trip its due.
In previous posts, I talked about the meandering drive west, visiting heritage towers, Buraydah, salt fields and lost roads. Then I wrote of Jubbah, where Neolithic rock artworks define a dry, hidden realm. From here, I spoke of my final night and day in Hail, where I visited nightly mountaintops, odd roundabout artworks, ancient Tombs and stunning hiking trails.
Now, less than three days after setting out, I’m writing the final post for my trip. I’ll be heading on a drive home with my friend Ahmed, putting our faith in his Lexus and desert roads.
Start Stopping
On the drive back, I convinced Ahmed to take a gamble on the ruins of Fayd. Located southeast of Hail, Fayd was once an important waystation and fortress for supplying pilgrims during the Hajj.
Specifically, we hoped to visit Kharash Palace and Castle, which once boasted intricate desert fortifications and life-preserving wells.
While Fayd was on our route, I knew it would cost us a fair chunk of time. We drove through empty roads, eventually spotting the decorated roundabouts that highlighted the city’s culture. My directions were a bit skewed and it took some renavigating to reach the ruin site.
However, when Ahmed and I arrived, I was a little nervous. The site was wrapped in lines of defiant chain link fence. I wasn’t entirely sure if the archaeological ruins were accessible, meaning our detour was possibly moot. But luckily for us, there was the Faid Fort Visitor Center which was both open and extremely accommodating.
Be Welcome By Mountains
Hail is famously generous and hospitable in Saudi Arabia. And that enduring national stereotype comes from a wildly hospitality oriented culture and nation. But the region has earned its reputation time and time again.
As we arrived, a guard and guide stood up and welcomed us with a traditional greeting born from the regions.
It roughly translates as “Our mountains welcome you before we do.”
We were quickly ushered inside and given seats, coffee, tea and dates. Our guide was a wonderful young man. He made a concentrated effort to produce English for me, even though it was clearly a tricky language for him. Despite that, he was relaxed, charming and informative. He offered us a tour of the inner museum first before recommending we explored the Fayd Ruins at our leisure.
Ahmed and I followed our guide through various rooms where we were regaled by the history of the archeological site. The museum is extremely new and well managed. There are large blocks of information in English, showcasing images, relics and diagrams of the site and wider regions.
And Intro to Fayd
Fayd was a vital strong point in the ancient Arabian Peninsula. Thanks to its integral location on trade routes. With farms and reliable water, the site was a profound influence in the region. It was the most significant settlement on the Hail territory until the collapse of the Abbasid State.
The region is home to many thousands of priceless historical artifacts, many related to the pre-Islamic Arabian world. This includes a massive scattering of rock artworks, often mistakenly identified as Thuamic rock art. In reality, there were like a variety of enduring tribes that existed after the Thuamic Kingdom, one of the most ancient monarchy governments of the region. The rock artworks are hidden throughout the region and showcase a stunning range of styles and heritage.
The museum provides a fairly comprehensive guide to rock artworks scattered across the region. It shows caves where etchings have been found, hand carvings which indicated loyalty to the rock walls owner and unique designs from other regions. The museum fully acknowledges that they’ve just begun discovering these rock artworks and the desert hides many thousands of undocumented carvings.
Fayd’s historical importance is just as compelling as its archeological importance. The site was a part of the legendary Zubaydah Trail, an immense walking route stretching from Kufa, Iraq to Mecca (Makkah, KSA).
The trail was a legendary construct. The precision behind its creation is recorded to this day. It once provided safety to travelers, used paved roads over sand and tough terrain. A massive network of wells, canals, shelters, groves and milestones ensured those undergoing the Hajj wouldn’t be lost in the Arabian Peninsula. Fayd itself, both as a community and a fortress was the vital centerpoint for this journey. Though the route had initial importance as a trade road, it gained further use during the Islamic Era for its importance during the Hajj Pilgrimage.
The route was largely abandoned after the fall of Baghdad in 1258 CE. Travelers grew more sporadic, eventually allowing the legendary pilgrimage route to fall into disrepair over the years.
Re-Rising Fortress
After our extensive tour regarding the history of the region, Ahmed and I were sent outside to explore the ruins themselves. The old fortress of Fayd was undoubtedly an impressive complex. Black stones are piled high in every direction. Numerous portions are repaired walls and wells. The water features of Fayd, namely the personal hotel wells and drinking pools, were especially prominent. All throughout the ruins, glittering black beetles with patterned black shells motored quickly away from our footsteps.
Fayd has numerous interesting features that are clearly marked within the museum. Some of the recognizable portions include outer walls, the foundations of the mosque, an internal citadel and several heaps that were once watchtowers.
The most recognizable and well repaired portion of the Fayd Archeological Site is the hotel area. The low ruins are pocketed with wells and unique wall structures designed to preserve privacy. One of the interior walls looks over the hotel street, allowing visitors to spot luggage storage spaces, sleeping areas, water basins and small kitchens.
We eventually exited the site for more snacks and time with our guide. I provided a short video exposition of the experience before we hopped back on the road.
Well, Well, Well
Before turning the car back towards Riyadh, Ahmed and I made a slight detour within Fayd. Somewhere, there was a deep, ancient well which had once supplied the entire desert community. It was know as the Well Alkhuymh Archeological Site.
The well is actually massive. Surrounded by a gate, visitors are able to clamber down a steep ladder into pitch darkness below. Much of the well has been drained, so intrepid fools can tumble down the tunnels to other structures. There are patches where water still rests and several flies have made lives below ground. But overall, it’s quite a unique experience.
Following our well time, Ahmed and I began working our way back toward the main road.
We paused on occasion to look at the roundabout art. Saudi Arabia is unique for the large number of roundabouts in each city. These roundabouts aren’t merely traffic devices. They’re also heritage points. Most townships place statues or artworks in the center of roundabouts to symbolize an important aspect of their town’s heritage. I’ve seen rising suns, towers, salt mounds, rock art, fake dunes, quills in inkwell, giant sculptures, water features, sculpted groves and more. It’s a nice little accent of culture when driving throughout the country.
As we finished our time in Fayd, we gazed over the vanishing scenery. In the far distance, the Black Crater and the Al Hatima Crater were mere dots. Mountains began to trickle away, the land turning flat once more.
A Study in Contrasts
While driving on the next portion of our journey, Ahmed brought us near Buraydah, but we didn’t exactly enter the city.
We instead grew close to a heritage village Ahmed was interested in.
Heritage villages are common throughout Saudi Arabia, but their quality varies wildly. Richer towns have well maintained sites where they manage to capture the charms of a village eroded by time.
Other places… not so much.
When we arrived in the heritage village, the place was a tacky ghost town. Adobe walls had been caked in a bad paint job and even repaired buildings were chipping. Replaced doors were already breaking. Room interiors were stark and often semi-collapsed. There was no information, guides, features or points of interest. The only thing I would have enjoyed there would have been a paintball game.
That being said, I was glad we visited. Our road trip had been filled with so many exceptional activities, it was nice to have something to contrast to with them. The tacky little town made me truly appreciate everything else we had seen.
In an odd way, that little heritage village helped everything else on our journey rise in memory-prominence.
Eatery Zone
Finally, Ahmed and I stopped for dinner. We tried an amazing little burger joint called Tarkheem, located in the town of Al Bukayriyah.
The burger place was technically closed for prayers, but they still took our order. We walked around until our meal was cooked. We ravenously enjoyed our food and then had an amazing dessert of banana pudding and cookies next door.
From that point, darkness had fallen once more. Ahmed and I finally drove home the rest of the way home, listening to music, most especially anime openings. Listening to anime openings with Arabic is a surreal experience. The Arabic opening for Detective Conan seems almost unrealistically popular for some reason I’ll likely never fully understand.
When we finally returned home, it was past midnight. I said farewell to Ahmed, thanked him for his company on the legendary weekend trip, collected my luggage, claimed my prizes of bags of salt and misshapen lemons and went inside.
I promptly collapsed in bed. As for as whirlwind road trips go, this one was a resounding success.
Christmas Eve is tomorrow, so things will continue to ramble about. My coworkers are eagerly preparing from some aggressively not-Christmas holiday celebrations. Such is life for a foreigner in Saudi.
So until then, best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written Saturday, December 24th, 2023
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Ten years ago, I abandoned my military surplus store backpack for a Farpoint 40 Osprey Travel Pack. I’ve never replaced my bag since. Two years ago, I bought two more Osprey Backpacks for my younger siblings on their first tour outside the country. I have nothing but praise for Osprey Products.
