Al-Ahsa Oasis

Time of the visit: the 4th of dec.2024

I stayed for three days in Riad in order to get to know SA's capital a bit, and to visit the Al-Ahsa Oasis and the Turaif-quarter (both unesco whs).

I had booked my ticket online for the train from Riad to Hofuf just a few days earlier to make sure that I got one as I had read that that train is often booked out. However,the train was quite empty. I took the one early in the morning.

After my arrival in Al-Ahsa I took an ueber taxi from the railway station first to the Jawatha mosque. As I had read that the mosque is tiny I told my driver to wait for me as I would be back within 5-10 min. I stormed out of the taxi and saw a man leaving the mosque and the door wasn't closed when I was already inside. I took some pics and went out where the aforementioned man looked at me quite puzzled. As I was in a hurry I didnt start a conversation.We headed then to the mountain Jabel Al-Quarah. On the way the taxi driver,a former saudi policeman,gave me all the important infos to know about Hofuf which I wanted to know.I stayed inside and outside the mountain Jabal Al-Quarah for almost 2 h. And like my fellow member Martina I consider the swiss-cheese superrock the most interesting stop of that unseco whs.

The Jabal Al-Quarah is like …

The Al-Ahsa Oasis is listed on the World Cultural Heritage List as a place that has been inhabited for a long time since the Early Stone Age. This was helped by the presence of water, which was later diverted by local residents to their fields using canals. Wells, forts, mosques and gardens were built in the area and water greatly helped the development of this region. Twelve different locations are included in the listing, which together form the largest oasis in the world, which has over two and a half million palm trees.

The mountain Jabal Al-Qarah in the city of Al Hofuf was probably the most interesting stop for us. On one side a jungle of palm trees, and across the road a nice parking lot, several restaurants and a huge Land of Civilizations sign. It's quite nice to see at least some place ready for tourists - it's been quite a different experience in Saudi so far and everything seems under construction. The mountain itself, which consists of several rock pillars that have created a natural cave, can be accessed through the visitor center, of course after purchasing a ticket. For your entrance fee, you get access to the museum that tells the history of the civilizations living in this place and to the very maze of alleys between the stones. The sidewalks are resurfaced, illuminated, and there are many interesting places for taking photos in the nooks and crannies of the stone pillars. There are said …

This inscription made me lose faith in the inscription process and although I haven't been following it for a long time, I watched the debate live stream and it basically had ICOMOS strongly disagreeing to include it, saying there isn't anything special being here. Then, using its political buddies it overturned the recommendation to a direct inscription, not even deferring it to next year for a second look or whatnot. This farce just makes you wonder why they spent all the money on the expert going there in the first place because apparently whatever you want to inscribe is going in, and not so much if you are a weak political state. Shame on you. But okay so you got your inscription and you are very proud of it, no judgement from my part yet, let me go and check it out.

After the long drive from Riyadh through trashed highways and a few pit stops to refuel and rest, and you get to the town of Al Ahsaa or actually a whole collection of “Al” towns merged together. There are a whole bunch of sites, some of them I don't even know where they are. I started with the Sahood Fort, mainly because the central highway was closed and this was first on the way. It's a very small block with thick replastered walls and a small entrance that probably says “no entry” because they are doing major renovation...AFTER the inscription?? Well so 5 minutes later I end …