Two Forts, Two Arches and A Desert Camp

A'arif Fort in Ha'il.

After climbing the hill this is the entrance.

The interior of the Mosque in the fort.

Exterior of Qishlah Palace Fort...

and the interior.

And two gentlemen who unkowingly posed for me.

A Turkish style Mosque we drove past.

A beautiful arch along the road.

My Tasmanian friend Darren and I on the desert road.

My Bedouin style home for three nights...

and the interior.

We hiked from camp to this beautiful arch out in the desert.

And seen from the other side.

Beautiful desert scenery with camels!

Thursday, January 22nd.

This morning we visited two fortresses in Ha’il. The first, A’arif Fort, was built on a hilltop in the 1850’s before the unification of Saudi Arabia and commands a full view of the oasis and the town below. The second the mudbrick Qishlah Palace was in the city proper and was constructed in 1940’s just after the unification of Saudi Arabia. It is a large walled complex that served as soldiers barracks for a long time and more recently the police, but it has now been renovated as the Saudis are preserving and celebrating their heritage in anticipation of the growth of tourism. Then we set out for a 6 hour drive to our desert camp in Aiuli?? The scenery was spectacular. I love desert vistas and mountains unencumbered by vegetation and the soft pastel colours. I have seen very few scooters, but today saw three proper motorcyclists riding across the desert, envious. Interesting road signs: Danger sandstorm area; Danger Camel Crossing Area; Danger Inhabited Area. We stopped at a gas station for snacks and a rest stop and then continued on. Long drive today but past some awesome desert landscapes. We stopped at a beautiful arch alongside the road. We took pictures of each other along the deserted road. We arrived at the Arch Desert Camp, which will be our home for three nights about 4pm. This place is very rustic and the rooms are all set in a date grove. They are individual permanent tents set up in the Bedouin style with black and white stripes on the exterior and red carpets inside. Attached to the room is a basic lavatory with sink, toilet and a rudimentary shower. After ditching our luggage we all went for a 6 km round trip walk along a basic sandy road to see another beautiful sandstone arch sculpted by the wind and elements. We enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs and enjoy the desert up close. I got a great video of a small group of camels running towards us. We got back to camp in time to wash up and meet in the kitchen tent. There our host had set up one long table and had cooked us a traditional chicken with cinnamon rice, potatoes and veggies, which hit the spot quite nicely. We all headed back to our tents by about 8 as we have an early morning tomorrow. No wi-fi here so just typing and organizing the blog which I can’t post and I can’t reach out to anyone. Time to read.