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Down from the mountains
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  • From Dust We RideDown from the mountainsПутешественник
    Good morning, lady!
    In Medina - a breakfast restaurantThe Quba MosqueThe walking lane from the Quba to the Prophet's MosqueA stroll around townThat's quite gangster!The Prophet's Mosque

    Medina

    14 июля, Саудовская Аравия ⋅ ☀️ 45 °C

    Next morning we woke up by herd of very hungry camels descended from the dune and into the oasis just stopping short of our tent. They looked at us skeptically, we were invaders after all. Then they grazed around us, careful not to get too close.

    Not wanting to lose the morning breeze, we pulled ourselves away from the camels and hit the road. Direction Medina, 550 km and 46 °C. It might also have been a bit more if you count the hot engine air frying our legs...
    We pulled into Medina after dark where we cooled down our brains for a bit.

    Next morning we went to the workers restaurant next door (typical) where all they had was tins of tuna and beans for the fuul, our standard order with a side of Karak tea. Easy peasy, cheap and cheery, what more could we ask for?

    We left the helmets behind and set off on foot. From the Quba Mosque, standing where the first mosque ever was built, we slowly walked towards Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque. A few kilometres along palm trees and the tranquility of a pilgrimage town, people watching, having a chai or a kebab here and there - just being a bit slow for once and watching life happen. Medina seemed a lot more relaxed than hectic Makkah. Known for its plentiful date gardens, the green invited a lot of breeze and there were many foot paths to quietly stroll. And that's how we spent our evening, calmly weaving through the stalls and between the silent moving crowd.

    Tomorrow we'd throw the helmets back on - again for an incomparable furnace ride, heavenhell yeah!    Читать далее

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  • From Dust We RideDown from the mountainsПутешественник
    Riding into the unforgiving plain
    RidingKismet stays cool with a wet scarf!Even cooler with a wet shirt!Also, along the road one can find tanks of questionable but refreshing water.IronChris is also trying to be coolOn long straight roads in the heat one can lose the focus, so better be aware........of these beautiful animals.You always find great people :) shukran, habibi!FreeWoohoo!Chrawo Tours!These guys also fancy some refreshments. The bees providing the famous Saudi honey

    The Anvil of the Sun

    15 июля, Саудовская Аравия ⋅ ☀️ 44 °C

    From Medina to Al Ula - crossing a furnace

    It's hot.
    You don't feel the sweat since it's so dry the moisture doesn't exist, but at the end of the day, the shirt is encrusted in white salt. Hence, we drink water (well, obviously), a dissolved mother solution of two spoons of salt, six spoons of sugar. And the water is also hot.
    You can not escape the heat, everything we touch is just hot. The eyes get red as a result of heat and dryness.
    It's a blow-dryer, and sometimes a wave of fire on the skin...

    In other words: Again, an epic day and what a pleasure to ride through this land!    Читать далее

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  • From Dust We RideDown from the mountainsПутешественник
    Al Ula
    The hip road in Al Ula down townRidingKismet and IronChris doing tourist thingsA diwaniya, a hang out areaAnachronistic - petroglyphs and early arab writings.Walking around Nabataean tombsThe carpenters started on the top, finishing each inch, then going down one level. No ladders needed22Riding freely with no luggageAnother trip into the roxIronChris - again - is holding it all together!The elephant rock. Adjacent, a fancy bamcy café.Particularly beautiful at nightfallFinishing with a refreshing Maghreb ride

    Al Ula

    16 июля, Саудовская Аравия ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    The road south towards Al Ula slowly turned into another world.

    The black volcanic fields disappeared behind us, replaced by towering sandstone cliffs, narrow canyons and giant boulders balancing where gravity apparently hadn't been informed. Every now and then, a lonely camel watched us blast by as if wondering what these two crazies were doing out there in the afternoon heat.

    Eventually, we rolled into AlUla.

    Al Ula is a bit dodgy, yet the government tries to use the cultural value to turn it into one of the flagship tourism projects, and one street of the old town is indeed a bit fancy.
    For thousands of years, caravans passed through this valley carrying incense, spices and silk between southern Arabia and the Mediterranean. We jump on a bus to go sightseeing at the remainings of the ancient culture of the Nabateans. These guys, ancestors of the Arabs of South Jordan and Northern Saudi, originated from further south in Yemen, migrated north in search for fertile lands, and eventually settled here a century before Christ as the first high culture of the region. Their impressive diwaniyas, tombs and treasuries carved into the rocks remind you it's the same people who made Jordan famous for Petra.
    We ride to the elephant rock everybody is crazy about and enjoy easy Maghreb rides, exploring the valleys surrounding Hegra. Massive sandstone monoliths rise straight out of the ground, carved by wind and time into impossible shapes.    Читать далее

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  • From Dust We RideDown from the mountainsПутешественник
    Walking to a café, hidden in the rocks
    ...and riding out again!There's nothing going on, and only 32 degrees!Going into Wadi Disah - horizon viewThese little guys needed some time to adapt to the intruders - their nest was just above usAgain, a marvelous place, in Wadi DisahMaking it cozy, always necessaryRidingKismet hiding in the shade at a petrol station, somewhere nowhereCrossing the countryA bedou on his camel greetingBeeboxes - where the Sedr honey is earned by truly hard working beesRuuuuun bebe camelWelcome to NEOM - where there's nothing to see...just an immobile construction siteIn the end, it's still bedouin lands.After crossing the border to Jordan, we hit the port...1...and the town of Aqaba.

    Back in the Jebelya, facing Urdun

    19 июля, Саудовская Аравия ⋅ 🌬 36 °C

    We then got a breakfast in a cafe hidden in the rocks surrounding Al Ula and hit the road north.
    Enjoying the mountains around Prince MBS Royal Reserve, going down to Wadi Disah... At 1600 m, 32 °C truly are refreshing, and we surf through empty single lane roads cutting rough and honest bedouin lands. Then, Kismet starts sputtering again... Come on, girl, honestly? What's the problem now? She does have compression - Is it the altitude? 1600 m should be fine.... Or is it dirt in the carbs? Please, hold on till Aqaba. In the end, our iron horses have all right to be tired. Please, just a couple more km...

    Eventually, we come down from the mountains, towards the Gulf of Aqaba, and the colour of the sky and the smell in the air changes.
    We had that vision to eat Kusheri, that traditional cheap meal consisting of chickpeas and rice, overlooking the sea to the opposite coast where our past selves look at us with a smile - but our plan is intersected: The NEOM project, this planned futuristic mega city, so far brought confusing and empty highways and abandoned towns. To make space, the Huweitat people who lived here had been kicked out - in part violently - so no restaurant could serve us Kusheri at the coast (let's see where this all is leading to).

    No Kusheri, so we left the NEOM project behind us, camped one last night in the mountains - and rolled down to Aqaba in the morning...    Читать далее

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