Saudi Arabia in Pictures

[Saif al-Arab]

@Al-Andalus Can you post latest and good quality pictures of Masjid e Nabwi and Khana Kaba I have already saved the pictures which you have already posted on this thread I am asking for new pictures. Also if other members can post them

@Saif al-Arab

Masjid Aisha Alrajhi from the outside.

All from the holy city of Makkah in the blessed Hijaz.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Masjid al-Qiblatain in Madina - Saudi Arabia by Dawood Hassan, on Flickr

The newly renovated Imam Al-Shafi'i (ra) Mosque in Jeddah. Most of the foundation is 1000 years old however parts date 1400 years back to the time of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra).

​

 

[Saif al-Arab]

مسجد الميقات بالمدينة المنورة Meqat mousqe in Madinah by abofatma, on Flickr

إطلالة على الحرم النبوي الشريف by abofatma, on Flickr

Prophet's mosque by abofatma, on Flickr

Old meets new. The restoration and expansion is still ongoing both in Makkah and Madinah.


Speaking about Madinah, Madinah province is home to many lava fields and extinct as well as extant volcanoes. It is one of the most volcanic areas in the entire Arab world and Middle East.

Al Albida Volcano Kybar saudi Arabia by Dr. A. Alturaigy د.عبدالله الطريقي, on Flickr

Albida Volcano, Kybar, saudi Arabia by Dr. A. Alturaigy د.عبدالله الطريقي, on Flickr

Volcano Madina Saudi Arabia by Dr. A. Alturaigy د.عبدالله الطريقي, on Flickr

There are some 35-40 volcanoes in Hijaz alone.

This list below is incomplete but shows around 25 of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_Saudi_Arabia

The last volcanic eruption of note occurred some 200-150 years ago. At times volcanic eruptions (in ancient pre-Islamic and in Islamic times) threatened Makkah and Madinah and other cities in Hijaz.

For more information:

http://www.sgs.org.sa/English/Earthquakes/Pages/Volcanoes.aspx

http://www.sgs.org.sa/English/NaturalHazards/pages/volcanoes.aspx

http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200602/volcanic.arabia.htm

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0926/Ancient-volcanic-field-reawakens-in-Saudi-Arabia

All very interesting and detailed links/articles but the last two are the best.

Costume heritage of Al Madinah by abofatma, on Flickr

 

[Hold up]

beautiful country Mashallah

 

[Saif al-Arab]

KSA has a very rich marine life and a long beautiful and largely untouched coastline. For instance the Red Sea is home to the second largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Al Wadj Bank, Saudi Arabia (NASA, International Space Station Science, 12/30/07) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, on Flickr


فرسان by Jazan Know, on Flickr

Tabuk area منطقة تبوك by tabuk تبوك, on Flickr

​

There are almost 2000 islands in KSA as well. The vast, vast majority are uninhabited. Most are found in the Red Sea.

In recent years several new volcanic islands have emerged in the Red Sea due to volcanic eruptions. More specifically in the waters close to KSA and Yemen. Most recently last year.

This video is 5 years old.

It's quite amazing really.

KAUST wrote a paper on the subject not long ago.

Plate separation births two volcanic islands | KAUST Discovery

Another article from another source.

Birth of two volcanic islands in the southern Red Sea : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Deserts can be some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world and in KSA they come in many different shapes and forms. You can find rocky deserts where rocky mountains dominate, sandy (so-called "real" deserts) ones such as the Rub' al-Khali home to some of the tallest sand dunes in the world and some of the most difficult/isolated/untouched nature in the world. As well as mountainous, volcanic/lava field, stone and fertile deserts (grasslands), and steppe-like deserts etc.

Also the sky in a desert during night is unmatched anywhere else.

A few illustrations of the different kind of deserts that can be found in KSA:

Sand dune meets mountains:

الوجه الاخر by A.Aziz Hajjaj عبدالعزيز بن حجاج, on Flickr

Valley in steppe-like desert:

Zyaan by Mohammed Albuhaisi, on Flickr

Mountainous rocky desert:

Saudi Arabia - Tabuk , by © Saud AL-Jethli, Photo, on Flickr

The View 2 . by oldwolf., on Flickr

Lakes in the desert:

Qassim by Awadh Al Hamzani Photography, on Flickr

kasser by Dr. A. Alturaigy د.عبدالله الطريقي, on Flickr

Alkasser Lake Zulfi Saudi Arabia by Dr. A. Alturaigy د.عبدالله الطريقي, on Flickr

Steppe meets desert:

Dune by Alkassim, on Flickr

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Continued:

Rocky/mountanious deserts:

Looking At the Sun . by oldwolf., on Flickr

Hail City by D7im Al D7im, on Flickr

I Need Ferrari for this Road . by oldwolf., on Flickr

"Real" sandy desert (Rub' al-Khali)

Those sand dunes are several 100 meters tall.

Fertile deserts:

Riyadh Desert Saudi KSA Spring by Life-Style, on Flickr

وادي البردي-ينبع 2 by asim mawwad -عاصم معوض, on Flickr

Lines to Reflection by Abdulmajeed Al Juhani, on Flickr

This below is part of the huge ancient Mada'in Saleh (World UNESCO Heritage Site) archeological complex that the indigenous to Hijaz and Northern Arabia/Southern Levant ancient Nabateans built. The same guys built numerous other World UNESCO Heritage Sites in places such as Jordan (Petra), Syria (Bosra) and Israel in Negev (Avdat)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataeans

"Jane Taylor, a writer, describes them as "one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world".[2]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mada'in_Saleh

View . by oldwolf., on Flickr

Also there are many landscapes in KSA that are almost exactly the same as those found in Southern Africa. Safari-like landscapes. I have posted some of of such photos a long time here but I will try to post some new ones.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Some people might wonder how a typical traditional desert village might look like or rather looked like in KSA.

A good example to show here is Ushaiger which is a typical example of an ancient Najdi village. It has been restored to its former glory and is cared for by the government, locals and private investors. Unfortunately one cannot say the same thing about every of the 1000's upon 1000's of other similar village pearls in Najd or KSA as a whole.

Quite a few of them are in a very bad state and they should be renovated. This is due to the rapid urbanization and many of the villages have simply been left to decay basically.
It's sad if you ask me but there is hardly any taste left in this modern world with the architecture all looking the same without a soul or artistic elegance.
I much, much prefer our own ancient architectures found in the Arab world (the first of its kind in the world) from Morocco to Oman than modern Western architecture in the form of skyscrapers, concrete, glass and more concrete and glass.

The video below shows the extent of the village and the renovation work from a bird's-eye view.

This village is like any other village in this part of Najd however the big difference here is that the few remaining locals, investors and the government decided to renovate it. It would be excellent if small as big heritage sites could be renovated everywhere in the Arab world and the MENA region. If this would not have occurred this particular village would be left to decay.

​

For more many more photos see this thread below:​

https://defence.pk/threads/ushaiger...estored-najdi-village-in-saudi-arabia.454067/

 

[Saif al-Arab]

People are sometimes astonished or at least very surprised that there is snowfall in much of KSA during winter.

Here are some examples of this rather normal occurrence (in some parts of KSA at least - mostly the North):

Snowfall back in November 2014 near Al-Zulfi in the nearby desert. Some 260 km northwest of Riyadh.

Looks surreal.

Desert, greenery and snow. A nice and unique combination not often seen!

Snow in Northern Hijaz (Tabuk area). An yearly occurrence during winter.

Saudi Arabia Snow by ABO_TMEEM, on Flickr

This above could easily have been taken somewhere in Arizona/New Mexico/Nevada during winter. But no, that's northern Hijaz during winter.

Yes, KSA is a country of many hidden pearls. An unknown kingdom indeed. I guess that this is part of the charm for people unfamiliar with KSA and most foreigners in general. However the problem is that many people have no idea about what KSA has to offer and if I showed outsiders this thread to them I can almost guarantee that 99,99% of them would be very pleasantly surprised and many of them would afterwards like to visit if politics/laws were kept as a separate topic of discussion and had no impact on their travel.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Over 50% of Saudi Arabia's territory is mountainous and in much of Hijaz and Southern KSA there are also tropical areas where many exotic fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea etc. grow:

Asir region South Saudi Arabia KSA by Life-Style, on Flickr

faifa 2011 by al_gasemy, on Flickr

مرتفعات عسير 2010 by alkodair, on Flickr

جبال عسير by Khalid Yousef, on Flickr

faifa 2011 by al_gasemy, on Flickr

Jazan region South Saudi Arabia KSA by Life-Style, on Flickr

That's it for now.

Please check this page out guys:

@Full Moon @azzo @alarabi @الأعرابي @Khafee @The SC @Mootaz-khelifi @Naif al Hilali @Valar Dohaeris @AZADPAKISTAN2009 @Zarvan @Ahmad Torky @Amun @Malik Alashter etc.

 

[Naif al Hilali]

Over 50% of Saudi Arabia's territory is mountainous and in much of Hijaz and Southern KSA there are also tropical areas where many exotic fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea etc. grow:

Asir region South Saudi Arabia KSA by Life-Style, on Flickr

faifa 2011 by al_gasemy, on Flickr

مرتفعات عسير 2010 by alkodair, on Flickr

جبال عسير by Khalid Yousef, on Flickr

faifa 2011 by al_gasemy, on Flickr

Jazan region South Saudi Arabia KSA by Life-Style, on Flickr

That's it for now.

Please check this page out guys:

@Full Moon @azzo @alarabi @الأعرابي @Khafee @The SC @Mootaz-khelifi @Naif al Hilali @Valar Dohaeris @AZADPAKISTAN2009 @Zarvan @Ahmad Torky @Amun @Malik Alashter etc.

Salaam brother.

Thank you for the wonderful pictures (nice to see some of them all over again).

I believe you cannot tag more than five people at a time, most will not get your tag if you do that. I have you in my feed so your posts should come up automatically anyway.

Welcome back, I hope you stay a long time.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

https://twitter.com/x/status/817396637752578048

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Riyadh Southern Skyline Jan-6-17 by Bader Alotaby, on Flickr


Riyadh Northern Skyline Jan-6-17 by Bader Alotaby, on Flickr

 

[Saif al-Arab]

 

[theman111]

thats graet