The world famous Arabian horse

[RazPaK]

@al-Hasani really likes this image.

This an ancient fort. It's called Killa derawar. The main gates have huge spikes on them to counter elephant charges. Elephants were used to breach gates back in the day, but this fort had exclusively built spikes to counter invading armies.

Looks like something out of Medieval Total War 2 huh?

 

[al-Hasani]

Yes, yes in fact it is, Saudi Arabia is a nation that houses 4 distinct cultures inside of it, one of which is Hidjazi, Hidjazis and Jizanis of the south hate being associated with Desert and bedounism, they hate it a lot. Najdis and Shami Badiyat of the north on the other hand are proud of their desert past as they should, me and Al-Hasani are Hidjazis, and saying that we live in a desert is very insulting to us, Hidjazis have a culture that can be considered close to northern Sham culture in fact, Syria and Lebanon to be exact.

While I do agree that the majority of land in which current state Saudi Arabia holds is desert, Hidjaz is not a desert, it is mountains, shore and fertile farming grounds. You can say it is a pet peeve of Hidjazis to say we live in a desert.

@Mosamania

You are talking with an ignorant and a well-known Indian troll. I tell you from experience. My post 63 says it all really. Even large areas of Najd are fertile, it hosts thousands of valleys, some of the largest palm groves out there, huge agricultural areas and farmlands (do I need to say Al-Qassim, Unaizah, Buraidah etc. etc.), huge underground water reserves etc. After all Najd is a PLATEAU. Highland in other words. The Northern regions also contain fertile areas and the biggest agricultural areas in the country. Google Maps will confirm this easily. Al-Jouf, Sakaka etc. etc. The Eastern Province is even home and always was traditionally, to rice production.

The only real desert in KSA is the beautiful Rub' al-Khali desert which also has huge underwater reserves and there are even lakes there. But even there you have life. In the skies, on the ground and below.

Anyway let him be ignorant. I don't personally consider a desert an insult (LOL) but rather as a very beautiful thing. Our deserts are both mountainous, sandy, rocky and volcanic and I for once value them.

On a map this is considered a desert in KSA;


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

(during the time of spring)


Zyaan by Mohammed Albuhaisi, on Flickr



Lines to Reflection by Abdulmajeed Al Juhani, on Flickr


Qassim by Awadh Al Hamzani Photography, on Flickr



الوجه الاخر by A.Aziz Hajjaj عبدالعزيز بن حجاج, 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


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

Anyway there are hundreds of such beautiful photos in this thread on page 30 alone.

The Arabian Peninsula and Arab world in photos | Page 30

Who in their sane mind can say that there is no life or that it is even ugly nature?

Anyway Mosab I appreciate our deserts be they mountainous, rocky, sandy, volcanic as much as I appreciate our mountain ranges, our tropical areas, our beautiful and long tropical coasts (especially the Red Sea), our 1500 or so tropical islands, our steppes, valleys, farmlands, lowlands, highlands, ancient villages and cities, modern cities, our animal life, architecture, cuisine etc. You should too. Also our deserts gave life to such excellent traditions as horse racing, horse breeding, falconry, hunting, saluki races, the well-known hospitality etc. We should not forget that. It also made our people who lived in those areas though as hell and this was shown in our military history (creating 3 of the 10 biggest empires the world have known - more than any other ethnic group in the top 10) and countless of kingdoms, sultanates, emirates, sheikdoms on 3 continents etc.

@RazPaK my friend, this fort reminds me very much of the forts on the Arabian Peninsula. You should really check this thread out below that I linked to already. It contains hundreds of palaces, forts, castles etc. of the Arabian Peninsula (mostly) and Arab world.

Your video with the horse was cool as hell but the people should be careful not to shot the poor horse, man!

 

[RazPaK]

@Mosamania

You are talking with an ignorant and a well-known Indian troll. I tell you from experience. My post 63 says it all really. Even large areas of Najd are fertile, it hosts thousands of valleys, some of the largest palm groves out there, huge agricultural areas and farmlands (do I need to say Al-Qassim, Unaizah, Buraidah etc. etc.), huge underground water reserves etc. After all Najd is a PLATEAU. Highland in other words. The Northern regions also contain fertile areas and the biggest agricultural areas in the country. Google Maps will confirm this easily. Al-Jouf, Sakaka etc. etc. The Eastern Province is even home and always was traditionally, to rice production.

The only real desert in KSA is the beautiful Rub' al-Khali desert which also has huge underwater reserves and there are even lakes there. But even there you have life. In the skies, on the ground and below.

Anyway let him be ignorant. I don't personally consider a desert an insult (LOL) but rather as a very beautiful thing. Our deserts are both mountainous, sandy, rocky and volcanic and I for once value them.

On a map this is considered a desert in KSA;


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

(during the time of spring)


Zyaan by Mohammed Albuhaisi, on Flickr



Lines to Reflection by Abdulmajeed Al Juhani, on Flickr


Qassim by Awadh Al Hamzani Photography, on Flickr



الوجه الاخر by A.Aziz Hajjaj عبدالعزيز بن حجاج, 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


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

Anyway there are hundreds of such beautiful photos in this thread on page 30 alone.

The Arabian Peninsula and Arab world in photos | Page 30

Who in their sane mind can say that there is no life or that it is even ugly nature?

Anyway Mosab I appreciate our deserts be they mountainous, rocky, sandy, volcanic as much as I appreciate our mountain ranges, our tropical areas, our beautiful and long tropical coasts (especially the Red Sea), our 1500 or so tropical islands, our steppes, valleys, farmlands, lowlands, highlands, ancient villages and cities, modern cities, our animal life, architecture, cuisine etc. You should too.

@RazPaK my friend, this fort reminds me very much of the forts on the Arabian Peninsula. You should really check this thread out below that I linked to already. It contains hundreds of palaces, forts, castles etc. of the Arabian Peninsula (mostly) and Arab world.

Your video with the horse was cool as hell but the people should be careful not to shot the horse, man!

I find KSA desert very beautiful, but @Mosamania guy seems to not like it.

When my grandfather went for Hajj, back in the day he told me about the black mountains in KSA, and how beautiful they were.

 

[Safavid empire]

I thought world most famous horses are from Turkministan

 

[al-Hasani]

I thought world most famous horses are from Turkministan

The Arabian horse is pretty much universally recognized as the most or one of the most well-known and desired horses. I suggest that you read post number 1 in this thread or just the entire thread.

With all due respect then I and most others do not know about any horses from Turkmenistan. The only Turkmen horse that I can think about is the Turkoman horse but it is now extinct and it was obviously never as famous as the Arabian, @MOHSENAM.

Do no troll this informative thread.

 

[Cherokee]

@al-Hasani ANy good documentaries on Saudi or even arabian peninsula Nature and wildlife which you can recommend ?

 

[Safavid empire]

The Arabian horse is pretty much universally recognized as the most or one of the most well-known and desired horses. I suggest that you read post number 1 in this thread or just the entire thread.

With all due respect then I and most others do not know about any horses from Turkmenistan. The only Turkmen horse that I can think about is the Turkoman horse but it is now extinct and it was obviously never as famous as the Arabian, @MOHSENAM.

Do no troll this informative thread.

Ok sorry for offtopic in Arabian horse thread

 

[jaunty]

Desert doesn't mean arid ground with no life, horses did live in the desert, they would move from oasis to oasis for food and water until domesticated by man, in fact it was the first horse to be domesticated considering recent evidence of ancient Arabian empires.

It was a very relevant question from me. I know that desert is not lifeless but horse is not an animal that I would associate with deserts. In general it can't survive without a continuous source of fresh water and green grazing lands. We know that the Arabian horse did survive in that harsh climate. Therefore I wanted to know how. Your answer that they used to move from oasis to oasis makes sense. But even then over time these horses must have developed some characteristics particular to them.

I obviously was not aware of the pet peeves of Al-Hasani and his aversion to deserts, belonging from a country where 95% of the land is desert.

 

[al-Hasani]

Is that Indian troll still here? Escaped from the local slum/jungle? Amazing. Aversion? Yes, sure. That can be seen by my post on this page of the thread. I have an aversion when it comes to ignorants. You are right about that, genius. At least you learned something today in terms of my previous replies.

@al-Hasani ANy good documentaries on Saudi or even arabian peninsula Nature and wildlife which you can recommend ?

Good to see you around. I hope that you are doing well. Take a look on all of those threads. I know that there are many but they are still good in terms of what you ask for.

The Arabian Peninsula and Arab world in photos | Page 30

Saudi Arabia in Pictures | Page 77

Wild Arabia - BBC documentary series.

The Frankincense Trail

Exploring Saudi Arabia's marine wonderland

Roads of Arabia Documentary (must watch)

Start with the two threads in terms of photos. There are probably around 2000 photos in just the first thread most from the Arabian Peninsula. Second thread is purely KSA.

Third thread is about the wildlife in Arabia. It is a documentary series. 4-5 hours in total. It's ok. BBC.

Fourth is the ancient Incense Route (first real international trade route) whose heart was in KSA and Yemen. BBC too. That's good.

Incense Route - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fifth is about the marine wonderland of KSA. It's National Geographic.

Sixth is about the ancient history of Arabia. The documentary is a short documentary but very informative. It's 28 minutes long.

In all of those threads you also have photos, articles, other videos etc.

Enjoy.

P.S: We are a bit off-topic but what the hell?!

 

[jaunty]

Deserts can thrive and decline, it may seem lifeless at first glance, but behind the scenes there is much wild life.


Assuming deserts have no wild life is akin to presuming there is no wild life in the arctic circle.

It's about the type of wildlife, not lack of wildlife. No one assumed that deserts have no wildlife.

At least you learned something today in terms of my previous replies.

Always ready to learn new things. Not sure about your posts but Mosamania's replies were informative. The question was asked precisely for that reason, not to witness your drama.

 

[al-Hasani]

I did not know that sticking to facts and educating a person ignorant on a particular matter was not considered informative. But whatever floats your boat. I am not interested. Now stop derailing the thread.



Arabian Horse by Sultan alSultan , on Flickr

Role Model by Ahmed-ID, on Flickr

Sans entraves... by windtalker40, on Flickr

Arabian Horses | الخيل الاصيلة by Osama Alsulami أسامة السلمي, on Flickr

Arabian horse by Sultan alSultan , on Flickr

Arabian Horse ،، by Majed Al-Shehri → ماجد الشهري, on Flickr

 

[Jaanbaz]

How did these horses survive in desert? Were there wild horses in the desert or were they brought in from somewhere else and domesticated?

Saudis 'find evidence of early horse domestication'
BBC News - Saudis 'find evidence of early horse domestication'

 

[jaunty]

Saudis 'find evidence of early horse domestication'
BBC News - Saudis 'find evidence of early horse domestication'

Interesting. Makes my original post all the more relevant. Maybe people calling others ignorant would take a look at the mirror. I also read this on the Arabian Horse Associations website--

"Because the interior of the Arabian peninsula has been dry for approximately 10,000 years, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for horses to exist in that arid land without the aid of man. The domestication of the camel in about 3500 B.C. provided the Bedouins (nomadic inhabitants of the middle east desert regions) with means of transport and sustenance needed to survive the perils of life in central Arabia, an area into which they ventured about 2500 B.C. At that time they took with them the prototype of the modern Arabian horse."
--
I specifically mentioned domestication for this reason.

 

[Mosamania]

It was a very relevant question from me. I know that desert is not lifeless but horse is not an animal that I would associate with deserts. In general it can't survive without a continuous source of fresh water and green grazing lands. We know that the Arabian horse did survive in that harsh climate. Therefore I wanted to know how. Your answer that they used to move from oasis to oasis makes sense. But even then over time these horses must have developed some characteristics particular to them.

I obviously was not aware of the pet peeves of Al-Hasani and his aversion to deserts, belonging from a country where 95% of the land is desert.

It is not 95% desert, not by a long shot, but yeah, there are many theories and myths on how the Arabian horse came to be, my favourite myth is that God created the Arabian horse from the South Wind, then the winds formed into a horse, and God named the Arabian horse the Lord of all Animals, servant to man but its equal still.

Arabian mythology is probably as lush if not more so than any civilization, how I wish for that mythology to be revived, because much culture can be found in it.

 

[jaunty]

It is not 95% desert, not by a long shot, but yeah, there are many theories and myths on how the Arabian horse came to be, my favourite myth is that God created the Arabian horse from the South Wind, then the winds formed into a horse, and God named the Arabian horse the Lord of all Animals, servant to man but its equal still.

Arabian mythology is probably as lush if not more so than any civilization, how I wish for that mythology to be revived, because much culture can be found in it.

Well the 95% number is not my own.

Saudi Arabia Facts, Saudi Arabia Flag -- National Geographic
Dust Storm in Saudi Arabia : Natural Hazards
---------

Anyways it was interesting to know the early history of domestication of these horses. Beautiful animals. The harsh climate did instill some specific characteristics in these horses. Apparently they have large lung capacity and high endurance. Their early domestication and close contact with people also made them human friendly.