Tourism in Saudi Arabia - Opportunities and Challenges (Open Discussion)

[Saif al-Arab]

Arabian oryx at Saudi Arabia's Uruq bani Ma’arid natural reserve

The number of oryx in the protected area range between 75 and 100. (SPA)

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Saturday, 3 March 2018

The Uruq bani Ma’arid natural reserve in the South western region of Saudi Arabia is home to some of the Kingdom’s endangered wildlife.

Located on the southern edge of the Empty Quarter and an area of about 480 km, the reserve is home to a burying range of desert ecosystems and limestone hills.

The most famous of all animal in the reserve is the Arabian oryx. It is also an important environment for sand foxes, red foxes, Ethiopian hedgehogs and various types of desert and reptile species.

Ostriches released in the natural reserve this week. (SPA)

104 species of birds, including endangered eagle species are monitored on the reserve.

According to Vice-President of the Saudi Wildlife Authority, Dr. Hani Tatwani, the Authority is seeking to resettle the Arabian Oryxs in the reserve since 1995.

The number of oryx in the protected area range between 75 and 100.

He pointed out that the Commission has continued its programs to launch endangered animals in the protected area.

He stressed the Authority's keenness to preserve the ecosystems and biodiversity in the reserve for the resettlement of endangered species and to cooperate with local communities to conserve natural resources in order to benefit them in a sustainable manner, provide employment opportunities for local residents and scientific research.

Dr Tatwani added that the Saudi Wildlife Authority, in cooperation with the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, are working to take advantage of the historical sites in the reserve.

The historic village of Faw is located on the reserve as well as many archaeological sites dating back to the stone age.

Also environmental friendly eco-camping is being organized during the winter and spring months.

Prince Jalawi bin Abdul Aziz bin Masa'ed, Governor of Najran Region, recently launched the largest project to re-establish wildlife in the Uruq bani Ma’arid with the launch of a number of Arabian oryx, Houbara birds and Ostriches.

Last Update: Saturday, 3 March 2018 KSA 02:51 - GMT 23:51

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/fea...abia-s-Uruq-bani-Ma-arid-natural-reserve.html

IN PICTURES: Saudi’s al-Hada roads hanging between clouds and mountains

Al-Hada mountainous region in Mecca province in western Saudi Arabia is home for the worlds’ most spiral roads and highways. (Supplied)

Mohamed al-Harby, Al Arabiya English
Thursday, 5 July 2018

Located in one of the world’s most fascinating natural forms, al-Hada mountainous region in Mecca province in western Saudi Arabia is home for the worlds’ most spiral roads and highways with a temperature varying from 45 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius.

Al-Hada which is a touristic hotspot in the Kingdom, is also famous for its park and five stars hotels, while its roads are considered as one of the most beautiful and important mountain roads in the region, connecting Taif city with the other regions on the west and north.

Tourists and travelers enjoy doing their purchasing of fruits and vegetables in the local shops located in the starting point area called “Kara” in the major village of al-Hada, before starting their journey down the twisted spiral roads towards the city of Mecca and Jeddah.

Part of the road ntework going up to Kara area and connecting between Taif and Mecca cities offers scenic views, as part of the road is bridged between the connecting mountains as if it is hanging in the sky.

Known for its cool refreshing weather with temperatures ranging between 20 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius with rainfall all year round, the region has witnessed major road construction.

The length of Kara road is 87 km and is split into four directions. The road from Mecca to Arafat is 21 km, from Arafat to Kara 23 km and from Kara to al-Hada 23 km, while the most difficult and risky road which goes in a spiral form around the mountains is from al-Hada to Taif with 20km in length.

Exploration in the area revealed an off road dated back more than 10 centuries and known by the name “Tariq al-Jammala” which means in English “road of camel riders”.

People used to travel on camels between Mecca and Taif. Also, this off road is considered a track for pilgrims and traders.

Kara witnessed the opening of the first phase of its expansion project during the rule of King Khaled bin Abdulaziz in 1398 AH when King Saud bin Abdulaziz ordered the launch of the expansion project. This same road underwent another expansion during the rule of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in 1427 AH.

With the last expansion done in the area, traffic has increased, as the major obstacles have been removed while tracks became wider for motorists.

Kara area in al-Hada is also known as a natural habitat for extinct species like the Arab Tiger. Also monkeys can be seen in the mountains which are marked by greenery.

The region which is a beautiful natural resort, is also an attraction for Saudi photographers who are inspired by the many landscapes throughout the year. One of the most famous photographers of this area is Mohamad al-Hazli, who documented the famous roads hanging between the clouds and the green mountains.

Last Update: Thursday, 5 July 2018 KSA 18:41 - GMT 15:41

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/lif...a-s-south-a-beautiful-natural-landscape-.html

 

[Saif al-Arab]

IN PICTURES: Saudi Arabia’s south a beautiful natural landscape

A sand plateau in Sabt Al Jara in al-Qunfudhah governorate in south Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)



Zafer al-Bakry, Al Arabiya English
Wednesday, 4 July 2018


Saudi Arabia is distinguished by its diverse terrain which varies according to a wide geographical area, turning a number of picturesque natural landscapes that are pleasing to the eye as aesthetic paintings, making it a touristic destination.

Al Arabiya English documented a number of these sites which are located in southern Saudi Arabia as a natural and unique tourism component, forming a harmonious panel of plains, mountains, hills and valleys.

Agricultural terraces in al-Salma in Balqarn governorate in Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

Wadi Yaba in al-Majaridah in Asir province south of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

A wadi in al-Majaridah in Asir province south of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

A touristic park in Tanoumah governorate in South of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

Arial photo for al-Tahawi mountain in al-Majaridah governorate south of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

The Palace of Islamic Civilizations in Namas city south of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

The beach side in al-Qunfudhah south of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

A water fall in south Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)


Last Update: Wednesday, 4 July 2018 KSA 18:40 - GMT 15:40

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/lif...a-s-south-a-beautiful-natural-landscape-.html

IN PICTURES: Never-before-seen glimpse into natural reserves across Saudi Arabia

Nine areas have been designated as royal reservations. (SPA)



Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Saturday, 9 June 2018


Photos released by the Saudi Press Agency have offered a rare glimpse into natural reserves across Saudi Arabia.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s recent decrees to protect the environment and wildlife and transform them into tourist destination reflect a keenness on preserving the kingdom’s natural environment.





Nine areas have been designated as royal reservations and their board of directors have been appointed in an effort to limit overfishing and overgrazing, prevent deforestation and maintain and increase vegetation.







The reserves are not limited to deserts, but they include beaches and mountains, which based on the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, have drawn the interest of high-level governing bodies that want to transform them into attractions given the competitive environmental tourism in the region.







The Uruq bani Ma’arid natural reserve in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia is home to some of the Kingdom’s endangered wildlife.




Located on the southern edge of the Empty Quarter and an area of about 480 km, the reserve is home to a burying range of desert ecosystems and limestone hills.




The most prominent of all animals in the reserve is the Arabian oryx. It is also an important environment for sand foxes, red foxes, Ethiopian hedgehogs and various types of desert and reptile species.







A total of 104 species of birds, including endangered eagle species are monitored on the reserve.

(With the Saudi Press Agency)

Last Update: Saturday, 9 June 2018 KSA 13:03 - GMT 10:03

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/fea...nto-natural-reserves-across-Saudi-Arabia.html

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Discovering Saudi Arabia's hidden archaeological treasures ​

Mada'in Saleh remains a blank page on the archaeological record, closed off by geography, politics, and religion – but this stunning region is about to throw open its doors to the world

• NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE
• Thursday 7 June 2018 18:12

Mada'in Saleh, the archaeological site with the Nabatean tomb from the first century ( All photographs by Nicholas Shakespeare )
​

Out of the windy darkness a fine sand was blowing across the road from Medina to Al-Ula. Flat desert on either side, a few lights. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta passed this way on camel back in 1326, and wrote of its emphatic wilderness: “He who enters it is lost and he who leaves it is born.”

Before mass tourism ruined them for a second time, I’d travelled to the so-called “lost” cities of Petra, Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat. My destination tonight was the isolated sandstone valley eulogised by Charles Doughty, the first European to enter it in 1876, as “the fabulous Mada’in Saleh which I was come from far countries to seek in Arabia”.

The prospect of following in Doughty’s flapping shadow gave me a jolt of anticipation that I hadn’t experienced since my twenties. Doughty’s classic book Arabia Deserta was championed by his friend TE Lawrence, who later used it as a military textbook, as the greatest record of adventure and travel in our language.

It begins with Doughty trying to smuggle himself into Mada’in Saleh in the guise of a poor Syrian pilgrim. Even up until recently few Europeans have visited this cradle of forgotten civilisations, which, though designated a World Heritage Site in 2008, remains a blank page on the archaeological record, closed off by geography, politics, religion.


“Visitors last year from abroad? I can say zero,” my guide Ahmed tells me.

The temples of Mada'in Saleh near Al-Ula have survived for almost 3,000 years

This is set to change. Last July, under the impetus of Saudi Arabia’s progressive new Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, or “MBS” as he is popularly known, a Royal Commission took charge of Mada’in Saleh and its surrounds – “the crown jewel of a site that the country possesses,” says one of the archaeologists recruited to excavate it.

In December, public access was halted; first in order to survey what actually is there, next to develop a strategy for protecting it, and then to open up Mada’in Saleh to the outside world. My advance visit is aimed at providing an amuse-bouche, as it were.

In the bright morning sunlight, Ahmed escorts me through locked gates, past the German-built railway-line linking Damascus with Medina, which Lawrence bombed (“there are still local tribes which call their sons Al-Orans”), to the celebrated Nabatean rock tombs.

Doughty first heard about these in Petra, 300 miles north. Fifty years earlier, an awe-struck British naval commander had gazed in disbelief at Petra’s imperishable Treasury, murmuring, as many continue to do: “There is nothing in the world that resembles it.” He was wrong.

If a little less rosier than her sister city, Mada’in Saleh shares her capacity to stagger. Out of the flat desert, one after another, the ornate facades rise into sight, 111 of them, carved into perpendicular cliffs up to four storeys high, their low doorways decorated by Alexandrian masons in the first century AD, with Greek triangles, Roman pilasters, Arabian flowers, Egyptian sphinxes, birds.

“This is a twin to Petra,” Ahmed says. Except that in Petra we would be bobbing among crowds.

Tour guide Ahmed is descended from a long line of imams

Standing in reverent silence, with the valley to ourselves, I recall how the Victorian artist who supplied the first images of Petra to the world, David Roberts, responded to that other city. “I turned from it at length with an impression which will be effaced only by death.”

These tombs were carved for the Nabatean tribes who ruled this region for 300 years until the Romans annexed them in 106AD. Semi-nomadic pastoralists who had settled and grown wealthy, the Nabateans controlled the lucrative spice route from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

Then, like the civilisations they’d replaced, the Dedanites, the Lihyanites, the Thamuds, they galloped off into obscurity. Their tombs were looted: the acacia doors plundered for firewood, the marble statues melted to make lime for plaster, the porphyry urns smashed.

All that survives of their caravan city, Hegra, is a flat expanse behind a wire fence: “her clay-built streets are again the blown dust in the wilderness,” Doughty wrote.

The same desolation holds true for the still more ancient Biblical city of Dedan, situated on the lip of an oasis a few minutes drive way. To visit both sites is to gain the sense of a narrative even now being worked out. Until the 20th century the story of these civilisations was scrawled on the rocks in Nabatean or Thamudic script. Ahmed leads me between two steep cliffs to the oldest inscription, written 6,000 years ago.

Saudi Arabia's hidden archaeological treasures

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Tombs in Mada'in Saleh were decorated by Alexandrian masons in the first century with Greek, Roman and Arabian symbols

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The ancient Biblical city of Dedan is situated on the lip of an oasis

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Cliffs formed out of red and black sandstone have eroded into crazy, hallucinatory shapes such as elephants, mushrooms, and seals
Nicholas Shakespeare

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Ancient Dedan inscriptions. Holes in the rock floor denote a sacrificial spot from the time of the Dedanites
Nicholas Shakespeare

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A street in the old town of Al-Ula

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Mada'in Saleh, the archaeological site with the Nabatean tomb from the first century
Nicholas Shakespeare

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Ahmed comes from a long line of imams descended from a grand tribal judge who arrived c1400 in Al Ula’s 'old town'
Nicholas Shakespeare

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The cliffs in the distance: out of the flat desert, one after another, the ornate facades rise into sight, 111 of them, carved into perpendicular cliffs up to four storeys high
Nicholas Shakespeare

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The temples of Mada'in Saleh near Al-Ula have survived for 3,000 years
Nicholas Shakespeare

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'Charles' is scratched on the oat-coloured mud wall not by Charles Doughty but by Prince Charles (in 2015, with his key)
Nicholas Shakespeare

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Al Gharamil

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Mada'in Saleh tombs

Below, a square hole in the rock floor denotes a sacrificial spot from the time of the Dedanites. Ahmed could be speaking of the cavity in the historical record when he says, “They were making sacrifices to one god, Dhu-Ghaibat, which means ‘the one who is absent’.”

Out in the desert, the wind has chiselled its own mysterious deities and hieroglyphs. The scene is stunning. In Petra, which forms part of the same massif, David Roberts threw away his pencil in despair at being able to convey it, believing that the ruins “sink into insignificance when compared with these stupendous rocks”.

It’s hard to disagree. Cliffs formed out of red and black sandstone have eroded into crazy, hallucinatory shapes: elephants, mushrooms, braying seals. If they were transcribed into music, it would be Wagnerian.


They make you believe in mountain gods, I tell Ahmed, who smiles. “I never try smoking weed, but when I hear someone react, I feel like that. It makes you high, naturally.”

For sheer high spirits, no one yields to the British archaeologist I meet that night. Jamie Quartermain is part of an international team employed since March to survey these sites.

A surveyor who pioneered the use of drones, Quartermain says: “We’ve been wanting to get involved here, but Saudi has been a closed shop, a completely untapped reserve."


"The perception is that it’s big, open desert. When I tried to find out anything about it, there was essentially one book. The discovery that there are so many archaeological sites is a big shock for most people. It was a big shock for me.”

Advised by the Royal Commission to expect 450 unexcavated sites, Quartermain estimates the truer number between 6,000-10,000. “The survival of the archaeology is remarkable, some of the best condition remains I’ve ever seen. We’re not finding it close to the surface, it’s above surface, well and truly visible.”

Ancient Dedan inscriptions. Holes in the rock floor denote a sacrificial spot from the time of the Dedanites

Deploying a drone, he has begun creating a three-dimensional textural surface of the area. Already, what he has found is ground-breaking. “You can see all the archaeology jumping out and biting you on the bottom.”


When, aged 20, I visited Petra, sleeping in one of the caves, I talked to the head of the Bdoul tribe, allegedly descendants of the Nabateans, who told me: “We have a saying that the more wealth you have, the more brain cells you need to be able to cope with it.

What impresses about MBS’s plan for Mada’in Saleh is his determination to use his nation’s resources to avoid the pitfalls of Petra.

“Wadi Rum is pretty disastrous,” says Chris Tuttle, an American archaeologist seconded to the project. Tuttle spent many years excavating in Petra. He saw at first hand the ruinous impact of tourism, both on the ruins and the local community.


By contrast, in Al-Ula, the local town for Mada’in Saleh, there has been a concerted drive to educate the locals, giving scholarships to 150 children, but also to attract experts armed with the latest methodol

One reason for the blankness on Saudi Arabia’s archaeological map, says Tuttle, has been the resistance of conservative religious leaders to question their history. “You don’t need to study the past when you’ve been given a manual from God.”

Suddenly, a multi-thousand-year-old story has become an open book, not a closed one, and the revelation it contains could be a complex of sites more significant even than Petra. My guide Ahmed Alimam is a perfect representative of Al-Ula’s past and future. He comes from a long line of imams descended from a grand tribal judge who arrived c1400 in Al Ula’s “old town”


Abandoned in 1983, the year of Ahmed’s birth, this haunting labyrinth of mud houses and twisting streets replaced Dedan and Hegra. It was built using stones from those cities. They can be seen fortifying the occasional doorway.

Ahmed leads the way down an empty street to the house where his parents used to live – collapsed beams, upturned crates. He shows me the mosque, erected over the spot where the Prophet Mohammed stopped in 630AD, and with a goat bone drew in the sand the direction of Medina; Ahmed’s uncle was the last imam.

And a modern inscription: the name “Charles”, scratched on the oat-coloured mud wall not, as momentarily I’d hoped, by Charles Doughty, but by Prince Charles (in 2015, with his key), and below it the Islamic translation.


During the Islamic period, Al-Ula, or El-Ally as Doughty knew it, became an important station on the haj road south, and marked the last place where Christians were permitted to travel. Ibn Battuta described how pilgrim caravans paused here for four days to resupply and wash, and to leave any excess baggage with the townspeople “who are known for their trustworthiness”.

“I hope we are still doing our best to be like that,” Ahmed says. “You can try, if you want, to leave something.”

The only thing I left behind after my four days here was an urge to come back.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...y-alhijir-petra-charles-doughty-a8373686.html

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Great thread. I think honestly think KSA has a 'goldmine' in it beaches on the Red Sea, Arabian Sea abd Persian Gulf. Most of these I suspect are clean and free from pollution. In the future they could be opened up to tourists and offer a Mediteranean style package holidays. I think this will happen in the future as the traditional resorts get saturate. In addition KSA could offer winter breaks etc


@Saif al-Arab

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Great thread. I think honestly think KSA has a 'goldmine' in it beaches on the Red Sea, Arabian Sea abd Persian Gulf. Most of these I suspect are clean and free from pollution. In the future they could be opened up to tourists and offer a Mediteranean style package holidays. I think this will happen in the future as the traditional resorts get saturate. In addition KSA could offer winter breaks etc


@Saif al-Arab

The potential is indeed very significant. KSA has a lot to offer depending on the taste. Magnificent 3000 km long coastlines, in fact some of the most unspoiled coastline out there (the Red Sea is also home to one of the largest coral reefs in the world and one of the few coral reefs that do not turn white/die off), 1500 + islands (sandy, volcanic, tropical, mountainous, arid etc.), beach weather throughout most of the year (depending on the region), central location (with huge markets in Asia, Africa and Europe next door, to begin with mostly of a Muslim nature but at the end of the road obviously not only), a diverse nature, for instance mountainous areas the size of several large European nations combined, some of the largest and most spectacular volcanic (dormant mostly, luckily) formations, tons of ancient heritage sites and many more to be discovered, ancient cities, tons of Islamic holy sites, some of the oldest churches in the world (Jubail Church), remnants of Jewish culture scattered across Hijaz (Khaybar for instance) and elsewhere, scenic mountain, desert, steppe, lowland villages, large metropolis with above average infrastructure, stunning desert areas (sandy, rocky, mountainous etc. deserts), Rub' al-Khali being another world completely iterated with, yes, lakes and small rivers depending on the month of the year and whenever rainfall occurs (due to ancient traces of the third largest lake in the world and numerous rivers (some of the longest in the world 6000 + years ago) and much more.

Much regional diversity as well (naturally given the size of KSA). Not a too well-exposed cuisine but a cuisine most foreigners praise and which has influenced and has been influenced by numerous cuisines of the region and world (due to trade, Hajj, Umrah etc.).

Maybe even more importantly, KSA is new fertile ground for tourism. One of the last frontiers left to be conquered by mainstream tourism. A mysterious land. Often misunderstood and stereotyped. A land that mostly only surprises as people do not know what to expect. They hear about the wealth (oil, gas etc.) and about some braindead Mullah's (extremism). They think Islam but also know that this ancient land is hiding much more than just that. In other words a land of contrasts in the perception of many that I know that many are very curious about but few really understand/can grasp.

Not to mention something that I in particular like when I travel. Wilderness. That you can take a car and drive for 30 minutes and end up in some mountainous or desert wilderness. With nobody or few people several km's (sometimes 100's) in each direction.

I believe, just like many others, (not even Saudi Arabians or Arabs as per the links in this thread from some of the more renowned newspapers of the world, mainly the West) that KSA has the potential (with more additional reforms, improved tourism infrastructure which is pretty much inexistent by large in most of the country, and more exposure to tourists from across the world) to enter top 10 of most visited countries.

Also opening up a country to tourism from across the world (rather than nowadays mostly pilgrims, businessmen etc.) would also speed up the necessary social changes such as increasing the percentage of women in the workforce, exposure to different countries directly (although KSA is quite "Westernized" in the sense of adopting technology, Western products and brands, having some of the largest, if not the largest percentage of students in the West per capita) but seeing say a bunch of Colombian tourists in miniskirts in year 2035 partying in some Red Sea resort, would probably increase levels of tolerance for different people. Obviously the religion bit is a quite complex thing in KSA because on one hand, KSA is home to the most holy sites in Islam and the lands were Islam originated in, on the other hand KSA has one of the highest rates of "convinced Atheists" in the Muslim world (a Google search will confirm this) but also some of the most conservative Muslims in the world. Having 70% + of the population being below 28 years of age, also has its challenges and positives.

This post became longer than I expected but there is much to talk about and quite frankly, much to complain about as well due to the status quo. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the reforms that King Abdullah initiated and which King Salman and MbS have speeded up lately but much more is to be done for KSA to progress not only on the tourism front but others as well. This would not only be a good thing for KSA itself, the GCC, immediate Arab Middle East and Western Asia as a whole but the entire Arab and Muslim world IMO.

Although I have not seen many reforms in Iran of late, I do hope that Rouhani or a successor will attempt such moves as this will likely make MbS eager to do the same. I for once prefer this type of competition than what we have witnessed largely ever since 1979. I am sure that most sane people can agree.

As a little sidetone.

Perception is everything. Case in point being KSA, Pakistan and countries like Myanmar and Indonesia.

Everyone knows Dubai, UAE and that country has done very well tourism wise. However few people know that KSA next door has 1 million times more to offer.

Many have travelled to Sri Lanka on holidays (beach and wandering in the jungles) but Pakistan has many times more to offer as well IMO.

Most people (at least in Europe) know about Thailand (Phuket, Bangkok). Yet countries like Indonesia and arguably Myanmar next door have much more to offer. At least Indonesia but in that country it is all about Bali (thanks to Australian tourists mainly but not only).

Hordes of Muslims from Arab countries and Iran visit Malaysia (I imagine Pakistan as well) but how many Muslims visit Sumatra or the much more diverse and larger Indonesia, other than the aforementioned tiny Bali?

There are many such examples out there.

So if you have a bad or at least not the greatest perception in the modern era for whatever reasons, you need to work twice as hard as a country to change that perception. Not always an easy thing and perceptions/stereotypes can obviously change but sometimes it occurs very slowly.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

I will post 60 photos (obviously just a microscopic glimpse of the Asir region in Southern KSA) in total from one out of the many regions of KSA to show a little glimpse of what just one province in KSA has to offer in terms of tourism opportunities.

Photos solely from Asir Region in KSA

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Continued

One of the many traditional female dresses of Asir:

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Continued

 

[Solomon2]

@Saif al-Arab, has KSA now started issuing tourist visas? They were supposed to start in April but that didn't happen, did it?

 

[Saif al-Arab]

@Saif al-Arab, has KSA now started issuing tourist visas? They were supposed to start in April but that didn't happen, did it?

An Update On Saudi Arabia’s New Tourist Visas
APRIL 1, 2018 BY LUCKY 48
SAUDIA

Call me crazy, but when I woke up this morning, the first thing I thought to myself is “it’s April 1… has Saudi Arabia starting issuing tourist visas yet?!” No, that’s not an April Fools’ joke.

Several months ago Saudi Arabia revealed that for the first time ever they’d begin issuing tourist visas. While the timeline wasn’t initially clear, this was part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to welcome 30 million visitors per year by 2030 (up from 18 million in 2016, a vast majority of which were visitors on a pilgrimage). Furthermore, they hope that by 2020 their tourism spend will hit $47 billion per year. This is part of their attempt to introduce a more “open, moderate Islam,” with some restrictions being relaxed.

Then early last month Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, announced that Saudi Arabia would start issuing tourist visas as of April 1, 2018. Not only will it finally be possible to visit Saudi Arabia, but these visas will be issued electronically, which means the process of obtaining a tourist visa should be pretty easy.

Not surprisingly, there seems to be some delay with the introduction of visa issuance, which is pretty normal. The good news is that Saudi Arabia has provided an update. As reported by Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication:

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has announced that the regulations for tourist visas have been completed and submitted to the State for approval.

“The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, in cooperation with the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, has completed tourist visa regulations and submitted them to the State for approval,” SCTH said in a statement.

An SCTH official said an announcement from the Saudi government is expected soon.

Once the regulations are approved, the issuance of tourist visas is expected to have a major impact on the Kingdom’s nascent tourism industry.

SCTH said in a statement that the regulations, under which tourist visas will be issued, were reviewed in a series of meetings and workshops with relevant government institutions. Beyond the governmental review, investors, tourism and transport workers, and groups of beneficiaries and service providers were also given a chance to comment.

SCTH said that it has worked with various state institutions to prepare all arrangements related to the new visas. An integrated electronic system to process and record visa transactions has been developed, under the supervision of a specialized team headed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in conjunction with the commission and a number of related entities.​

The Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has approved the regulations for tourist visas, and now they’re just waiting on state approval. Hopefully tourist visas will be issued within the coming weeks.

Of course when visiting somewhere new I like to think about the aviation opportunities available. While I’ve flown Saudia first and business class, I’m also fascinated by this from an aviation perspective. I’d love to fly between Jeddah and Riyadh on Saudia’s Al Bayraq service, which is the all business class A319 that they fly 6x daily between the two cities. The A319 has just 48 business class seats, and departs from the private aviation terminals at both airports.

Fares on the service are surprisingly reasonable, at ~$364 one-way (which isn’t cheap, but given what a unique flight it is, seems worthwhile).

As I often say when talking about certain countries, I’m not shy about the fact that I take serious issues with many of Saudi Arabia’s policies, though that’s all the more reason that I’d like to see the country firsthand, so I can draw my own conclusions. That way I can see if any preconceived notions I have about the place are fair or not. The fact that non-religious tourism hasn’t been allowed makes it all the more interesting to me. It’s similar to my interest in visiting Cuba, which I did a bit over a year ago. I take a lot of issues with their government’s policies as well, but I still wanted to see it firsthand.

Here’s to hoping Saudi Arabia starts issuing tourist visas before the heat of the summer!

https://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2018/04/01/saudi-arabia-tourist-visa-update/

Basically the process was delayed but it can't be that far away from becoming a reality!

Currently KSA, unfortunately, remains one of the hardest countries to enter (VISA wise) for regular tourists.

TRAVEL TOP FIVE
In Saudi Arabia, Jewish sites with ancient resonance beckon
For now, Israelis are not allowed into the kingdom, and Jews are at best grudgingly admitted. But with ties just possibly warming, a Jewish history dating back millennia might soon be more accessible
By JESSICA STEINBERG 4 August 2016, 12:53 am

• A view of Tema, as it was known in the Bible, in northwestern Saudi Arabia (Courtesy Madain Saleh/Wikimedia Commons)
  
  
  Saudi Arabia is not high on the list of Jewish travel destinations.
  
  There has been no organized Jewish activity in the country for 70 years. Even though a Saudi delegation visited Israel last month, anyone with an Israeli passport is banned from entering the country, as the two countries don’t have diplomatic relations. As of 2014, Jews are now apparently, unofficially, allowed to work there, though not to hold prayer services.

Yet 3,000 years ago, around the time of the First Temple, there was a strong, vibrant Jewish community in the area of what is today Saudi Arabia.

And in the sixth and seventh centuries, there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly around Medina, Khaybar and Tayma. Hejaz makes up most of the western part of modern-day Saudi Arabia and is centered on the two holiest Muslim cities, Mecca and Medina.

The medieval Jewish traveler, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela in Spain, during an 1165-1173 trek to the Holy Land, made his way to the far-flung Jewish communities that are now in the geographic area of Saudi Arabia.

He cataloged his trip, describing the places he visited and the people he met and providing a demographic rundown of Jews in every town and country. Tayma and Khaybar, where he visited, are two oases that became populated communities because they were along a key land route between the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley.


Former Saudi general Dr. Anwar Eshki (center, in striped tie) and other members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members and others during a visit to Israel on July 22, 2016 (via twitter)

Benjamin of Tudela in the Sahara , in the 12th century, as shown in an engraving by Dumouza (Wikimedia Commons)
Historical sites pertaining to the ancient Jewish experience still exist. With the Saudis just possibly warming their ties to Israel — ex-Saudi general Anwar Eshki, who led the recent delegation to Israel, also met publicly in the US last year with Foreign Ministry chief Dore Gold — the day may be drawing near when these locales will be more accessible.

These are five top Jewish spots in Saudi Arabia, to savor online for now, and just maybe up close in the near future:

1) Khaybar is situated in a valley with natural wells that have irrigated the area since ancient times, aiding in the growth of dates known throughout the country. The oasis made Khaybar a regular stop along the incense trade route from Yemen to the Levant, which is why it was the home of the Jewish community at the time. Visitors can also stop at the Jewish cemetery, a 1,400-year-old graveyard without any headstones but known locally for its Jewish history.

2) There’s also the Khaybar Fortress, perched on a hill overlooking the oasis, which is at least 1,400 years old. The earliest accounts of its construction date from the Battle of Khaybar, when the Prophet Mohammed and his army invaded and conquered Khaybar. It was Mohammed’s nephew and son-in-law, Ali, who was able to unlock the gate of the fortress to allow the Muslim armies to finally conquer the fortress. It was rebuilt and reused several times, but is still usually referred to it as the Fortress of the Jews.

Khaybar fortress (Wikimedia Commons)
3) The Palace of the Jewish Tribe’s Head is also located in Khaybar, and was the home of the Jewish tribe of Marhab. The tribe was known to be wealthy from dealing in gold and jewelry, and the palace it lived in is above the town, about a ten-minute climb from the center.

4) In Tayma, which was often referred to as a fortified city belonging to the Jews, most travelers stop at the Al-Naslaa Rock Formation, located in the Tayma oasis. It’s considered to have one of the most photogenic petroglyphs, or rock art, depicting the life and times of ancient communities. Al-Naslaa is also known for the perfect, natural slit between the two standing stones. Experts say the cause of this perfect slit could be the ground having shifted slightly underneath one of the two supports.

5) At the center of Tayma is Bir Haddaj, a large well considered to be about 2,500 years old, dating back at least to the middle of the sixth century BCE. It wasn’t in use until the 1950s, when it was repaired and later restored to its previous appearance.

The well is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah as the place where the descendants of Ishmael’s son, Tema, lived: “Unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! The inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitive with his bread.”

There are also the famous Tayma stones inscribed in Aramaic that are now in the Louvre Museum. Thousands of other Aramaic inscriptions that have been found in the area are stored in the city’s museum.



https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-saudi-arabia-jewish-sites-with-ancient-resonance-beckon/

Ancient Hebrews/Israelites most likely originated in Northern Arabia/Hijaz themselves. What is sure is that the oldest traces of Jews outside of Israel can be found in Arabia, Egypt (Sinai in particular) and Iraq.

One of the greatest Jewish kings of antiquity (King Herod the Great) was half Arab (his mother was a Nabatean princess from Hijaz).

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

His father was a Edomite (a Semitic people originally from Northern Hijaz and Southern Levant as well).

@jewishm @500 @DavidSling

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Our dear Chinese friend agrees with me and most others.

Chinese envoy sees KSA as a major tourist destination

Li Huaxin

ARAB NEWS
July 10, 2018

• Saudi-Chinese relations have developed, especially in the area of culture, tourism and archaeological exploration
• 140 million Chinese visited various tourist destinations during the past year

JEDDAH: China’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Li Huaxin underlined that the Kingdom is set to be a major world tourist destination given its cultural, heritage, humanitarian and civilizational potential.
He also affirmed that if tourist visas are introduced for foreign delegations in the Kingdom, the number of Chinese tourists will increase considerably. Huaxin noted that 140 million Chinese visited various tourist destinations during the past year.
He lauded the steps made by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), saying that they represented ambitious plans to develop the tourism sector.
“The foreign visitors, when they go to the tourist destinations in the Kingdom, will be amazed by the symbolism deeply enshrined in the human and cultural heritage,” he said.
Huaxin also stressed that Saudi-Chinese relations have developed, especially in the area of culture, tourism and archaeological exploration. This was reflected through the organization of the Saudi Archaeological Masterpieces Through the Ages exhibition, which is also known as “Roads of Arabia Expo” at the National Museum of Beijing from the end of 2016 to August 2017.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1336756/saudi-arabia

 

[Saif al-Arab]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1019954217128267776

https://twitter.com/x/status/1016321073661411329

Traditional village houses of Southern Hijaz.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

The Red Sea is one of the most shark-infested waters in the world.



Great White Sharks are present as well.

https://hubpages.com/education/What-Kind-of-Sharks-are-in-the-Red-Sea





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

 

[Saif al-Arab]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1029406742717911041

Fantastic work!

That's right. Environmental conscience and a collective sense of ownership.

Fits with the ongoing work of planting millions of trees across the country instead of cutting them.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1029464353458843650

Good. Fitting projects for domestic and foreign tourists who prefer beach holidays (which is not needed to tell that most Westerners do and KSA is perfect for that)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1029404111928795136

Good PR.

@The SC opinions about this thread and the issue that I raised? Sadly very few Arab users left here. Sometimes I seriously question the point of activity here as long as this continues.

https://twitter.com/x/status/986539853541093377

https://twitter.com/x/status/982252271860793351

Sorry for being MIA. Just spent the most insane two weeks exploring Saudi Arabia. About to showcase some of my best and most unique imagery yet!!!​

 

[The SC]

Very fascinating thread..very educative for everyone, mostly those who have no idea about KSA, its history up to now a day and its riches of all sorts..keep the good work Brother.. it is excellemt..