Ushaiger Heritage Village - an Example of a Recently Restored Najdi Village in Saudi Arabia

[Al-Andalus]

Ushaiger 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.

Ushaiger <3 (2/3) by мoh'Ď и♡, on Flickr

Jalajil & Ushayqir Trip: October 2, 2009 by luis©patag, on Flickr


Ushaiger Village by Leslie Fiestan, on Flickr

25 meter tall watchtower. Very typical of Najd. Almost every village had/has it.


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Jalajil & Ushayqir Trip: October 2, 2009 by luis©patag, on Flickr

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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.

 

[Al-Andalus]

More photos.

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Not bad for a simple village. All built by locals.

 

[Al-Andalus]

More photos:

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[Al-Andalus]

More photos:

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[Osman Pamukoglu]

Nice

 

[Al-Andalus]

Nice

You are welcome.

Some more photos:

Landscapes surrounding Ushaiger village:

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The landscapes are dominated by steppe, farmland, desert, mountains and valleys. Like most of Najd which means highland in Arabic. I am not from Najd but it is definitely a very underrated region of not only KSA but the MENA region as a whole. In many ways it can be compared to Anatolia although a warmer and more arid version. Much to explore and see and a very authentic and distinctive area and one of the few areas in the world never to be conquered by foreigners.

Najdi cuisine also has many unique dishes and it is a rich cuisine.

For instance there is a very famous Arab (Najdi) restaurant in the US (Virginia) called Aldeerah which is a restaurant with very good ratings. Serving mostly typical Najdi cuisine.

A very good website.

http://aldeerah.us

Najd is also the homeland of arguably the most famous, widespread (as a breeding horse) and expensive horse breed (Arabian horse) in the world.

 

[Osman Pamukoglu]

Reminds me a little of Cappadocia...Nice shares

 

[HAIDER]

More photos:

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Interesting ....is it rebuilt or govt built this dwelling for tourism purpose ? ....I mean it was already there for centuries ?

 

[HAIDER]

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More photos below:

https://yobynos.wordpress.com/2013/...ud-built-houses-of-ushaiger-heritage-village/

I wish that every village could be restored like that. Excellent job. Especially the stone villages and white villages of Hijaz which are quite unique. Some of which are built with volcanic stones as Hijaz has one of the highest concentration of extinct volcanoes and lava fields in the world. Only personally seen similar villages in Spain and Greece outside of Arabia.



See the thread post.

As described the village was restored with the help of locals, the government and private investors.

This village has no particular significance, as there are 10.000's upon 10.000's of such villages in Najd alone let alone all of KSA, other than showing what local village people, the government and private investors can accomplish if they work together in order to restore a historical village.

As far as the village goes it is ancient, yes. Its history is over 2000 years.

The purpose was to restore a living village as people live next to the restored parts of the village.

Nowadays, obviously, few people continue to live in such traditional villages although I have seen quite a few who live in such villages and they have all the modern facilities as well although if you ask me, this destroys the authenticity a bit.

Anyway you can see that it is a living village if you understand Arabic.

The official website of the village.

http://www.ushayqer.com

So, its open for tourism ......put some picture of local food......mandi etc ..

 

[Al-Andalus]

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More photos below:

https://yobynos.wordpress.com/2013/...ud-built-houses-of-ushaiger-heritage-village/

I wish that every village could be restored like that. Excellent job. Especially the stone villages and white villages of Hijaz which are quite unique. Some of which are built with volcanic stones as Hijaz has one of the highest concentration of extinct volcanoes and lava fields in the world. Only personally seen similar villages in Spain and Greece outside of Arabia.

Interesting ....is it rebuilt or govt built this dwelling for tourism purpose ? ....I mean it was already there for centuries ?

See the thread post.

As described the village was restored with the help of locals, the government and private investors.

This village has no particular significance, as there are 10.000's upon 10.000's of such villages in Najd alone let alone all of KSA, other than showing what local village people, the government and private investors can accomplish if they work together in order to restore a historical village.

As far as the village goes it is ancient, yes. Its history is over 2000 years.

The purpose was to restore a living village as people live next to the restored parts of the village.

Nowadays, obviously, few people continue to live in such traditional villages although I have seen quite a few who live in such villages and they have all the modern facilities as well although if you ask me, this destroys the authenticity a bit.

Anyway you can see that it is a living village if you understand Arabic.

The official website of the village.

http://www.ushayqer.com

This is the kindergarten for instance.

So, its open for tourism ......put some picture of local food......mandi etc ..

Yes, it is open for tourism. There is a heritage museum also. Can you not spot the Western women in post number 1? They are American tourists. Anyway KSA does not currently have a real tourism sector for foreigners, other than people from the GCC, sadly, however this will change soon.

If you are interested in food of Najd you should visit this Saudi Arabian (serving mostly Najdi cuisine) in Virginia since you live in the US. It has a really good reputation.

See post 6.

Here is the link to the restaurant.

http://aldeerah.us

There are many photos of different Najdi dishes.

I found a Youtube video from USToday of the restaurant.

 

[Al-Andalus]

So, its open for tourism ......put some picture of local food......mandi etc ..

https://foursquare.com/v/aldeerah/54f39503498e2cd9fd6c10c8

Their Twitter account showing many more photos of different Najdi dishes, the interior of the restaurant, guests etc.

https://twitter.com/aldeerah_usa?lang=da

Trip Advisor's ratings.

https://www.tripadvisor.dk/Restaura...-Aldeerah-Vienna_Fairfax_County_Virginia.html

@SALMAN F and @EgyptianAmerican have you ever visited the restaurant since you live in the US?

 

[[Bregs]]

Great share dear, truly heritage

 

[HAIDER]

https://foursquare.com/v/aldeerah/54f39503498e2cd9fd6c10c8

Their Twitter account showing many more photos of different Najdi dishes, the interior of the restaurant, guests etc.

https://twitter.com/aldeerah_usa?lang=da

Trip Advisor's ratings.

https://www.tripadvisor.dk/Restaura...-Aldeerah-Vienna_Fairfax_County_Virginia.html

@SALMAN F and @EgyptianAmerican have you ever visited the restaurant since you live in the US?

That's real food.............and love it

 

[ali_raza]

mashallah very rich arab culture

 

[ali_raza]

You are welcome. You should really visit that Saudi Arabian restaurant next time you visit Virginia.

Also the best method (in my view) and the traditional one of how to prepare meat in Hijaz is this method below.

This is also how you make real mandi etc.

الحنيذ

المدفون

Watch until the end of the videos and see how juicy, grilled, smoked and soft the meat it. Also the color of the meat. It is heavenly.



I hope you are doing well in beautiful Oman brother. Always fell at home.

yes man oman is heaven on earth.btw in one of ur pics u shared camel beaf...laham bosh.that thing is just out of the world.

That's real food.............and love it

shoa yummmm..