City of Old Diriya - The ruins of Dir'aiyah are located 30km (20mi) north of the city centre are considered Riyadh's most interesting attraction. Dir'aiyah was the kingdom's first capital and is now the country's most popular archaeological site. Dir'aiyah was established in 1446, reached the height of its powers at the end of the 18th century and was destroyed in 1818. The reconstructed ruins include palaces, mosques and the city wall.
Al Musmak Castle - Al Musmak Castle is considered one of the important landmarks in the Kingdom and occupies a prominent place in the history of Riyadh city in particular, as it represents the blessed march that led to the foundation and unification of the Kingdom. This castle is associated with the heroic battle of conquering Riyadh under the leadership of King Abdulaziz on the dawn of the fifth of Sha'aban 1319H.
Musmak means the thick, high, and fortified and was built during the reign of Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Rasheed (1289 -1315H) and was captured by King Abdulaziz in 1319H, corresponding to 1902. Later, it was used as a depot until it was decided to convert the castle into a heritage landmark that represents a stage in the history of Saudi Arabia.
King Abdulaziz Darat - It was established during the reign of late King Faisal, in Sha'aban 1392H, as an independent body. It is considered a scientific academy established to commemorate the memory of the King Abdulaziz the founder of the Peninsula as well as a Centre for scientific research, to collect, revise and translate all the materials written about the Kingdom, Arab and Islamic World into all languages, and make it available. The Darat also provide the researcher with references, documents, maps & drawings that helps to complete the research in an ideal way.
Jeddah
Known as the Paris of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah is mid-way down the country's Red Sea coast. It is considered the most interesting & friendly of Saudi Arabia's big cities. Jeddah is centred on Al-Balad, the strip of buildings along the coastal road with the old city directly behind them. Jeddah's Red Sea coast is full of reefs, creeks and wadis to keep even the most advanced diver busy. There are numerous underwater wrecks just waiting to be explored.
The old city of Jeddah - It is now a protected area. Within the area, many of the traditional houses are built of coral, taken from reefs in the Red Sea. Most interesting are the Sharbatly House and the Naseef House, two old houses of two of Jeddah's merchant families. Both have been restored.
The Municipality Museum - The museum is housed in a 200-year-old restored traditional house built from Red Sea coral. The museum contains interesting photos of the development of Jeddah, along with rooms done up in traditional style. It is the only remaining building of several which comprised the British Legation in Jeddah during World War I. The museum is open in the mornings from Saturday to Thursday; admission is free but a permit from the Jeddah Municipality is required (telephone: +966 2 669-5556 or 660-7671). Once the permit has been granted, it is still necessary to make an appointment with the curator of the museum.
The Souk Al Alawi - Winding its way through the old city, it is one of the best souks in the kingdom. It's a great place to spend hours wandering around and browsing.
Christian Cemetery - The best-kept secret in Jeddah - and one which many Saudis are totally unaware of and would deny if asked - is that there is a Christian cemetery in the city. It is in fact in a street in the old city named with predictable Arab pragmatism, the Street of the Cemetery of the Foreigners. It is no longer in use, the last burial having taken place in the early 1950s, but is kept up in turn by various of the foreign consulates in the city. It is walled and there is a large gate. It can, however, be peered into from some of the buildings surrounding it.
Qatif
The history of Qatif dates back to 3500 BC in the late Bronze Age. Known by other names, such as the most famous "Al-Khatt", the area has been inhabited by a great diversity of people. Its location in the midst of one of the largest oases in the world, famous for its springs and palm trees, has ensured work in farming and government service. After the discovery of oil, many residents sought employment with Saudi ARAMCO.
Qatif extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south. It contains the city of Qatif, as well as several other towns and villages. Qatif is 25 km from Dammam, the Eastern Province capital, and is bounded by the Bayadh Desert to the north, the Dhahran expanse to the south, and the Arabian Gulf to the east.
Fish Market - Qatif fishing port attracts catches from all ports of the Arabian Gulf. The Fish Market opens after sunset prayer and closes at 10:30 pm and it is the largest fish market in the region.
Khamee's Market - Every Thursday morning, Qatif bustles with the transactions of Khamee's market, where stands are placed among regular stores and peddlers roam. A wide range of goods is available, with folkloric handicrafts, made during the week, displayed side-by-side modern imports.
Qasr Darin - Also known as Qasr Abdul Wahhab Pasha, is an impressive structure overlooking the Arabian Gulf. In 1884, the wealthy Muhammed ibn Al 'Abdul Wahhab Al Fayhani came to the area from Qatar and built the castle over settlements which date to the dawn of Islam. He traded in pearls, which were exported to many countries at that time.
Tarut Citadel - Few origins of Tarut Citadel are not known for certain, except that it was built over 5000-year old settlements.
Legends envisage a variety of historical images. One story is that the Citadel was built between 1515-1521 A.D. by the people of Qatif or Tarut for protection against Portuguese attackers. Another is that the Portuguese built it for protection against Turkish attacks. After being forced to surrender in 1559 A.D., the Portuguese fled Tarut for the Island of Awal.
Tarut Citadel is surrounded by a wide wall of terracotta material, gypsum, and stones. Crab-shaped in its totality, the 9-meter-high wall from bottom to top ranged between 1-2.5 meters in width. Bridges, over the entire length of the wall and connecting 11 high towers and abutments, were used as secret passages during wartime.
Najran
Najran is one of the most fascinating and least visited places in the kingdom. Located close to the Yemen border in the southwest of the country, Najran's backdrop is a sprawling oasis. It was once a main stop on the old frankincense route. The palace here is one of the most stunning works of architecture in the area. The main tower of the palace is 5 storeys high dominating the oasis from the summit of a rocky outcrop.
Fort - Najran's fort has only been around since 1942 and was decommissioned in 1967 when dealings with Yemen improved. The fort is self-sustaining and has around 60 rooms including livestock pens and its own mosque.
Museums - Najran has one of the kingdom's newest and best museums with displays on the formation of wadis and deserts, archaeological finds from the area, local crafts and tools, and photos of the area taken by Harry St John Philby, the famous diplomat, explorer and spy.
Asir National Park
Asir National Park covers over 1 million acres starting from the southern Red Sea coast and continuing to the desert areas east of the mountains. It's a collection of small parks rather than one big one. Each of the individual parks has a free camping ground/picnic area, though the campgrounds have no facilities. The mountains in the northwest part of the park boast Saudi Arabia's highest mountain Jebel Soudah standing at 2910 meters tall.
Madain Salah
Madain Salah was once the second most Nabatean kingdom with the kingdom of Petra in Jordan being the first. The spectacular rock tombs were carved between 100 BC and 100 AD. Madain Salah is the most famous archeological site in Saudi Arabia and one of the most gripping places to visit.
Jubail
Jubail was a small fishing village until the mid- 1970s at which time it became one of the kingdom's two newly-created industrial cities.
In 1986, a group on a desert picnic, while attempting to dig their vehicle out of the sand near Jubail, found the ruins of a church. The Jubail Church is believed to have been built prior to 400 A.D. The church was likely connected to one of the five Nestorian bishoprics which are known to have existed in this area of the Persian Gulf in the 4th century.
Madinah
Madinah is not a city for tourists. It's a holy place and most of the foreign visitors come here on a pilgrimage, either the Hajj or the Umra. Strictly speaking a stop in Madinah is not necessary but many of the pilgrims like to pay a visit to the tomb of the prophet while they are in Saudi Arabia. The city is strictly forbidden to non-muslims. Therefore it doesn't make sense to treat Madinah like a tourist destination. We will go into the main 'attractions' but these are primarily pilgrims attractions.
The main place pilgrims head for is the tomb of the prophet. It is located in what is known as The Mosque of the Prophet. The green domed complex of the mosque is huge and incredibly ornate. The Qiblatayn Mosque where Muhammad decreed that prayer should be directed toward Makkah, rather than Jerusalem is another attracion as is the Mosque of the tomb of Fatimah.
Baqi is the cemetery in Madinah. It houses the family, grandchildren and over twenty thousand companions of the Prophet Muhammad as well as many great Scholars and residents of Madinah. It is said to be the largest cemetery in the world.
Huraymila
A Village developed to be a small city. Located about 88 km from the capital, Riyadh. Surrounded with old style farms with a lot of palm trees. One of the old caravan routes the escarpment, Wadi Huraymila makes a pleasant day's outing with scenery ranging from acacia covered wadi to dramatic escapment and wide plains.You will pass several good fossil sites and two picturesque old buildings, often referred to as Turkish forts. Teh wadi runs east-west almost parallel to Wadi Hanifah further north.
Khamis
Khamis is a large but relatively unknown sprawling City in Southern Saudi Arabia. It has an unusually large Western expatriate community due to the presence of several military installations nearby.
The area is one of spectacular mountains with gorges cut out by Wadis, wildlife is abundant despite the aridity and the local tribe -the Tihami are very different from the usual Saudi populace.
