Grand Finale: The Black and White Volcanoes of Saudi Arabia

My Time in Saudi Arabia has now come to an end. I have returned to Germany to soak in all the rain, coldness, and incredible greenery that has been lacking for the past 3 months.

-------------------------------

However, there is one more adventure that I did in Saudi Arabia and found super interesting. I hope you enjoy it.


In the middle of Saudi Arabia lies a 12,000 square kilometer field of pure lava, named Khaybar. The whole area is elevated to an average height of 1500 meters and is extremely dry. In the middle of this lava field lie three great Volcanoes, named Jebl Quidr (Black), Jebl Bayad (Male White), Jebl Abyad (Femal White).




Extremely interesting is the high density of ruins that can be found adjacent to the Khaybar lava field. According to research I did, the Arabian peninsula used to be much greener. Especially the area around Khaybar was a hub for early tribal groups. This lushness seems to have lasted well into the neolithic age, an age that ended around 4,500 BC.

On our way to the volcanoes we passed a number of these ruins, and with a lot of imagination we attempted to to imagine the way these late stone age hunters and gatherers lived their lives.

Picture on the Left: Historic ruins left by tribes that once inhabited the fertile lands of Khaybar. Picture on the right: Me climbing around in neolithic (around 6000 years ago rock formations that were once thought to be part of a graveyard road where these ancient people buried their dead. These graveyard roads could stretch up to over one kilometer in length and were always perfectly straight. 

Ancient vehicles once used by indigenous folk to transport goods from one area to another. Note that this vehicle makes use of the invention of the wheel.

The Whole troup of 14 people, all fitting in two Yukons (that is supposed to be impressive).

The next step in the itinerary: the actual volcanoes. However, after leaving the pavement, it took us over 5 hours to get to the base of the volcanoes, where we then set up camp for the night.

The White Volcano we scaled can be seen in the background. The (not)-road we drove is in the foreground.

We spent that night camped out at the base of the volcanoe, some of us in tents, others in sleeping bags, and the rest laying on towels or jackets to bear out the night on the hard rocks. Thankfully, I had brought my sleeping bag.

The next morning we managed to get up at 0500 in the morning, in order to beat the midday heat and scale the Volcano.

Picture on the Left: An inside view of the Crater of the White Volcano, spanning over 1 kilometer in diameter. Picture on the Right: The strenuous climb up to the white volcano, which can be seen in the background.

View from the top of the volcano over the Laval Field. Our camping spot is the sandy area in the middle of the lava field (top left corner of picture)

It was an incredible adventure. We spent three days in one of the remotest areas of Saudi Arabia; an area where even the sight of Bedouins was a rare sight. We saw rare archaeological sights and immense lava fields, experienced the cruel Saudi Heat of 40+ degrees, and managed to see a geological colossus.

We returned to KAUST safe and sound, happy to be back in civilization, impressed that a country which is 99% covered by desert, has so much to offer. Seek and you shall Find, habibis.

-----------------------------

This concludes my narrative of my travels in Saudi Arabia. I hope you have all enjoyed the stories. I will be leaving for another country soon, so stay tuned...

Explaining The Saudi Mindset...

It has been a while since my last post. But things have gotten much busier as I near the end of my stay in Saudi Arabia. 
My plane leaves in 9 days to bring me back to good old Europe, and I am looking forward to resuming life in a normal world. 

My time here has been wisely spent though. In addition to learning how to become the greatest Scientist since Darwin, I have spent almost every Weekend outside of the KAUST University, seeing and learing about the land and people of Saudi Arabia. 

In order to give you an idea about the Saudi mindset I will share some of my recently formed opinions:
The people here function completely differently than anywhere else in the western world. As a general rule, Saudi's have never heard of efficiency, and it is way too hot to work hard in this country. Couple this with immense oil fortunes, and what you have is a country where people don't have to work very hard and are still considerably rich. Another major difference is the size of families. In the west, your family is mainly your direct relatives, followed by your extended family. Here, your family is everyone that has your last name, and you probably know everyone who has your last name. Family names indicate status and wealth, and marriage is only allowed between certain families. Your last name is also an indicator of what type of job you will have. For example, Saudi Aramco, the largest company in the country, is run by one family that has members of the family as managers in most every department. With the transition from small kingdoms and tribes to a unified country only 70 years ago, it is perhaps a little easier to understand why the family takes precedence over every other social obligation. It even goes so far that each family has a head (old guy in charge), who is responsible for taking care of all the members of the family in times of trouble or confusion, for resolving disputes, arranging marriages, managing family property, and advancing the family's status.

Furthermore, I have completely adapted my driving style to keep up with the Saudi road insanity and to avoid from being run over. You are probably thinking yeah righttt, it cannot be that different... But you would be wrong. Driving here is like going to England and driving on the right side of the road; anything could happen. As I have no interest in boring you with lots of words, here are some videos of the Saudi Driving: 

So in summary: I have learned new driving skills and have gained a lot of new understanding about the Saudi Culture. I have also become well acquainted with a microbiology laboratory and look forward to returning to  the European Union.

Soon I will post an article about my most magnificent adventure yet: The Trip to the White and Black Volcanoes of Saudi Arabia. Expect to see it in a couple of days!