Saudi Arabia Tour | In the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia | Pyala Travel - Travel Program

Day 1 Arrival Riyadh

Today you will be arriving in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. Upon arrival at the airport, you will be picked up by your private driver and guide and transferred to your hotel in the city. Overnight in Riyadh hotel.

Day 2 Riyadh / city tour

We will start our day with a historical brief about the capital of Saudi, In the National museum you will be discovering Saudi Arabia's rich past is an amazing journey that would bring you along thousands of kilometers around the whole Kingdom.

An easier way to have an insight of Saudi Arabia's rich History is to visit the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in Riyadh where artefacts from all periods are exhibited and with explanations about their historical significance.

After our historical brief we will go see some by ourselves checking out Al Masmak Fortress ,Surrounded by sand, this squat fortification was built around 1865 and is like a scene out of the movies: a big fortress representing an empire. It was the site of a daring 1902 raid by Ibn Saud, during which a spear was hurled at the main entrance door with such force that the head is still lodged in the doorway. Highlights among the exhibits include maps and fascinating photographs of Saudi Arabia dating from 1912 to 1937, in galleries converted from diwans (living rooms). The roofs are covered with painted palm-tree, taramic and ethel wood and exude an old-world charm that evokes an Arabian painting. Inside, the information panels and short, chest-thumping films on the storming of the fortress and the ‘reunification’ of Saudi Arabia are reverential towards the Al Sauds but worth watching nonetheless.

In the same area and only in walking distance we will find our self in Souq Al-Zal which is one of the oldest traditional market.
Then we will be heading to our lunch break in one of the famous traditional restaurants at Ad Diriyah , northwest of the city and the original capital of the first Saudi state is a must-see. Its Al Turaif quarter, a carefully restored mud-brick district that was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010, offers a glimpse into the country’s extraordinary heritage.

After our lunch break we will go to check out the view of the sunset from the Kingdom Centre which is a 99-story, 302.3 m skyscraper. When completed in 2002, it overtook the 267-meter Faisaliyah Tower as the tallest tower in Saudi Arabia. It has since been surpassed and is now the fifth-tallest skyscraper in the country, It is the world's third-tallest building with a hole after the Shanghai World Financial Center and the 85 Sky Tower in Taiwan. The mixed-use tower was developed by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and designed by the team of Ellerbe Becket and Omrania, who were selected through an international design competition. It is situated on a 100,000–square-metre site and houses the 57,000-square-meter Al-Mamlaka shopping mall, offices, and luxury apartments. There is a 65m skybridge atop the skyscraper. The upper third of the tower features an inverted parabolic arch topped by a public sky bridge.

Day 3 Riyadh - Hail / via Jubbah

Today you fly to Hail. Hail is located in the centre north of the country, is a land where the dream landscapes of Arabia are the theatre of the 1001 Nights.
Once we arrive we will check in in our hotel and start our trip right away heading to Jubbah. we will be visiting Jubbah, This worldwide famous site contains some of the oldest and most outstanding carvings of the Arabian Peninsula. It was recognized in 2015 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Jubbah is host of the two most emblematic carvings in Saudi Arabia. The first one is a character dominating another smaller one. Locals say that it is the representation of an ancient king handing out justice.
The second one is a chariot pulled by two horses which was for decades the only known example but similar ones were later found in Hail and Tabuk Provinces.

As surprising as it sounds the people trading frankincense, spices, and other precious goods coming from southern Arabian Peninsula did cross regularly the 350 km of sand dunes between these two main trade cities. The numerous so-called Thamudic inscriptions (more than 5000) testify of this intense frequentation by travellers.

After our tour in Jubbah, we will visit Castle of Al-Qishlah, built in the 1940s during the principality of prince Abdul-Aziz bin Musa'ad Al Saud of Ha'il province. It is a two-floor mud palace, with long walls that stretch over 140 meters and are 8.5m tall, and it has eight watch-towers along in the walls with two main gates, east and west.

Day 4 Hail - Al Ulla / Madaen Saleh

After breakfast today we drive to Al Ula, and once we arrive we are starting with the most popular historical site in Saudi Arabia, Madain Saleh is the most iconic historical site of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its one of Saudi Arabia tours that is a must do, it is the first to be listed as a UNESCO Word Heritage, Madain Saleh means the "cities of Saleh" after the name of the Prophet Saleh who tried to convert the ancient people of Thamud to Islam. But this name started to be used only during the Ottoman occupation of the Hejaz, whereas the people who built this city, the Nabateans, called it Hijra.

The importance of Madain Saleh is ostensibly displayed by its 111 monumental tombs, among which 94 were decorated with majestic facades on the sandstone massifs of the area, especially the Jibal Ithlib. The smallest tomb is barely 2,7 meters tall but the biggest reaches an impressive 21,5 meters! Madain Saleh was the second largest city of the Nabatean kingdom whose capital was Petra (in today's Jordan) where the Nabatean people created more than 600 tombs. What most people dont know that there are many other fascinating archeological sites attest to the thousands of years of human occupation of the area thanks to the underground water available for millennia. Dont worry we are showing everything you need to see !

We will visit the Hejaz Railway, In the early 19th century CE the Ottomans built a railway station at Madain Saleh that was along the Hejaz Railway linking Damascus to the holy city of Makkah. You will have the chance to see the triclinium (or diwan in Arabic) that were once dedicated to banquets and rituals. They are composed of three benches where people used to seat while musicians were playing. At least six of them were found in Madain Saleh with the names of owners.

If Madain Saleh does not have as many tombs as Petra it has a special feature with the numerous inscriptions written on the monumental tombs. And of course we are going to check them out together.

Before we head to our last stop, we will pass by the Elephant Rock, also known as Jabal AlFil, one of AlUla’s many geological marvels. Unlike the ornate, hand-carved facades of nearby Hegra’s Nabataean tombs, the "trunk" and "body" of this monolithic red sandstone beast were hewn by natural forces — millions of years of wind and water erosion. The beauty of the unrefined structure is enhanced by its surroundings of a fine-sand sea studded with rocky outcrops, many of which are equally impressive in size and have interesting shapes and figures. We will finish our tour in the Heritage village of Al- Ula also known as Ad-Deerah, is the traditional Arabian village where people of the oasis moved some 8 centuries ago and inhabited until the 20th century. It was built on a higher part of the valley in order to be clear from the floods that can occur during the raining season. At its maximum expansion the town contained over 1 000 houses that were built adjacent to one another thereby forming a wall around the town to defend the population.

After we finish our tour we will be heading to our family house that is located in the heart of Al Ula and our host will be welcoming us and giving us a light tour around his palm farm, they produce and export dates all over the kingdom as their farm produce the best kinds of dates. Our stay here with the family is a true experience by its self !

Day 5 Al Ulla - Sharma / via Deise Valley

Today after our breakfast we will start our trip is going to be to Wadi Al Dissa, our first stop on the way will be a short one to take pictures of the Lion Mountain.

After that we will make another stop to see Alshaq Canyon (NEOM Edge), were we will be at an amazing view point at the edge that looks over the mountains then we will continue our way to Wadi Al Dissah. As we reach the valley we will have our lunch there where our team will be preparing you traditional delicious food. After lunch we will take you on a walking tour inside this gorgeous valley and explore Wadi Dissah which is a 15 kilometer long canyon running through the Jebel Qaraqir, a sandstone massif lying about 80 kilometers south of the city of Tabuk.

This natural wonder was for a long time a well-kept secret among explorers, before the road leading to the nearby city of Dissah was built and satellite images were available to the public, which made it quite difficult to find and reach. Let us tell you a little bit about this valley before we start our hike so you prepare your self and to get astonished ! The first striking feature of this wadi is its dimensions: at the eastern entrance of the canyon the side cliffs are already higher than 100 meters ,but at the western entrance the gap between the bottom of the wadi and the tallest cliffs reaches as high as 500 meters! It is there, from the massive rocky peaks, standing on both sides of the canyon, that one can admire the most dramatic scenery of this magical place.

The second - and most unexpected - amazing feature of Wadi Qaraqir is a water stream that runs through the western part of the canyon towards the city of Dissah. While you are exploring Wadi Qaraqir from the eastern entrance will find abundant palm trees growing naturally along the wadi bed. But once half-way through the canyon underground water tops up all year long. As a result, lush vegetation made of 3 meter high grass, numerous palm trees and bushes, flourishes in between the majestic cliffs of the canyon!

Visit of Duba city by the Red Sea to visit the fish market and continue to Sharma. Overnight in Sharma.

Day 6 Sharma - Tabuk / via Magna, Tayeb Ism & Jethro's Tombe

Today we head to Tabuk start our tour right away to cover as much as we can on this adventure today. Our first stop will be the Ship Mountain where you will get to see the famous mountain that is shaped exactly like a ship.We will go to out next stop which is a small local museum on our way, then we keep going till we reach Al Bad', we will have our lunch there.

After lunch we will start our journey in Madian or Al-Bad' which is a small province located 2,5 hours away from Tabuk region, there we will have a closer historical look at the Jethro's cave in the land of Madian or in Arabic "maghayer shu'aib" .a lot of people know Al-Ula but not everyone knows about this collection of Nabatean tombs in Al Bad', These tombs are carved into the rocks, decorated in an artistic way similar to the Nabatean tombs found in Madain Saleh and Petra in Jordan, its an undiscovered gem hidden here in Saudi Arabia that we absolutely recommend visiting.

Our next stop will be in Maqna city where we will visit The Well Of Moses and you will find out later why its called that. The final stop for today's tour will be at Tayyeb, It is believed that when later Moses brought the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea they reached the land of Madyan at Tayeb Al-Ism, the reason why it is also called the Valley of Moses.We will be having a walking tour in one of the magical natural wonders of Saudi Arabia that takes visitors by surprise. This incredible natural feature of Tabuk Province is located on the Gulf of Aqaba, just 15 kilometers north of the coastal town of Maqna. When approaching by the road that runs along the turquoise waters and white beaches of the Gulf of Aqaba, what strikes people first is the imposing shape of the 600-meter-high granite massif of the Tayeb Al-Ism, whose sharp edges fall into the Gulf of Aqaba.While getting closer to a nice little palm grove ornamenting the bottom of the cliffs, the mountain side that looks towards the Gulf suddenly reveals the stunningly high edges of a narrow canyon whose entrance is just few dozen meters from the sea. There the granite massif looks like it's been torn in two by a supranatural force, the gravel of the first hundred meters of the canyon can be driven by car but some boulders don’t let cars get very far. A wooden bridge spanning the rocks allows pedestrians to carry on deeper into the meanders of this massive breach through the mountain.From the bridge the Tayeb Ism visitors see another marvel, a small stream of crystal clear water than runs through the gravel all year long. As a result, the wadi hosts numerous palm trees and reeds that create little oases surrounding by the vertiginous sides of the canyon.We will have a chance to see the sunset at this gorgeous valley before we head to have dinner and then off to Tabuk.

Day 7 Flight Tabuk - Abha

In the morning you will take an early flight to Abha, the capital of the province of Asir in the southwest of the country. With a location at 2200 meters, there is a milder climate in Abha than in other parts of the country. Because of the cooler temperatures, Abha is a popular destination for Saudi tourists. Another advantage of the climate and altitude is that soil in Asir is very fertile. The tastiest fruit and the best grain and maize of the entire country would be grown there.

Abha has long been able to resist external influences. As a result of this, Abha has kept its own architectural style and identity. In the outskirts of Abha you can still see centuries-old mud and stone houses with beautiful white decorations at the roofs. The population of Abha differs from other parts of the country. Here, women wear Abayas, decorated with detailed embroidery. Most women wear shiny jewelry that reflects their social status. Men mostly wear colorful pants. Today you will have the time to explore Abha and we would recommend you t visit the local museum too.

Day 8 Flight Abha - Jeddah

We start the day by visiting the local market where you can find all the famous delicacies from the region. Just outside Abha is Al Soodah Park, a beautiful nature reserve that is part of the Asir Mountains. The highest mountain in Saudi Arabia, the Jabal Soodah, lies at 2995 in the park. With all the greenery, the different terraces and special vegetation, it is a unique area in Saudi Arabia, a country that is mainly known for its desert and high temperatures. After, you continue to the wonderful UNESCO World Heritage village of Rijal Al Maa, which has been an important destination for centuries, for travelers traveling from the Levant and Yemen to Mecca and Medina. About 60 buildings are characterized by characteristic white windows and eaves. Late afternoon you will catch a domestic flight to Jeddah.

Day 9 Jeddah

Easy day to enjoy Jeddah. In Arabic, Jeddah means grandmother, a name that owes the city to the belief that Eve would be buried there. Jeddah is the commercial heart of Saudi Arabia and traditionally the port where pilgrims from all over the Islamic world arrive on their way to Mecca and Medina. Enjoy the Red Sea corniche, along the boulevard are various statues of famous artists such as Miró, Baldaccini and Moore.

Day 10 Jeddah - departure

Depending on the departure time of your flight home, you will have the time to explore Jedadh. Visit some of Jeddah’s most captivating old Ottoman houses. The old quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for its coral-built houses. The Nasif house is one of the few historic buildings that have been restored and now serve as a museum. You can walk further through the old town and visit the Al Alawi Souq, the market that winds through the old neighborhoods and where products such as incense, jewelry, coffee and clothing are sold. The art collection of collectors Abdulraouf Khalil is exhibited in the Al Tayebat museum. The museum includes items from the pre-Islamic period, furniture and traditional clothing from different regions of the country.