Exploring Najran

Mud houses

After a breakfast of muesli which I had brought along from Kuching, we headed out for a drive around 0830. We went on in search of some nice traditional mud houses and found some good ones south of Wadi Najran.

Text continues after this gallery.

Unfortunately, the Al Ukhdud archaeological area but it was closed.  Google suggested that it would open at 1500 today being Friday, so we didn’t give up hope.

We continued into the town centre around 1100 to see the Amara Palace but it appeared closed. After circumabulating it, we continued in search of more traditional houses, we moved on.

Text continues after this gallery.

Next stop was Al Aan Palace.  We didn’t bother going in but went in search of the Najran Valley Dam in the hope of getting a nice view.  However, there were security barriers on that road.

We headed back to the hotel via the Aba as Su’ud area where there were some nice old houses to be seen, and also.  Going through the city centre, we were surprised by a row of several houses in good condition.  Back at the hotel, we rested in the room from 1300 for under two hours and lunching on rusk and cheese.

Text continues after this gallery.

Al Ukhdud

We headed out to the Al Ukhdud archaeological area again before 1500.  The fancy building appeared closed but when we noticed that the open area had people in it, we realised the big fancy museum was closed but the gate to the archaeological area had been open since 1300 (according to the sign that we now had found).  We had lost precious time!

E presented his passport to get us both into the site.  Without knowing the entrance to the fort ruins, he suggested that I try left while he tried right.  By the time I realised that left didn’t lead anywhere and headed in his direction, he had taken off, having explored the fort and was heading to the ruins of the mosque.

Trying to catch up with him, I didn’t absorb all the details of the fort.  I tried to look for a shortcut to the mosque but saw only walls and slopes, meaning I had to take the longer route.  By the time I was halfway to the mosque, E was on his way back and we met on the path between the mosque and the entrance/exit.

This was when I realised that my new travel companion is an archaeology buff and will rush off when relevant ruins beckon.  I was a little upset but I realise it was more important to him than to me, so I let it go.

The fort area of Al Ukhdud.

Anyway, in terms of history, Al Ukhdud was a city built between 1^st Century BC and 1^st Century AD.  It was part of the Jewish Himyarite kingdom.  The name Al-Ukhdud translates as ‘the ditch’.

In the sixth century A.D. the Jewish warlord Dhu Nuwas from Yemen laid seige to Al-Ukhdud and gave its Christian inhabitants an ultimatum to convert to Judaism or die. They chose the latter and were thrown into a burning ditch, which is still evident. Estimates of the death toll from this event range up to 20000.

Back in the town

We had rushed through Al Ukhdud so that we could return to the Amara Palace for a second attempt.  Unfortunately, it was closed again and translating the sign on the door, I now realised it was closed temporarily!  Damn, damn, damn!  All that rushing at Al Ukhdud for nothing!

We walked around the souq area for a while before returning to last night’s dinner venue for again for what I call Yemeni-style food.  I had fond memories of meat and prawn fahsa from Sana’a but the closest thing they had here was only meat.  It was still delicious, especially with rashush/mulawah.