Driving through the desert… bright in the midday sun, the long road stretches ahead ending with a mirage where the tarmacked road meets with the azure horizon. A mirage of wet road which could fool anyone at first into slowing down to avoid the hazard of a slippery highway until one becomes wiser and realises that it is just an illusion.
We pass random clumps of vegetation which the camels gratefully chew on. As we pass through a small town, we see families a short distance from the roadside, picnic rug spread, camp fire alight flickering in the late afternoon. Without doubt there is also a flask of Arabic coffee, infused with cardamom and some tiny cups to pass around. A few small small children run excitedly around.
The sun begins to wane and darkness quickly envelops all that is around us. Suddenly I feel quite alone in this vast dreariness. There is a grey December sky with a full moon periodically disappearing behind the darkened clouds, the occasional glare of oncoming headlights or the impatient, bright flashing of lights from behind urging us to make way. A sudden break in the cloud provides radiance from the moon which in another moment disappears again. Across the dark, blackened sand dunes, the lights of a distant village or town can be seen.
A stop at the roadside services is not so rewarding: there are the usual fuel pumps where you can fill the tank of the car cheaply but the other services sit unmaintained and uninviting. Stinking, festering hamams, littered with tissues, water pooling the floors. Just a glimpse or a whiff is enough to make us decide that there is no urgency after all. With a long road trip through the desert though we will have to give in sooner or later and attempt to conquer the ‘conveniences’. No mean feat! The prayer room is directly opposite that stinking pool of cess so in prayer the odours waft in and offend the soul at that moment of connection with The Almighty. Who would believe from this that ‘Cleanliness is half of faith’?!
Back onto the main Riyadh and Makkah road, more traffic, a constant flow of lorries in the slow lane, darkness to the left and to the right but there is a hazy glow on the horizon of a stream of cars approaching. The occasional crazy pair of cars tear past racing each other, each one determined to get ahead of the other. Weekenders pass by with cars full of kids and piled high with luggage – just like ours – others with the advantage of a roof rack laden with suitcases.
Soon, the relief of spotting the distant lights of Riyadh, letting us know we are almost home and the journey is drawing to a close. Our warm beds beckon.
These were my thoughts and observations as we returned from a break in UAE back to Saudi Arabia this week. We enjoyed pleasant, warm weather in the UAE but the skies became increasingly overcast as we got closer to Riyadh.
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Come With Me To The Casbah
