Edge of the World

September 23rd is the national day of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.. on the same day this year, we were at Edge of the World. (click on the images for fullview)
Aman, Steve, Mohamed and myself made the move at 7am to a place some of us researched on the Web about 180km north-east of Riyadh called the Edge of the World. Not too much information can be found on the web, but the few photos posted were stunning, I myself couldn't imagine a place like this exists in Saudi.

I did not have my camera with me in that trip, luckily though Aman had his 450D.

A photo from the rear window of our 4x4 showing the long way we crossed, before stepping off road..
We passed by some creepy deserted places and villages..
and ruins..
the GPS map did not cover that area, Aman had the coordinates of the place but that wasn't enough..
after asking many of the locals in the areas nearby about the place, we almost lost hope as no one had a clue what we were talking about. some online articles on the place put some directions on how to get to the Edge but that wasn't helpful either.. another rear window shot as we went off road into the wild..
desert life..


we stopped for some rest, Steve tempted to make a jump.
our sweet sweet powerful ride..

Steve made it!

weird to see such signs in the middle of no where..
We drove for hours in the desert, not much of luck.. we barely passed by any signs of life.. on the contrary, we came across this..

oh! someone was here before us..

more dead goats, I took some good portraits that are not good art for weak hearts, so I will keep them away from the blog.
we didn't do it..
this image can make a cool desktop wallpaper.. I have to admit it was a bit creepy to step out of the car and get close to them.. the silence was so damn creepy, I couldn't hear anything but our car's engine and the wind.
we almost lost hope locating the Edge, until we saw three 4x4 cars driving towards us..hope! We thought they were on the way back from the Edge, but they were actually heading to the Edge.. nice, the Edge was behind us.
After nearly 45minutes of driving between the hills following tracks of other cars been to the Edge before us.. we stopped.. and there we were, at the Edge of the World..
the following two images clearly show why one should stop where the tracks stop..
we were literally at a cliff's edge..
a view of the path we crossed to the Edge..
the view was heavenly.. thousands of feet below sea level were just meters away from us. The sun was strong, a polarizing filter would have made these photos turn magical..


trying to convince Aman to come over..
fullview is a must for the following photo, note the people at the edge of the cliff to have an idea about perspectives..


the view was awesome.. makes one feel like really being at Edge of the World..
Steve and Mo..
I am sure we would do it again.. sitting on that edge was great, I will make sure I am better prepared the next time though..
on the way back.. before losing most of my energy that day on the way back..
we left after spending around an hour at the Edge.. Steve trying to get this car to work
giving up and preferring the sweet ride..

the place is highly recommended to check out.. not being very popular has its pros of not becoming another human circus. this is how the Edge of the World looks like on google maps: [link]

Dorota and Steve's Wedding Reception

Dorota and Steve got married in Cuba, August 2008. During my visit to Canada, they had a wedding reception party in a very nice Italian restaurant to share their happiness with the ones who couldn't make it to Cuba..

Dorota and her mother, Mila..

Steve , the groom, and Cathrine.. Steve Sr. (the father) and Majed previewing the video and slideshow that Majed prepared to play during the reception.. a collection of photos and videos from Cuba, with Majed's special touches..


Magda with some of the people who attended the reception..



Alicia and Amer were there too..

Tim and Amanda..

Leah..
food was really good..
nice things were said..







some speeches were too long ;)






Alicia.. chilled


some staged group shooting..



the groom..

the bride.. the sister..

and the mother.. Steve Sr. was the DJ of the event.. he did great job, everyone was enjoying the music..
Can be a good profile photo..



and then bootie shakin' started..


Rachel..
mother and son..
i like this shot..
Ruth, she did psychology grad school with Dorota. We had some interesting chit chat..
some club next door..
Tim and Amanda showed some impressive dancing skills ;)

everyone was dancing..

Rachel and Leah..



Amanda.. a drink can definitely help ;)

she knows how to pose..

and finally back to the newly married couple.. Dorota..
and Steve!