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]
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Edge of the World
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Feck me. That is some amazing stuff. Wow, takes your breath away. I imagine the silence was deafening. Imagine being alone in the desert...*breathless*
ReplyDeleteThe photo of someone sitting on the edge EDGE was crazy because it didn't look like the edge of something, like a few feet drop almost. But really, it's THOUSANDS.
Dead goats was sad..
Sand rawks my lacy socks
The photographs are amazing.... but I wouldn't wish to visit it myself!!.... the dead camels and goats were very scary!!
ReplyDeleteThat Aman dude looks rather handsome :)
wow shady, no words. you *HAVE* to go back with your camera!!! I see another DD in the making!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletewith the dead carcasses around....were there ravens or vultures circling? haha ok i'm getting very dramatic pictures in my head! and hey, black camels....i haven't seen black camels before! they have some strange design on their neck!
raw3a el pics.. awesome place.. a7es fel bard baykoon a7la
ReplyDelete@jainy - black marking on camels' necks are branding by the owner.
ReplyDeleteAman
@Aman, thanks!! that makes so much sense now (:
ReplyDeleteAwesome pics. Go again with circular polarizer and ND grad filter.
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
I was with Shady on the trip. It was spectacular!! I have been to the Grand Canyon with all of its touristy trappings and it does not compare to the Edge. And yes, the silence was overwhelming. As I sat with Mo overlooking the dried-up rivers all you could hear was a slight wind. We are going back tomorrow with a group of 7.
ReplyDeleteAwesome day, it was great.
ReplyDeleteThat Aman dude - good looking ? huh
@Mr Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteThat Aman dude IS good looking, don't you agree?
If you were on that trip then you should know.. he he he..
@ Steve
One question; if it is greater than the Grand Canyon, then why there are not a lot of visitors?
That Aman dude may think he is good looking, but all I can say is 'thank god there were no cats at the Edge' - meaow
ReplyDelete@Mr Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteNo cat??....meow??!!.....
Do I detect a bit of jealousy?
Just look at his photo.... only if I could see him without his sunglasses.... ;)
The question was 'If better than the Grand Canyon then why aren't there more visitors?'...A lot of people like the touristy stuff. The GC is over 200 miles long and very wide and very cool...but from my perspective I would choose the Edge anyday. More people don't go there because it is not easy to get to and you need the proper transportation. The desert setting, the peacefulness, the overpowering feelings of an AWESOME Creator; all of this adds up to a form of serenity that I have not found in any other place.
ReplyDeleteBeware the cat Aman.
ReplyDeletebeware...
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking stuff Shady. KSA has a great tourism op, they should be advertising this amazing place.
ReplyDeleteHi Shady, I'm in riyadh currently and want to visit this place. is it possible to go to this remote location on a small car (don't have a 4x4)...
ReplyDelete