My husband and I always enjoy taking a Friday afternoon drive which is comparable to the Sunday strolls or drives in the States. It is a time to relax, get out of the city and in our case, usually see what is happening in the desert. Typically such a drive even out to the desert is along congested roads. When we get out of the city with the desert on both sides as far as the eye can see, normally there are hundreds of cars parked on the dunes and families enjoying picnics. However the two weeks before schools let out, the desert is deserted as if a war had taken place and all the inhabitants had fled. We drove past many little desert parks where one could rent ponies, ATV’s and other enjoyable desert toys. But instead of seeing families and happy children we saw bored Sudanese or Pakistanis sitting astride an ATV half sleep and occasionally swatting at flies buzzing around their heads. Our drive continued on to the Red Sands which is an area where many like to go on Friday afternoons and race their SUV’s over the high sand dunes. Usually these dunes are filled with SUV’s and parking along the roadside to watch is congested. Again, it was like a desert graveyard, still, quiet with no more than 4 other vehicles in sight. The most exciting and active parts of our day were when driving along a “country” desert road, we passed a small desert farm where I actually saw a herd of cows for the first time since being in the Kingdom. Shortly after that we passed an area where haroof Nej’d (indigenous Saudi sheep) were grazing. And lastly, as we were heading home, we saw a herd of prize camels being shifted from one grazing area to another. Not only did the sleek, trim and clean bodies of these camels alert us that they were not the typical camels seen outside of bedu camps. But the fact that three SUV’s were escorting these camels as they strutted across the dunes was also indicative of the worth of these camels. It was quite a sight to see this herd of about 60 camels trekking along together over the dunes. We slowly made our way back home enjoying the peaceful solitude of the day.
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