Domestic Tourism & Camping

EXPLORER TOURS OF SAUDI ARABIA.

 Greg Hancock   www.gregswalkingtours.com

Jeddah,   26 January 2002 / 13 Dhul-Qa’da 1422

I have been in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since August 2000 / 1422. I am working for the Ministry of Education at the Jeddah Teachers College as a teacher trainer in the English department. I am 39 years old and come from the United Kingdom. I trained as an artist and photographer, and then as a language teacher. Before coming to KSA, I worked for many years as a teacher of English to foreign students in Britain and in Spain. I am currently studying for an MA in archaeology at the University of London. I also ran a one-man business as a historical tour guide in London.

How I discovered Explorer Tours.

The Explorer office in Jeddah is next door to the travel agency where I have made all my travel arrangements while in the Kingdom. The travel agent there suggested that I might like to go on one of the tours. I had often thought that there must be a company who organised such excursions, but when I asked other people, they had never heard of one.

Why I have found Explorer Tours so satisfying

A lot of people spend years working in KSA without seeing or experiencing anything apart from the city they live in and their place of work. For a few this is their choice, but for many, it is a feeling of nervousness about being “out there” alone that puts them off. For female ex-pats who are here without husbands, the possibilities for private exploration of the country are also severely limited.

I have my own apartment in Jeddah and do not live on a compound. There are very few other Western employees at the college. So I found it very hard when I first arrived in KSA to discover how to get around the country with groups of other people who were also interested in experiencing the unique possibilities of travel in the Kingdom. At first I did not have my own transport, and was anyway too nervous about driving here to do much exploration outside the city!

So the tours offered by Explorer seemed ideal. I have been able to visit many places that I know I would never have visited on my own, and without any of the worry, stress, extra expense and hard work that organising such trips on my own would require. It is so nice to know that all I have to do is book my place, be ready on time, and everything else will be looked after by  Explorer. I don’t need to plan food and drink, special equipment or accommodation and transport.

The tours are carefully planned to provide whatever foreign visitors to KSA need. Visitors here are often fascinated by the things that a Saudi would find “ordinary” or “boring”. (I can still remember how excited I was to see my first camel walking along next to the road! I have seen plenty now though!) As an amateur archaeologist, what may seem like “just a pile of old stones” to a local resident, is a wonderful relic from the past to me. Explorer often stops to show us sights that most Saudis would probably ignore. The hugeness and wildness of the desert is something very different from anything in Europe.  Explorer Tours always listens carefully to the suggestions and needs of their customers.

Explorer makes visits to the more famous attractions such as Meda’in Saleh so much easier. The long distances are enough to put people off going in their own cars, and the need to organise special permits is also a problem for many. Other trips take you to places that are less well known: even local people know little about them. I know from talking to my students that I have seen much more of the KSA in a year and half than many of them have seen in their lifetime!

Many ex-pats in KSA find it difficult to experience the day to day life of the Saudi  people. We tend to live parallel but separate lives.  Explorer makes it possible to take part in some of the traditional customs of the country, try traditional food eaten in the traditional way etc.

Something else that I particularly enjoy about Explorer Tours is the way the tours are always slightly unpredictable! There is always a sense of real adventure as once you leave the main road, anything can happen! Everything always works out in the end though and I am happy to relax and let the drivers and organisers sort out any little problems, while I sit back and enjoy the view! Of course, a few people might sometimes prefer more 4-star accommodation and military-style timekeeping, but in my experience most people would find that boring!

I have met many new friends through Explorer Tours. So many ex-pat workers find that they only socialise with the people they work with every day. This can be very limiting and can cause tension at work and after work! I have recommended Explorer to many friends and acquaintances in Jeddah and elsewhere, and everyone has been very pleased to hear about the company.

I am always very impressed by how keen to please everybody at Explorer Tours is. All the drivers and staff are polite, friendly, helpful and they work extremely hard to try to make sure that everyone has a great time. They have helped to make my time in KSA much richer than it would

otherwise have been.I hope Explorer continue to research and discover new destinations as well as repeating the popular ones regularly. I would love to really get to know this country as well as I can while I am here. The more I see, the more it fascinates me.

Taking The First Steps In The Tourism Sector

Razan Baker | Arab News

Wed, 2008-06-25 03:00

WITH the increasing number of historical sites being opened to visitors in Saudi Arabia, the tourism sector is witnessing unprecedented growth. The logical extension is that with an increase in demand, there is an increase in job opportunities —- especially for women.

But women’s role in this field is still limited. This is because society is still not yet used to the idea of having Saudi women guiding groups of foreigners or Saudis, not to mention traveling from one city to another despite the tempting salaries tour agencies may offer.

In the past five years few unofficial groups have organized tours to the religious sites in Madinah and Makkah, and to historical sites in Jeddah. But these efforts have failed to take off, according to a woman tour operator who did not wish to be named.

While it was hard for many to advertise their operations, others chose another path to highlight the heritage. They prefer to concentrate on the antiquities and focus on presenting different styles of clothing from all around Saudi Arabia to Saudis and foreigners. Salma Alireza is one such woman. One of the founders of Mansoojat, a UK-registered charity foundation, Alireza and 12 other Saudi women run the business with a gallery based in Jeddah containing all the clothing. These are moved around to different areas, and also exhibited outside the country. She gave as an example when Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel’s Islamic Gallery at the V&A opened in London last year, they participated, and they did it again during the Jeddah Economic Forum in March 2008.

The reason for the few numbers interested in tourism is due to the fact that there’s only one college for tourism in Saudi Arabia. Women can study tourism only at King Saud University’s College of Tourism and Archeology. But other universities are opening the doors for them now. For example, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah will allow its history department students of either sex to choose either to continue the last three semesters in history or in tourism.

Around 20 women students have already chosen tourism. “It is a new field and I am curious to learn about it,” said 22-year-old Ebtisam Al-Ghamdi one of the students who has applied to specialize in tourism. “Though only 20 have applied, many wanted to join but did not because their families did not like the idea,” she said. Al-Ghamdi believes tourism will allow students to have many options after graduation and to work as professors, in travel agencies, museums and so on. She wished there was a complete department dedicated to tourism and antiquities. Yet this is a good start and she is looking forward to the museum administration course and the two practical courses listed in the study plan. “Most of the courses in the three semesters concentrate more on history and marketing and I hope we’ll really get a clear idea about tourism,” she said, adding that the private sector could help by holding workshops during summer.

Meanwhile, the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (GCTA) welcomed the participation of women and has been training them for the past three years. Now they have around 20 qualified Saudi women in different positions —- creating and supervising their project. These women work in sectors that deal with society’s awareness, tourism research and information centers, recreational event planning, and marketing. In addition, they also are on the welcoming committee to receive guests and guests during GCTA-run events and also taking them on tours.

The GCTA is also helping students get bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees in tourism on scholarships abroad. The commission also cooperates with King Saud University by availing itself of the students’ services during their events. The last time these students volunteered was at the 1st Tourism Investment Meeting held in Riyadh at the beginning of 2008. Around 48 students of both sexes volunteered. The founder and general director of Al-Mustakshif Al-Arabi (Arabian Explorer) tourism agency, Fahad Al-Safh said, “This field is new and this will give women a chance to explore something new and advance in it and, I am sure, they will.” Al-Safh said his agency had opened the door for many women to help in the tourism field here, but cultural restraints were holding them back, especially when it came to traveling to cities in the Kingdom. However, he said, when they cooperated with Effat College students during previous summers, “The girls showed great interest, dedication and discipline and those who are serious about entering this field will find many options to explore.”

Taif Rose Farm Tour and More

Living in Jeddah

27/02/2016

Having booked for the Taif Roses Season Tour after seeing it advertised in the Destination Jeddah magazine, we thought there would be quite a few going.  It turned out that there was only two going. Chris and I. So fortunately for us the owner of Explorer & Expat Tours of KSA, Fahad said he would pick us up personally.  He arrived in his car instead of a bus.

As we were driving we saw many Bedouin camps with their camels. Some of them had their front or back legs tethered together with rope to prevent them from running away.  They are given hay and water, as there is not a lot of greenery for them to eat.  Many of the camels roam freely and come back to their camps for a feed.

The first place we went to was the Rose Farm.  Most of the roses have been picked and taken to the warehouse where they extract by distillation the precious green liquid (ROSE OIL) and make  two types of Rose Water, one heavy and one light.  To start the process, they collect from the floor a number of rose heads and put them in a woven basket.  This is placed on one side of a set of scales and weighed.  They place another basket on the other side with an amount of rose heads that balances the scales.

It takes 3 full baskets of rose flowers to empty into just one of the boilers.  They are boiled and the oil and rose water comes out the other side, where it drips into bottles. The ashes from the burned rose petals is used for incense burning.  This is often used in Perfume shops in the malls.  It takes 15,000 rose heads to make 1 small bottle of rose oil.  That’s a lot of picking!!!  The rose oil at Taif is known to be one of the best in the world.

We drove past area’s where the roses grow and we also saw some old stone houses. (what remains of them)  Our guide was very knowledgeable and shared information on the history and culture of Saudi Arabia.

We travelled up to the top of the mountain to the baboons. They were happily playing on the rock edges overlooking the Zig Zag Rd.

Next it was time for lunch at the Intercontinental in Taif.  A lovely buffet was provided and delicious sweets of course!

Our next stop was at a vegetable and flower farm.  It is the biggest farm in Saudi Arabia, exporting and importing all over the country and around the world.  There was rows and rows of hot houses. We were driven around by one of the workers on the farm in a v8 Mercedes. (very comfortable)

Saw beautiful rose bushes, gladioli’s, carnations and other flowers. Many vegetables and even some sheep.

Also went to a market in Taif and lastly we went to a herb farm where we had mint tea with some Bedouin Men. They gave us a load of freshly picked herbs and showed us their prize cockerel who is their special pet.rooster

Had a wonderful day and came back with a bag each of roses, various waters, some gladioli corms, tomatoes and herbs. We

thoroughly recommend going on a tour with Fahad. He does many different tours including camping in a Bedouin tent in the desert. For more information you can email him at [email protected]