In brief: We did not know what to expect at this far eastern Saudi town within the desert of a supremely wealthy country. We found it highly commercial, quickly expanding, and very welcoming.
Oil is now the biggest cash crop of the Al-Ahsa region in Saudi Arabia. But the world’s largest oasis here still enriches people with its abundant supply of spring water. Lured by the government’s offer of farms to own, the population of Al-Hofuf has swollen to form a sprawling city of 900,000 that has turned desert sand and date palms into villages. Over a hundred years ago, this was the first conquest by founding father Abdulaziz (or Ibn Saud) in making a unified country – and it was also our first experience of the Saudi state. Here’s a look at that city.
A large road runs through the center of Al-Hofuf, lined with strip malls and fast food outlets. Other sections of the town, known locally as villages, reach into what once was desert. This is a typical village intersection of low-lying buildings in various styles. We couldn’t tell one village from another.
We noticed plenty of strip shopping centers and large malls here, but the town’s traditional bazaar, the elegant arcaded Qasariyah souq just by the restored old city walls, is not touristy. Its stalls mainly offer day to day items, attracting throngs of young and old for clothing, food, spices, and – yes, now – mobile phone paraphernalia.
Many shops offer clothing, from traditional Saudi garments to western styles. In this shop, you can find robes fit for a royal audience, reportedly in enough colors to fit each day of the week.
So you need a saber, or scythe, or axe made to order? Just head to the right part of the souq and this sharp blacksmith will fix you up.
This elaborate gate marks a passageway along the side of the main souq. It looks much more defensive than its function, an invitation to the market. Parts of the restored old city walls are visible through the opening.
On the far side of the limestone caves we showed in our last post (click here to read), we visited a pottery complex of various stalls each offering handmade earthenware vessels. It was strangely untouristy considering the antiquity of the operation, begun by Dugha al-Gharash and handed down generation after generation for 600 years. The photo shows the master pot maker of recent years, whose children and grandchildren still make – and sell – the pots by hand.
It seems the locals still appreciate the traditional crafts to stock their homes. We also tasted the tradition at a renowned bakery frequented by the Saudi king, where they still cook the breads by slapping them against the sides of a clay oven.
This fragrant shop in town offers 10 different types of wood chips to burn in the hourglass-shaped containers visible on the counter. These are very popular in Saudi Arabia. The store also offers numerous oils for the discriminating nose.
In a nostalgic re-vitalization of a 19th century building, this open courtyard in the central city welcomes local families for a bounteous, delicious lunch after prayers on Friday. The arcaded space with lavishly decorated walls, along with people watching, made the meal even better.
Most women at the restaurant wore the typical burqah dress, generally black, with hair covered. Some women also wore the niqaab, the face covering, awkwardly eating by lifting it up demurely. No one seemed to mind the western women without any of that. Some men wore the traditional white robe with headdress. But, as is often typical in the west, most men dressed like they were heading to a sporting match. We had a chance to talk with one local family who had a son studying engineering in Seattle. We wondered why they spoke English to the waiter. “It is necessary in ordering since the waiter speaks better English than Arabic,” one woman told us.
This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, with delightful Ottoman style doorways. It houses a religious school founded in 1610 that also taught languages, though the building has been renovated.
In central Doha, you can visit a camel market that is part of the old souq, though it’s as much a tourist sight as a market. We like our camels in the wild so we kept an eye out during our journeys through the deserts. This camel train showed up near Al Hofuf, against the backdrop of the non-stop electrical transmission lines also traversing the desert.
(To enlarge any picture above, click on it. Also, for more pictures from Saudi Arabia, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page.)
