With one last look back, we leave the volcanic world and head west across the vast lava field “Harrat Khaybar” back to the main road that runs from Medina to Jordan.

Khaybar

A small modern town called Khaybar has sprung up along the main road. Historic Khaybar, however, lies in a fertile depression of the Khaybar plateau and was an extensive oasis with several districts and several fortifications. The history of Khaybar is both interesting and surprising.

History

Khaybar was an oasis of the Jewish tribe “Banu Nadir” , which was based in the city of Medina. It was one of the most powerful Jewish tribes in Arabia, together with the “Banu Qainuqa” and the “Banu Qurayza”. The “Banu Qurayza” were the leading tribe in Medina and still are today, albeit no longer Jewish, but Islamized. The progenitor of these three Jewish tribes was Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel from the tribe of Judah (Nehemiah 11:4). The Jews of Khaybar were pioneers in the cultivation of the oasis and earned their living by growing date palms, but also in trade and crafts, and amassed considerable wealth. The Jews in Arabia were probably conquered in the wake of the Babylonian captivity (from 597 BC) in the region around Medina in Arabia. Hundreds of years before the Islamic Revolution by the Prophet Mohammed. In the summer of 628 AD, Muhammad took control of the oasis during his campaign to Khaibar and killed the heads of the Banu Nadir. He allowed the Jewish inhabitants of the oasis to return to their estates on condition that they henceforth sent half of their crops to Medina. In 642 AD, these Jews were also expelled from Khaybar. And where did the expelled Jews emigrate to? They emigrated to Iraq and Syria and back to their homeland, Judea and Samaria, known today as “Palestine”.

Viewing

The visit to Khaybar almost fell through. We drive to the entrance of the historic site and can see from afar that construction is underway here. And our suspicions are confirmed. Khaybar cannot be visited due to maintenance work. We are annoyed. Time and again, we experience important sights being closed. Saudi Arabia is no exception. And there are no compromises. The area is surrounded by police stations.
Fortunately, however, we discover a part of the city that is on a road and there are no guards around. We park there and I sneak into the ruins illegally so that I can at least take a photo souvenir with me. We meet a Saudi group from London. After the surveillance police arrive, they fortunately concentrate on the group and not on us and we make our escape.

Riddles of the desert – Qaryat Desert

About 60 km north of Khaybar, we turn right to the east and reach a sandy track that leads steadily upwards through ever new sandy valleys to an altitude of 1300m. Once we reach the high plateau, driving becomes very arduous as the track leads over uneven rock slabs interspersed with sand and gravel passages. Constant shaking and jolting and constant downshifting and upshifting make riding grueling. When we reach the highest point with a magnificent view, we stop and spend a cold night here with a lot of wind. However, the view is worth the effort.

Second day

Today we get a little more sand under our wheels, which makes driving much more pleasant. In the wide sandy plains of this plateau, we spot herds of camels here and there in the distance. Our destination today is a hill on which there is supposed to be a so-called keyhole tomb. A few kilometers before, there is supposed to be such a GRab on a ridge, but despite the use of drones we could not discover it.

Keyhole graves

In the Al-Ula and Khaybar region, there are around 900 sites where keyhole tombs have been found. The tombs are piled up shapes made of unhewn stones, with a small burial mound in the rounding. If you approach such a grave on foot, you will only see piled up stones. The shapes are only visible from the air. We can climb up to one of the graves, which is located on a small mesa, and photograph it with the drone. However, this is only a faint image of the whole, as there are places with large clusters of such graves. This is referred to as a “burial street”. Researchers estimate the graves to be around 4000 years old. It is not known why they were built. However, they are apparently always located on old paths between oases. On the one hand, it is now thought that the exchange between the oases and the traffic between the oases must have been greater than previously assumed.

The exodus theory

There is, however, another theory that is not at all far-fetched. After the people of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses and finally reached the mountain of God, Mount Sinai, God imposed a 40-year wilderness wandering on the people of Israel before they were allowed to enter the land of Canaan.
During these 40 years, they probably did not wander around the Sinai Peninsula in circles as we are led to believe on biblical maps. However, it would make sense that they spent 40 years nomadizing around the Arabian Peninsula.
Since around 600,000 men died during these 40 years, they also had to be buried. It would therefore be logical that these graves were not placed just anywhere, but on the edge of paths, between oases. This would also speak for the high number of burial sites.
An exciting theory that would also be compatible with the “Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia” theory.

Third day or the first flat tire since 2018

As we drive over the pleasant and less pleasant roads of the last few days, we notice that one of the rear tires is developing a small balloon on the side. No external damage to the tire was visible. We simply hope that the tire will hold until we are back on the tarred road. So we continue at walking pace to the end of the track. As soon as we reach the tarred road, we drive onto a gravel area “with a firm surface”. We stop – and there’s a bang from behind on the right. The tire has burst, while stationary and not on the move and in a gravel area with enough space to work. We unpack the two jacks and boards to put under the tire. An elderly Bedouin stops, sees the situation, takes off his white dress and starts to help us. It gets complicated for us now, as he doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Arabic. But we manage with our hands and feet. The jacks are quickly placed underneath and pushed under the axle. But the axle cannot be lifted – instead the jack sinks more and more into the ground. So much for a stable floor. We have to dig a hole to fit the spare tire. Still, the three of us can’t manage it. More Bedouins are simply waved in. Two unfamiliar guys manage to fit the tire and tighten the bolts securely, which we check the next day with the torque wrench. With the rear differential lock, I manage to drive out of the dug pit. We’re done and ready for the night.
We say goodbye to our elderly and loyal helper with a thank-you tip.

We slept well and carefree. We already know that we won’t get a replacement for the punctured tire here in Saudi Arabia. We are therefore in contact with a dealer in Abu Dhabi in the Emirates.
Our trip to Saudi Arabia is now coming to an end. We set off and take the back roads as far as possible towards Buraida, our next stop.