Najran

Najran and the Queen of Sheba

Najran is located in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, just a few kilometers from the Yemeni border. It is currently the fastest growing city in Saudi Arabia. Najran currently has a population of just under 400,000. However, around 36% of these are foreigners, who make this growth possible in the first place.

We are not interested in the modern city, but we are interested in the evidence from the past. In particular the mud dwelling towers in the oases and the excavation site of a previous city. Najran once belonged to the Kingdom of Sheba and was located at the beginning of the Incense Route, the kingdom from which the Queen of Sheba once set out to hear the wisdom of Solomon in Jerusalem.
It is not surprising that there was a large Jewish and a large Christian community in Najran before Islamization. However, many Christians were massacred by a Jewish ruler, which is why people today speak of the “martyrs of Najran”.
In 641, the Christians of Najran were asked to leave Najran by the Prophet Mohammed because they were accused of usury. Many of them emigrated to Iraq. Nevertheless, even in the 13th century, the population of Najran still consisted of 2/3 Jews and Christians.
In 1934, Saudi Arabia annexed the city and oasis of Najran from Yemen and incorporated Najran into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Water

As there is generally no water supply in Saudi Arabia like in Europe, it is often difficult for us to get good fresh water. Most houses have a water tank on the roof and water tankers are constantly carting around the area to distribute water.
Many former water stations along the roads are now neglected and closed. And when water is found, it is often at such low pressure that we cannot get it into our tank without the aid of a pump.

But things are different here in Najran. We can plug in our Gardena system directly using a water thief and thanks to the considerable water pressure, our tank is soon full to the brim again. What a relief.

Residential towers made of clay

We set off in search of the residential towers made of clay, which were built in the Yemeni style. We wind our way through narrow roads, always hoping that we can turn around somewhere. Unfortunately, we realize that only part of the once huge oasis remains. In many cases, the areas have been built over in a chaotic manner and without any visible concept. As a result, the old building culture is no longer shown to its best advantage, which we find a great pity. Fortunately, however, the photos can also be used to hide some things so that the pictures look more aesthetically pleasing and, admittedly, we do that too. We are trying to generate the feeling of the past. We hope you’ll forgive us for that.

We continue towards the Yemeni border. The small palace of Sheikh Ali bin Hussein is located here. It stands (the palace, of course) on a rock at the foot of a mountain and immediately appeals to us due to its somewhat isolated location.
Although the mud palaces appear to date back centuries, they are not actually that old. Only around 8o to 100 years old. This means that they were built here with clay not so long ago.

Towards evening, a heavy thunderstorm rolls in. It pours down like buckets; not once, but several times. The thunderstorm only relented towards the morning. How surprised we were to see the Wadi Najran, which had been bone-dry just a few hours ago, as a wide, flowing river. And the flow continued for more than a day. Of course we were happy about the water, because without water there is no life.

Sadaane Palace

With the Wadi Najran in the foreground, the Sadaane Palace looks majestic. How water surfaces make a landscape so much lovelier.
The palace still belongs to a local clan, but has been restored and houses an archaeology museum. But we are on fire: the palace is closed for unknown reasons. We come across this time and again in Saudi Arabia, standing in front of closed doors. Oh well, we think. We still have another palace ahead of us….

Amarah Palace

The Amarah Palace is located in the center of an older part of the village. We are shocked to discover that this palace is also closed for maintenance work and cannot be visited. It’s a pity, the people here are obviously not yet prepared for foreign tourists.

King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz Park

We set up our base in the “King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz” park. The city is only a few kilometers away from the Yemeni border. This large and green park offers us the advantage that it is guarded day and night and we can therefore feel safe here.

Al Ukhdud

The predecessor city of Najran was a trading center of the kingdom of Saba. The ruins are around 2500 years old and bear witness to the wealth of this former trading city.
In late antiquity, the inhabitants of Najran adhered to South Arabian polytheism and worshipped a large tree that they had deified. At this time, a Christian preacher, Phemion, came to Najran and began to spread his religion, which was accepted by the inhabitants. His disciple Abdullah ibn Thamir was the one who actually consolidated the Christian religion in Najran. The city was home to the Christian community of Najran in late antiquity. We are glad that at least this visit is possible. However, it is surprising that we have to show our passport to be allowed to take the tour. In other places, you first have to register on a Saudi website, then print out a free ticket and only then can you go on the tour. It’s a rather complicated and not very flexible system.

Encounters

There are numerous encounters in Saudi Arabia. Even here in the south. While visiting the mud palaces, we were so busy with the locals that we hardly got a chance to take any pictures. Everyone asked us if we needed help, wanted to shake our hands or invite us for a meal.

And clay castles again

We are so impressed by the exotic-looking clay buildings that we go looking again and discover some interesting structures. All made of rammed earth, reinforced with straw. It doesn’t get too cold inside in winter and not too hot in summer. But these buildings need constant maintenance, especially after rain.