Al-Hofuf: the Largest Saudi Oasis

The dunes off the highway

This spring, the great people at ISG Jubail organized a day trip down to Al-Hofuf, the largest oasis in Saudi Arabia, and it's only about 3 hours away! We got up at 4 AM to make it to Hofuf for the camel market early in the morning. The drive to Al-Hofuf was very interesting. The landscape of our area of Saudi is relatively flat with shrubbery and gravel. As we drove further into the desert toward Al-Hofuf, the classic sand dunes slowly appeared, along with herds of grazing camels on the sides of the highway - just like cows in the states! The different colors of camels were amazing - they ranged from white (rare and expensive) to the golden brown we generally know, to dark ebony.  

Dog Daze of Summer - Saudi Style

There is no mistaking that we are spending the summer in Saudi Arabia. The heat, the sand, the HUMIDITY. You didn’t know that Saudi was humid? Were you expecting a “dry heat”? Me too! Nope – not here. On the bad days you walk outside and you can forget your sunglasses – they are instantly a wall of fog. That condensation also forms all over your body – so you are instantly dewy from your fingertips and toes to your scalp. On the good days, you just feel the 110+ heat and sigh out of relief that the humidity is down. Of course, the wind on either day feels like it’s blowing across a bonfire before hitting you. What a different feeling when you think 100-107 degrees F is cool! Now, I know that the weather part is hard to understand for a lot of our friends and family back home. Just remember – even though it feels this way, I have to wear a neck-to-toe black abaya over my clothes when I leave the compound. Suffice it to say, we just don’t go out much during the day right now!