8. Jabal Qara – Ali Baba’s Mysterious Den
This auburn-colored mountain contains a labyrinth of caves and caverns with little shafts on the top that let light pierce through, making the whole place look like the set of an Indiana Jones movie. Made from calcareous sandstone, marl, clay and sedimentary rocks, Jabal Qara sits at around 20 kilometers east of the city of Hofuf. The cave networks inside stretch for over 1,000 meters and close to the very end of it lies what locals call Ali Baba’s den — from the popular folktale Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves.
9. Snow In The Northwestern Desert
10. Singing Sand Dunes of Rub Al Khali
According to a legend, the whispers distract travelers and drag them into danger, singing through the sand dunes. From beneath footsteps and car wheels, a deep roaring comes from the sand, a sound similar to that of a low-flying airplane. The vibrations of grains of sand as they fall on top of each other are believed to be the cause of this phenomenon.
78 DESTINATION RIYADH FEBRUARY 2015
11. Wadi Al Jinn – Valley of the Jinns
Situated at around 30 kilometers northwest of Madinah, the Wadi Al Jinn is a mystifying valley where cars move uphill even when their engine is off. While some believe that the power of the “Jinns” is evident in the valley, others point out that the phenomenon is nothing but an optical illusion.
COURTESY PHOTO/ RUB AL KHALI PHOTOGRAPHY.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM
The extremely rare phenomenon happens in the northwest region of the country, close to the modern day city of Tabuk. The phenomenon last occurred in the winter of 2013, when the outskirts of Tabuk were blanketed in snow—a region that receives less than 5 inches of rainfall every year.