Trip to Ta 'if

This weekend, we took a day trip to Ta 'if. Ta 'if is a city located on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains near Mecca, about a three hour drive from Jeddah.

Almost as soon as we left the city and hit the highway, we came across signs determining which road must be taken by Muslims, and which by non-Muslims :

Non-Muslims are not permitted to drive through the holy city of Mecca, so we had to take the long way around. The non-Muslim road was narrow and the asphalt bumpy and cracked in quite a few places from the heat, making for a rather uncomfortable journey. We soon rode into the desert, which was nothing like the one in Dubai. No rolling dunes, no powdery, knee-deep golden sand, just a flat dusty landscape, with scraggly bushes and trees here and there. Even so, I thought it was interesting and charming in its own way. We encountered a number of Bedouin camps, which basically consisted of two-three rickety tents, often a truck parked to the side and sometimes a small herd of camels or sheep. At some point, we were lucky enough to witness a truly authentic Bedouin, dressed in traditional attire, shepherding his flock atop a camel.

After a couple of hours in the desert, we began ascending the mountain, which held an awesome surprise. Reaching the outskirts of Ta 'if, there were many cars parked on the side of the road and people gathered around looking at something behind the railings.We stopped to see what all the commotion was about, to be greeted by dozens of baboons. They seemed relatively tame and accustomed to the presence of people. Most were completely ignoring the crowd, focusing on the food that had been thrown out to them, removing each others ticks meticulously, or doing whatever it is primates do during their daily lives. Some, bolder than others, were reaching out and taking food right out of peoples' palms, or even leaping over the railing and walking amongst the delighted spectators.  In general, all of them looked as if they enjoyed the attention and the food, except for a few mother baboons, who were holding their tiny babies tight to their chests and half-hiding behind boulders.

                                                                                                                                                 

This guy seemed to be the boss. He was the biggest and all the other baboons kept a safe distance from him. If he had his eye on a piece of food not one of the others dared challenge him. He was pretty intimidating. However, all the other baboons were absolutely adorable, like these guys here:

This little one was a complete diva, jumping on the hoods of the cars and lapping up the attention: 

 The one thing that really got to me throughout the whole journey was the amount of litter everywhere. Both sides of the road, in the desert and on the mountain, were strewn with all sorts of rubbish: old tires, plastic bottles and bags, tin cans, construction site debris... I don't even know how half those things got there, seeing as it was literally the middle of nowhere. Saudis' lack of environmental consciousness is pretty scary. Just take a look at what was going on in the parking lot we stopped halfway up the mountain: 

Getting out of the car to gaze at the mountain scenery and stepping on a full diaper with cream coloured shoes isn't the best, I'll tell you that.

Anyhow, we finally reached Ta 'if. As a city, it's nothing spectacular, at least for European standards. However, it's cleaner and quieter than Jeddah, and manages to maintain a traditional feel to it, despite being a very modern resort city. At an altitude of about 2.000 meters , it's cooler as well, thus making it a great summer getaway from the larger cities, Riyadh and Jeddah. What made a great impression on me was the amount of amusement parks we encountered. We must have come across five or six within a few square kilometres. Maybe it's not so surprising though, considering that a resort city needs entertainment venues, and in Saudi Arabia every other type of fun is banned. 

  

Ta 'if is an agricultural area well known for its excellent grapes, roses and honey. It also boasts one of the last remaining truly authentic souks (marketplaces) in the Middle-East. Unfortunately, the souk is about 40 kilometres away from the city centre, so there was no time to visit it. We did do some shopping in an open-air fruit market, though,which had all sorts of lovely produce. In Jeddah getting fresh, good quality fruit is a bit difficult, since nothing is produced locally and everything must travel a long way to reach the consumer. 

One thing Ta 'if certainly seems to lack is ethnic and cultural diversity, judging by the absence of any other foreign faces and the way we were received by the locals.The waiters in the restaurant we had lunch and the salesmen at the fruit market were not only unable to communicate with us, due to their non-existent English, but also unwilling to do so.  The people we passed on the street also seemed baffled and annoyed by our appearance.The weirdest thing happened in the ladies room at the restaurant, though.When I opened the door there was already a woman inside by the sinks with a toddler. The minute she saw me, she snapped something very hostile-sounding at me in Arabic, covered her angry face hastily and rushed out the door dragging her child behind her. That didn't feel too great. I may have felt slightly uncomfortable at times in Jeddah, but no one has ever been openly hostile towards me. Oh well, you can't win them all.

All in all, I enjoyed Ta 'if. It's a nice weekend trip if you're in the area, the mountain air feels amazing and even the journey itself offers a unique experience. I mean, what are the chances of a troop of baboons flocking around your car in Europe?