(Rafha) A retired teacher, Mohammed al-Moutaïri traveled nearly six hours to contemplate a rare spectacle in the north-east of Saudi Arabia: the desert carpeted with mauve flowers whose appearance was favored by heavy rains.
“No one expects to see such a spectacle in Saudi Arabia,” says this man installed on a carpet with his friends. To witness this natural spectacle in Rafha, he traveled 550 km from the city where he resides in the center of the kingdom.
This vision “refreshes our soul”, rejoices with a certain poetry Mohammed al-Moutaïri, speaking of these flowers known in Saudi Arabia under the name of “lavender of the desert”.
Winter rains caused deadly floods in parts of western Saudi Arabia late last year, but in northern areas they have brought the desert back to life.
“Like in paradise”
Far from skyscrapers and 4×4 traffic jams, Nasser al-Karaani traveled 770 kilometers from the capital Riyadh to see these flowers before they fade.
“This show only lasts 15 to 20 days a year, so we come here especially to enjoy it,” the 55-year-old Saudi businessman told AFP.
Having also come with friends, he takes a tent out of his 4×4 to pitch it, a usual scene in the Gulf according to the Bedouin tradition of the region, but which rarely occurs in the middle of a field of flowers.
“This atmosphere is so relaxing,” says Nasser al-Karaani, seated with his friends around a fire to drink tea, a thick jacket over his shoulders, over his traditional white dress.
Around the group, dozens of other visitors also settle on the ground, around a fire, to have tea or cook.
The inhabitants of the region have even kept the camels away to prevent them from eating the flowers which attract Saudi tourists but also those from neighboring countries.
Among them, Abderrahmane al-Marri does not regret having made the journey from Qatar, the small, wealthy emirate neighboring Saudi Arabia.
“The show was worth it,” he told AFP, after a trip of more than 12 hours. “It’s like being in paradise. »