HAAS

I had to end my journey in Medina because my return flight was from Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport. This was a rather random choice I made in Amsterdam; I thought the name Medina sounded evocative. I hadn't realized that the city revolves around its religious sites. In fact, the ancient part of Medina no longer exists. The inner circle of the city is dedicated to the newly built Prophet's Mosque and is off-limits to non-Muslims.

Between Mecca, Jeddah and Medina lies the brand new Haramain High Speed Railway, just opened in 2018. I boarded the Spanish Talgo trains at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and enjoyed a very comfortable and fast journey to Medina. After checking into my hotel, I took a Bolt taxi to a Yemenite restaurant for lunch, only to find it closed. I decided to walk instead. I bought some dates, but it was impossible to purchase just a few; the shop owner insisted that I buy more. Ultimately, I ended up with a huge bag of dates.

As I was walking, a white car slowed down to match my pace. I assumed it was an unsolicited taxi, but when I waved my hand, I noticed a young girl leaning out of the window, offering me a bottle of cold water. I thanked her and the man behind the wheel. According to the Prophet Muhammad, the reward for praying in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina is greater than that of one thousand prayers in any other mosque. Perhaps this also applies to good deeds done in Medina.

After checking into my hotel, I still held a romantic vision of an ancient city with an old souk to explore. However, upon arriving in the city center, it became clear that nothing old remained. All I could see were high-rise hotels and streams of umrah visitors pouring out of the hotels towards the Prophet's Mosque. I joined the pilgrims but after a few hundred meters, it was forbidden for non-muslims to continue. I felt completely alienated and, for a moment, wished I had stayed in Jeddah. However, while driving towards the center, I had also noticed how close Mount Uhud (جَبَل أُحُد) was. The next day, I could make it my goal to climb Mount Uhud.

The evening ended quite pleasant. I found another excellent Indian restaurant and ended the night drinking chai among Indian, or Pakistani, migrant workers.

My taxi driver Abdullah

Before I could hike Mount Uhud, I had to wait until around 5 PM to avoid the heat. I summoned a Bolt taxi to Al Noor Mall. When my taxi arrived, it wasn’t the usual Toyota Camry but a beaten-up Toyota Hilux pickup truck. “Nice Hilux,” I said, knocking on the dashboard. “Very strong car!” Abdullah replied, handing me a bottle of perfume to freshen up.

When we arrived at the shopping mall, he asked, “Dinner?” He meant “lunch,” and I agreed to eat together. He began driving in search of a restaurant. Abdullah was not a native of Medina; he was a retired policeman, and it took almost an hour before he found a good place to eat. During the ride, he asked if I was a Muslim. When I said I was a Christian, he transformed into a Jehovah’s Witness, insisting that I should follow the true path of Islam and not worship three gods. He was referring to the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He then apologized, saying, “Please don’t feel bad.”

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we could focus on the food: a huge plate of basmati rice and the best goat meat I had ever tasted. I even got a piece of the liver. Abdullah taught me how to eat with my hand, which wasn’t easy. You shouldn't put your fingers too deep into your mouth. By the time we finished, I had rice all over my legs.

After lunch, Abdullah drove me to my original destination: Al Noor Mall. I tried to make it a paid taxi ride, but he refused. We drove for another 15 minutes to drop me off. He had just one request: I had to seriously consider Islam to save my soul; otherwise, I would end up in hell instead of in the garden.

Al Noor Mall mainly features big brands and was rather dull. I sipped Arabic coffee to pass the time, then discovered a cheaper mall just a 10-minute walk away. If my travel bag had been bigger, I would have bought several dallahs, the traditional Arabic coffee pots.

Mount Uhud جَبَل أُحُد,

Mount Uhud is not just any mountain; it was the site of the second battle between Muhammad and the polytheists of his tribe, the Quraysh. At the foot of the mountain is the Sayed Al-Shuhada Mosque, built in 2017. The small hill in front of the mosque is known as Archers' Hill.

I planned to start my hike at 5 PM, but by 4:30 PM, I was bored waiting, so I set off with a handful of dates and three liters of water in my backpack. Mount Uhud stands at 1,077 meters above sea level, and starting from Medina, you need to climb roughly 300 meters, which isn't too challenging as far as mountains go. However, with midday temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius, you have to plan your hike wisely, as the heat can be dangerous.

Just after the city limits you will pass some ancient rock art. These can be found all over Saudi-Arabia.

Even at 5 PM, the heat was relentless, and I had to take a few breaks of a couple of minutes. During my third break, I began to feel nauseous, a sign of heatstroke. I sought refuge behind a rock to find some shade and took a twenty-minute break. After that, I felt better, and when I continued, the sun was low enough that I didn't need any more breaks. The view of Medina was amazing.

My white ghutra was comfortable in the sun. It really protects you from the heat. When I reached a good viewpoint, I stayed to watch the sunset. At a quarter past seven, it was time for the Maghreb prayer. It was fascinating to hear the call to prayer from all the mosques in the valley below. I wondered what would have happened if the polytheists from Mecca had pursued Muhammad further into the mountains. Then again, there is no archaeological evidence of the battle to begin with.

I had noticed an Indonesian restaurant at the start of my hike and was dreaming of bakso all the way down. I opted for the Bakso urat. It was good.

My final day

Breakfast is usually very basic: a chapati, filled with egg, and a mint tea.

Al-Masjid An-Nabawi

For my final day, I returned to the Prophet's Mosque, more properly known as Al-Masjid An-Nabawī (ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلنَّبَوِي). According to Islamic history, this mosque is the second built by Muhammad and is the holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. During the Ottoman period, the mosque was rebuilt several times, and it was only in 1805 that Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud took control of Medina. The Wahhabis demolished nearly every tomb, even stripping Muhammad's tomb of its gold and jeweled ornaments. In 1985, during the reign of King Fahd, the mosque was expanded again, leading to the demolition of many surrounding buildings.

Al-Masjid An-Nabawī before the umbrellas were placed.

At one point I suddenly realised there is a Starbucks and H&M located just a few hundred meters from the second holiest site in Islam. Umrah is big business but I was surprised to see Swedish and US global chains so close to a holy site.

The square in front of Al-Masjid An-Nabawi is called Medina Haram Piazza. In 2010 a total of 250 shading umbrellas were placed on the square at an eye watering cost of 4,7 billion riyals. I was allowed to walk as far as the green gate. The umbrellas are impressive.

The eastern part of Medina is one big construction site. All night dump trucks were passing my hotel. Apparently new high rise hotels will be build, connected to the airport by a new shuttle railway. Everything in the name of progress. It is clear that Medina is not on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Artist’s impression of the future of Medina.

For lunch I had a vegetable stew which was quite similar to a Moroccan tagine and a porridge made of possibly oat. A small cup of tomato salsa was served along with my meal. This salsa is usually served with biryani or mandi rice. The recipe is easy. Simply put the following raw ingredients in a food processor: 4 medium size tomatoes, 1 medium size onion, 4-5 green chillies, 1 cup fresh coriander leaves, 3-4 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt.

In the afternoon I sheltered in my hotel room. The temperatures were really too hot to walk the streets. The lowest temperatures at night time were 30 degrees Celsius, so the nights were very pleasant.

My flight was for 5 am the next day, which meant I had to be at the airport in Medina at roughly 3 am. I tried to get a rest in my room before I had to take a midnight taxi to the airport. All I could hear were the dump trucks hobbling through the dusty road towards the construction site.

I already own a red checkered and white ghutrah (غُترَة) I bought in Jordan in the 1990s. On this trip I bought three extra. I would love to wear these in summer but the keffiyeh is so politicised at the moment people in Europe will not realise I am wearing Qatari or Saudi headdress.

I wandered into a migrant workers’ neighbourhood and had vegetarian Indian food for dinner: a chana dal I make myself in Amsterdam often and a mixed vegetable dish.

I had a connecting flight from Jeddah to Amsterdam. The Saudi Dreamliner was painted in NEOM livery. The NEOM project is a whole different story and one of world’s more crazier development projects. Criticising the project is one of the reasons MBS had Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed in Turkey.