Thursday, September 10, 2009

The House of Saud

Episode 2 of The Frankincense Trail sees Kate Humble in Saudi Arabia, gaining unprecedented access to some of the most notable grandsons of the kingdom's founder Abdul Aziz al Saud.

First up, she gets to meet Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the 22nd richest man in the world. Prince Al-Waleed is the founder and chief executive of the Kingdom Holding Company, which own large chunks of some of the world's most famous companies. Kate gets to interview him at his company HQ in Riyadh, the Kingdom Tower. Then it's off in an cortege of bulletproof limousines (the prince sitting up front on his mobile phone, sealing business deals) to the prince's city resort on the edge of Riyadh to pick up his 4th wife, 27 year old Princess Amera. They all head off two hours into the desert to attend a traditional tribal gathering, where the prince distributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to his needy tribesmen. "Islam in practice", as he calls it.

Next she meets his cousin Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - the "most qualified pilot in Saudi Arabia", as well as the first Royal, first Arab and first Muslim in space. Prince Sultan takes her for a private flight in his glider along the Asir Mountains.

Prince Bandar - head of the wildlife and conservation ministry, then introduces Kate to his camels.

The House of Saud.

Najran. Known in ancient times as Al-Ukhdood, this oasis was an important stopping point on the Incense Route. In AD 524 it was the scene of a massacre of the entire native Christian population by the king of Jewish Yemen (Himyar), Yusuf As'ar Dhu Nuwas.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Shibam

I'm watching the BBC travelogue The Frankincense Trail, where Kate Humble follows the overland route of the ancient frankincense traders from Oman to the Mediterranean. She passes through the ancient Yemeni city of Shibam, the "oldest high-rise city in the world", with mud brick apartment buildings reaching as high as 11 storeys.

Later she crosses the Haraz mountain range to the capital Sana'a, passing medieval mountain fortresses, like the following, nameless one: