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DAY 1 - RIYADH
- Welcome to Saudi Arabia, a country of contrasts that will leave you with unforgettable souvenirs! Transfer to the hotel. In the evening, we will include a transfer with entrance ticket to Boulevard Ryadh, the largest park in the kingdom, which will surprise you with its animation and life. The park has curious attractions, numerous restaurants with specialties from many different countries, live shows and, above all, a fountains eye-catching show with colored water. Free time to stroll around, enjoy the place and dine in one of its restaurants. Return to the hotel.
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DAY 2 - :RIYADH
- Today (the order of activities may vary depending on the time of year) we will visit the impressive capital of Saudi Arabia. We will include the climb to the tower of just over 300 m high, the "Kingdom Centre", with its beautiful design and its "bridge-shaped" viewpoint that offers spectacular views over the city. We will also visit, surrounded by a beautiful park, the National Museum, the largest museum in the country, where we will learn about the history, culture, and art of the Kingdom. After that we will visit the Masmak Fortress, the ancient fortress of the city, whose interior allows us to understand the incredible change that took place in this city during the last century.Afterwards, we will have time to stroll through the neighborhood, with its souks and commercial life.Free time for lunch in a shopping center- Mall- where you can choose from the various restaurants and types of food offered there.In the afternoon we will also visit the district of Al Turaif DIRIYA, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place - on the outskirts of Riyadh - was formerly the first capital of the Saudi dynasty, which we will be able to discover thanks to the vestiges of its numerous palaces and the urban complex at the edge of the oasis of Ad-Diriya. At the end of the day, we will visit the Al Rajhi Mosque, the largest mosque in Riyadh with its Andalusian style architecture, where we will witness a prayer and have an introduction to Islam that will surely make us learn something about this religion. Return to hotel.
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DAY 3 - RIYADH - AL ULA
- After breakfast, we take a flight to Al Ula. Arrival and transfer. The region and oasis of AL-’ULA: an authentic open-air museum surrounded by nature, where you will find rock formations, canyons and ravines that compete with the majestic treasures carved by its ancient inhabitants. After landscapes of great beauty, we will visit the enclosure of HEGRA (Madain Saleh), declared World Heritage by UNESCO, of Nabataean culture "the Other Petra" amazes us with its tombs excavated in the rock in a desert environment full of mystery. Lunch included. We will have free time in "Al-’Ula Heritage Village", the old Al-’Ula, magnificently restored with its pleasant restaurants and shops. We will also have some time to walk in the magnificent Oasis. At dusk we will go to The Elephant Rock, "Jabal Al Fil" an impressive geomorphologicalphenomenon, a 52 meters high rock in the shape of an Elephant. Dinner included.
- Note: Because local flight schedules are changing and undefined, the flight to Tabuk can be on Friday evening, and continuing the route to Al-Ula on Saturday from there.
- Note: The order of visits may vary without affecting their content.
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DAY 4 - AL ULA - MEDINA
- We will leave in the morning, still enjoying the beautiful landscapes of the Al-’Ula region. We travel to the holy city of MEDINA, "the luminous city". We are in an imposing historical destination, one of the two most sacred cities of Islam, a destination to which millions of pilgrims arrive every year and a city forbidden for non- Muslims until very recently; respect for its inhabitants and beliefs and proper dress code is required. In the afternoon we will visit the Al Madinah Museum that allows us to understand a little the history of the city. At the end of the afternoon, we will go to see -from outside- the Al Masjid mosque, built by the prophet himself and place where he is buried, we will not be able to avoid feeling a surge of emotions when we observe the thousands of people who enter at the time of prayer. Dinner included.
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DAY 5 - MEDINA - JEDDAH
- We will explore Medina. We will walk around the immense Prophet´s Mosque (Al Masjid an Nabawi), an amazing and luminous mosque of 10 minarets with a capacity for one million visitors. On the hill of UHUD, an important pilgrimage site, the prophet´s forces clashed with Meccan troops. You can walk through its vast esplanade and climb the hill, but remember to do so in silence and respecting the hundreds of pilgrims who will surround us any day. At the Quba Mosque, in the year 622, the prophet and his followers laid the first stone of what was to be the first mosque in history, although the present building is more recent. From here, we will walk to the nearby garden and well of Ethiq where the different tribes of the place went out to drink water and greet the Prophet and his companions recently arrived in Medina after their persecution in Mecca. Afterwards we will have some free time in the city center to stroll around the shopping areas or -if you wish- visit the Hejaz Railway Museum (in the former Ottoman railway station).In the afternoon we travel to JEDDAH, on the shores of the Red Sea, the second largest city in the country, with four million inhabitants. Before going to the hotel, we will visit the Al-Rahma mosque, better known as the floating mosque, because it is built on the shores of the Red Sea with pillars over the water. We will also enjoy the lively sportive port, very close to the tracks where the Formula 1 circuit is held.
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DAY 6 - JEDDAH
- Full day in Jeddah. With a local guide we will visit this city that will surprise us by its contrasts. At this time, a large part of the city is being rebuilt to make it a great world megalopolis. Among others, the construction of the Jeddah Tower, which will be the tallest building in the world with more than a thousand meters high, stands out. We will follow the Corniche, with its beautiful views, its mosques by the sea and its recreational areas. We will contemplate the King Fahd Fountain, the highest of its kind in the world, its water jets reach more than 300 meters high. We will stop at the lively and picturesque fish market. We will include the entrance to “Tabeyat International city” an architectural complex of great beauty with its very interesting museums of history and ethnography. We will then visit the historical center, entering through Bab Makkah – the most important gate of Jeddah – and we will also pass by the cemetery of Eve, where tradition says that Eve, Adam’s wife and the first woman of humanity according to the bible, was buried. Free time for lunch in a shopping center- Mall- where you can choose from the various restaurants and types of food offered there.In the afternoon, we will take a walk through its historic center, better known as Al- Balad, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, with its impressive set of medieval alleys and its houses made with coral and wooden balconies. We will visit inside the elegant house of Beit Sallum, today converted into a museum.
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DAY 7 - JEDDAH
- After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of our services.