I left Duba on that day of February 2022 driving accross the golden and anthracite mountains, the white and pink sands, the green and silver vegetation, until reaching AlUla four hours later and finding this cozy bungalow waiting for me and my vehicle.

AlUla is a huge oasis, a marriage of palm trees and reddish rocks, on top of the mountains to the east of the Red Sea.

Driving in AlUla is enjoying at each turn a palm green foreground, representing life, and a gold/red background representing what protects life.
No doubt the place was chosen by the Nabataeans to build a city, with those surrounding mountains providing natural ramparts.

At AlUla, all rocks have been carved by the majestuous five elements and phenomena of its climate: volcanoes, time, water, sand and wind. If all rocks have rounded edges and mostly a smooth skin, some offer their wrinkled faces to the observer, as a reminder of their age.

Other hills simply decided to build high-rise protuberances as a sign of their power and majesty.

Old mud-brick houses at the bottom of the mountain constitute the ancient city of AlUla, within a huge palm trees valley. Let's have a walk through the tiny passages and tunnels of the labyrinthic agglomeration...

Mystery and enigma develop all along the way when climbing the stairs of AlUla's citadel...
Once there, it's an ideal place to take pictures of the whole valley and the city's mud houses.

The passage to the renovated main street of the ancient city of AlUla started at a café playing a Joe Dassin song, and continued in these tiny corridors protected by tee trunk and mud roofs, and adorned with terracotta pots and copper trays.

A main street within the mud-brick city has been renovated and transformed into a tourist attraction. The avenue includes souvenir shops and several cafés, both with a welcomed local taste and decoration. 

Walking back from the AlUla's old city main street down to the car park, allows to appreciate the huge constructions to the right, still built with stones and mud-bricks, but taken to a different dimension of ancient luxury.
This villa impresses by its basements and terraces extending on not less than three levels.
The windows allow to see the valley while remaining of a moderate size to avoid excess heat from AlUla's burning sun. Vents to extract hot air and keep the interior cool have been implemented on the upper parts of the walls.
A curved wall breaks the angles creating an iteresting variance  to the cubic blocks, while the palm tree confirms this is a colored picture and amuses your eye.
Thanks for reading! 

This is not Geneva fountain, rather a replica as seen from Jeddah's Corniche.
The powerful fountain expels an awesome column of water from the Red Sea shore, a few hundreds of meters high; the sea breeze decides on the water jet orientation making the bride dance before your eyes . A visit not to miss, specially at night, when the sail shaped water element joins the black sky in its bleached snowy white robe. 

The old Corniche, a popular tourist destination of the Kingdom's largest city of the Red Sea, offers other distractions to your eyes like these golden lights and hotels that complete the overall décor around the tall bride: no doubt you've been invited to the fountain's wedding.

Not the largest aquarium you'd visit but an interesting concentrate of the Red Sea wild life in all its aspects, here below represented by an impressive humphead wrasse fish and its particularly yet naturally botoxed lips and a terrifying murena coming straight out of a horror movie.

This butterfly fish shares its glass habitat with a clownfish sheltering between the tentacles of a Red Sea anemone, offering the most colorful scene of Jeddah's Al Fakieh aquarium.

Now some serious stuff: the Red Sea sharks...nervously patrolling their artificial enclosure whenever not having a nap on its sand bed.  They are yet nervous all the time, and so are you if and when by mistake, you forget the crystal glass and get transported to their confined space...
Those who like Tintin and his adventures, will remember Hergé's "The Red Sea Sharks" marvel, when Tintin, Haddok, Snowy and Skut went drifting on a raft in the Red Sea.

Al Fakieh aquarium also hosts turtles which elegant swimming gestures are always a pleasure to your sight and stingrays like this dotted specimen peacefully decorating the sea floor.

Not to miss any category, take a look at these tiny transparent and translucent jelly fish  creatures mixing with bubbles and creating a relaxing spectacle that transports you to a different state of mind, between the water and air elements.

Jeddah old district or "Al Balad" in Arabic, remains by far the most valuable and rememberable tourist attraction although you risk finding no one on a Friday morning. 
Old buildings with typical wooden balconies and white plastered façades constitute the attraction of this neighborhood. 

It's also one of the very few places in Saudi Arabia where you can find tiny and narrow streets, some strictly pedestrian. The incredible wooden balconies are painted in different shades of brown, or matt blue and green. A colorful walk, preferably in the early morning in summer time to avoid the  heat of the day. 

Jeddah's Academy of Arts enchants the center of the old city with its beautiful building, paintings and artefacts.  

Superb entrance doors along with even more charming and disorganized electrical cables decorate the houses.

From time to time, tall trees invite themselves to your photos adding a bit of life to the still heritage constructions. 

While the balconies could have been used as balconies, or extensions to the living room, or a way to hide the inside of a house or apartment while allowing to open the windows for catching a breeze, it is unfortunate that these are being used in modern times to fit an air conditioner, which sometimes remains well visible.

Oriental ornaments hide here and there along the façades of Jeddah's Al Balad. The damaged plastering indicates the age of the respectable architectural attraction.

Al Naseef house or museum was closed at the time of our walk, and we were told that it is permanently closed which we could not verify however.
A disappointing ending to the Old City's visit, yet it will be for sure the purpose of a next trip, and very soon "inchallah".

They call it citadel but it's an old circular city with remparts all around, the whole site being situated on a hill in the exact center of Kurdistan's capital.
Walking around the citadel is about the discovery of the souks, an extraordinary mosaic of sidewalks shops selling absolutely anything and everything.
Like in other souks, the merchandise is grouped by type so the walker passes sequentially into a bazar of shoes, T shirts, sunglasses, watches, belts, then spices, tools, paintings, books, agricultural machines and air conditioners!

The constructions at the foot of the citadel are built around a large square that includes a pool covered with glass walkways, although nothing is left of the latter's transparency.

Under the shopping arcades of Erbil's main square, one can expect any kind of edible and non-edible items, but fortunately no lawn mowers or plower machines like to the other side of the citadel!
Loud speakers flood the shoppers with pre-recorded noisy adverts repeating the prices a thousand times, in a desparate brain wash of the passer-by, whose chances to surrender (and buy) would then be amplified by this cerebral hammering technique.

In contrast, Erbil's "Big Ben" is so silent unlike the one of London's Palace of Westminster

Textiles, souvenirs, handbags, scarfs, carpets and babouche slippers, a million items of a million colors; are these shops owned by magicians and do they sell flying carpets?
Are we inside an "Iznogoud" episode of the famous comic character?

Another million confectionery items and dozens of different honey kinds, not recommended for diabetics.

Not all merchants of Erbil's souks like to sell a million item as some are rather "specialized" like the street kiosks offering fresh food on the go.
The kebab stands seem to be so popular and sell cheap and satiating sandwiches.
Not sure however if you'll loose your apetite before or after eating...

This trolley offers not less than a dozen types of oriental coffees, all prepared in brass and copper pots coming straight forward from the Bronze Age.
The design is unchanged but the layout of the bright utensils lets you believe you're in front of a coffee lab or factory, a kind of mobile plant operated and controlled by the smart phone of its owner.

Back to colors as fruit and fruit cocktail kiosks offer all kinds of juices, pulp or any combination of liquid and solid pectins.

Don't be lost however and make no confusion: if you're seeing a watermelon stand with a luxury car in the background, then no doubt you're in Erbil!

At last a cafe where one can have some rest and order a coffee. I like the typical decoration and how the chairs all point to the same direction like in a theater. The movie is live before your eyes and tells the story of Erbil's daily open markets. Actors are no celebrities and the producer is totally unknown.

Finally, and in case you order a cappuccino somewhere, you may expect a specific decoration drastically differing from the classic Italian leaves. Don't let your imagination go far however, stick to geometrical oriental patterns and put aside the idea of a ...spider net. 
Post scriptum: the element in the center is a fresh coffee bean.

I had to relocate for work to the Western coast of Saudi Arabia and precisely the small and charming city of Duba located in between the flat Red Sea and the impressive mountains to the East, separating it from Tabuk direct surroundings. 
With friends, we decided to walk at night Duba's fishermen's harbor area, which starts at these illuminated caves already denoting the touristical flavor of the coastal city. 

A castle tower adds a bit of charm but a lot of mystery to Duba's caves as to their origins with no indication or sign of any kind. It's part of the game: walk, discover and imagine.

To the other side, Duba's fishermen's seaport, which beauty equals the ones of the Mediterranean. Traditional fishing boats decorate the harbor's enclosure and act like a brain stimulator. No doubt we were virtually transported to the wide sea in the wooden swinging feluccas, their purring diesel engines and that smell recalling we're in an oil rich country...

Stones have replaced asphalt with thanks on Duba's seaport road, so streets marry the beautiful old houses and their delightful doors. Candlestick style street masts light the walls under the amazing all-year-long "Christmas" colored lights. 

A fountain sends water to the vertical dimension for those who are not satisfied with the flatness of the sea.

Old houses made of mudbricks and mud mortar accompanied us in our walk towards Duba's castle which overlooks the seaport. 

The Ottoman construction is the main attraction of the square and dominates with its imposing remparts. No one can resist moving up the street before the historical castle.

A hotel facing Duba's castle offers an unusual façade for what is typically found in Saudi Arabia,  with a welcome touch of style that continued to remind us we're tourists on that night.

Abandoned heritage mud houses added one more time stamp to the plaza behind the castle. No doubt we're in the old city.

The walk continues to where Duba's North corniche is located, a 4km long nicley paved and finished walkway. Amenity lights combined to this "tunnel" of magenta colored arcs, illuminated our passage.

Those bizarre structures, not exactly umbrellas, not exactly jellyfish, not exactly mushrooms populate the seaside terraces of Duba's corniche and its horizon.

The passer by's mood keeps changing with the fountain's colors, operated on demand by its guard, each time kids or their parents beg him to push the button of the huge pumps.

The North corniche ended with more seas and more skies, virtually extending our promenade towards the Sinai Peninsula, eventually crossing Suez Canal for those of us with the most fertile imagination.

Leaving a hotel room at Al Olaya, the "quartier chic" of the Saudi capital, leads to a colorful walk between the buildings of the financial center. Riyadh's icon, the Kingdom Centre or "Mamlaka" dominates, being visible from almost anywhere. Its design is repeated on the nearby bush cuts like a 1/100 scale reproduction of the remarkable yet simple architecture. 

Palm trees have been arranged all along streets like straight linear oases but skyscrapers replaced tents as a modern remake of desert life.

Banks and hotels occupy most of Al Olaya skyscrapers, with a consequent intensive use of glass. The flat material is given a less boring appearance when combined to curved architectural elements and angular lights pointing to the wide sky of Riyadh.

At some time, the walker feels like being in any modern district of a Western city. Al Olaya shop windows remind you of Barcelona or Milano as long as you don't let your eyes escape to the third dimension. 

You won't meet people when walking Al Olaya street unfortunately. The use of cars is overwhelming and the extra wide walkways are empty. The only encounters are those buildings that point out each time a gap is left between the constructions around you. Hamad tower showing its plumage...

...Al Faisaliah tower, lit with white, a rare color at Al Olaya.

And finally, the astonishing Narcissus hotel with is contrasting look, like if relocated from Warsaw. Is it still Saudi Arabia?

We left Duba on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia on the way to Al-Disah, climbing from Al-Amoude towards the thick dark mountains to the East. No doubt a few minutes only elapsed before the mountainous landscape started transporting us into another world, the one of the numerous wadis and their scattered acacia trees.
After an hour of driving, we reached something different, a whiter sand, with various species of oasis trees. Singing exotic birds invited us to leave our vehicle and hide beneath a large acacia for a coffee break.

We were wondering where to move next when a passer-by told us to follow the road till the end, you "mafi maaloum" he said? "Don't you know that you have to go there? Just keep driving till the road ends"...

The paved road ends for sure, with no vehicles other than off-roaders daring to continue towards the appealing valley. Our vehicle was no off-roader however, and we decided to continue walking when a safari style open roof 4x4 appeared out of nowhere; on its door: "Tabuk Tours"! Yes, it was a 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser with two rows of open air seats offering a 7km trip till the end of the drivable path. The 45 years old vehicle, worth a scrap value and driven by the 75 years old Abou Majed who's humor matches the best of the solo performances, adds to the charm of the inestimable trip!
Here we go inside Al-Disah magic mountains.

Kids on horses offer an alternative ride to those who fear the breakdown of the dismantled yet brave vehicle and were pleased to give us a free trotting show.

A few meters after the start of the escapade, locals sell hot drinks and snacks under a thick oasis. The welcome is warm, the faces smiling and a loud "hallow, how are you?" escapes from everyone's mouth making us return the same salute, denoting the victorious arrival of the first tourists, in a country where no such activity ever existed. Saudi Arabia or KSA if you prefer, is changing.

The trip occurs between massive mountains of a reddish appearance, colored by iron, possibly copper and probably other metals and minerals expelled by the ancient volcanic activity. A thin water stream flows all the way and all the time bringing some freshness to Al-Disah microclimate.

Rains sculpted the mountains and created forms that resemble everything on planet Earth, whether nature or man made.

Some are man made for sure like these holes in a rare white and smooth rock.

For a while, I remembered "The land of black gold", that Tintin episode happening in similar mountains where Emir Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab hid from Bab El Her insurgent. I was just expecting to encounter the cheetah...

The trip ends at this diamond shaped window, ideal for a selfie.

At last, remember to find the indestructible, uncomfortable, breezy, noisy, vibrating and charming tour operator's vehicle to enjoy this experience and make it memorable. Don't go there with a Lexus!

My wife and I took advantage of the unfortunate COVID-19 lockdown to use our mini vertical planter to cultivate edible herbs. This adds some flavor to the stay-at-home "activity" especially the herbs can be used as condiments in many food preparations and salads as explained further below...
We bought for a ridiculous sum, crops for some herbs that can survive an apartment atmosphere with moderate light.

We planted two kinds of basil, the one with small leaves and the one with larger leaves.
Both emanate a delicious basil flavor immediately upon touching them.
Their leaves are much appreciated in a tomato based salad or with pasta preparations.
A taste of Italy on your wall and then in your dish!

A Mediterranean herb used in Italian and other Mediterranean cuisines like the Lebanese. Oregano is similar to thyme in taste and can be either dried and used as a condiment or tasted as green leaves to replace thyme in a fresh Lebanese salad.

Milder than Oregano and thyme, use it to garnish any of your meat, soup or salad.

A main ingredient of the Lebanese cuisine tasted as is in a fresh salad with onions and tomatoes or dried as a condiment or soaked in olive oil and salted to create the famous "Zaatar" that flavors the also famous "mankouché" or thyme pizza if you prefer.

This herb aromate has many uses like macerating it in olive oil prior to seasoning a salmon steak with it! 
Whatever herbs you chose, it remains quite fun to cultivate them at home and a added pleasure when using their leaves in your preferred recipes.
​Bon Appétit!

We were driving back from Ain Ebel taking the road down to Naqoura at the southern border of Lebanon when we crossed this picturesque village which beauty was completely unknown to us. We immediately fell under the spell of this house, its magical garden and the astonishing natural stone fence that borders the street all the way inside the village of Alma El Chaab.

The tiny streets with traditional Lebanese houses invited us to continue driving inwards with a new charming discovery at each and every crossing.

Alma El Chaab is built with the same stones, of the same age, and with the same mortar!
It's homogeneity and uniformity are like it is coming out of a mold or a 3D print.

Many churches are there but we encountered two of them:
The National Evangelical Church (left)
​The Mar Elias El Hay Church, initially built in 1880 and entirely renovated in 2000.
​"Mar Elias" is Saint Elijah the Prophet whose story is told in the Old Testament and to whom hundreds of churches are dedicated in Lebanon.

Although most houses were closed during our passage by Alma El Chaab, we noticed they were maintained as attested by the flowers, plants and trees.
Other gardening leftovers like fertilizer bags and tools gave us the impression we just missed to meet the homeowners.

The few abandoned houses simply increase the overall charm of the village like this way beneath a wooden roofed arcade or this stair which is missing on purpose a few of its steps.
This was a safety trick not to let anyone climb to the roof while the homeowners use a wooden ladder to reach the first step.
The lower right image demonstrates the thickness of the stone walls.

Finally the last house to say goodbye simply rivals with the beauty of the first, confirming the outstanding beauty of Alma El Chaab or if you prefer "Alma The People" (Chaab means people in Arabic). We tried to search the exact meaning of "Alma" with no convincing interpretations found unfortunately.

It took us less than 15 minutes to reach Naqoura when continuing downwards on the Ain Ebel - Naqoura road. The superb blue and green colors of the crystal clear sea brought us to level zero down from the some 350m of alitude of Alma El Chaab.

Naqoura's cliff is of a white rock that reminds you with no doubt that Alma El Chaab's churches were built on that rock!

At Yanouh in the heart of the Lebanese mountains, the first Christian Basilica dates back to the end of the 5th century. Yanouh's Basilica architecture was made of three naves separated by columns, a baptistery and a protruding semicircular apse. The floor was paved with flagstones.
The below picture shows the remains as found nowadays. Locals say a project to reconstruct the Basilica could see the light within the next few years.

The Basilica is part of a wider Roman site at an altitude of 1200m expanding from Byblos into the heights of the Lebanese mountains and Nahr Ibrahim's upper valley.
The site of Yanouh contains various temples and buildings of the 2nd century B.C. and up to the 12th and 13th centuries. But Yanouh remains most known for being the ancient Maronite Patriarchate of the Early Middle Ages.

Cross the road from the Roman site, and you will find The Church of our Lady Mother of God which was completely reconstructed in 2017.
It is more than a church however...

Here's a brief history of Yanouh's Maronite Patriarchate:

​Saint Maroun (also Saint Maron, died 410 AD), founder of the Maronite Church, sent his disciple Ibrahim to Mount Lebanon to preach the Gospel. Ibrahim settled in Joubbat Al-Mnaitri and became the Bishop of Kouroche, known as Ibrahim Al-Kouroshi.
He succeeded in his mission and founded a large Maronite community.

The Bishop then built the Church of our Lady Mother of God in Yanouh, at the center of Joubbat Al-Mnaitri, with the help of builders coming from Antioch.
​
When the fourth Maronite Patriarch Jean-Maroun II was elected, he could not throne in Antioch due to the persecution of Christians; he then settled in Yanouh between a strong community of some 5,000 believers. He lived in Yanouh's Church of our Lady Mother of God and Saint George church that was built by Emperor Constantine over a roman temple.
The Church of our Lady Mother of God became then the Maronite Patriarchate and remained as such during 500 years. The consecutive Patriarchs succeeded in building good relations with the West and Rome. The Popes asserted Yanouh as the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate.

The architecture is typically  Phoenician Antiochian and Syriac with the existence of an altar, a nave, an apse, the Bishop throne and its bema (bima).

Original Christian cross as found on a stone and used as is during the reconstruction of the church of Yanouh:

At a 10-minute drive from Yanouh, you can visit the Lady of "Habs" site which is located at the beginning of the village of Akoura.
The Virgin Mary statue was airlifted by a Lebanese army chopper and is accessible by walking on a small footpath from Akoura. but it is more interesting to climb the thousand steps stair from the road between Mejdel Akoura and Akoura.

There are two statues that can be visited when following the suggested trail, the old "Saydet El Habs" Virgin Mary statue placed on a balcony and accessible to all after a few hundred steps (picture to the left) and the newer one, with the Virgin Mary holding Jesus on its shoulders and that needs a further effort to climb the stairs of several hundreds steps.
The stairs are like part of the cliff and offer a breathtaking view and experience.
The steps are uneven and of unequal height which adds more fun to the climbing adventure.

A breathtaking view from Saidet Al Habs on Akoura's picturesque village, its numerous irrigation ponds, and the superb upper Nahr Ibrahim valley.

Akoura is famous for its red apples which you can buy locally if you're visiting in September and the same extends down to Yanouh. 
A wine tasting at Chateau Wadih is perfect for ending this Christian history trip and for remembering Jesus first miracle in the Southern village of Cana in Lebanon when he turned water into wine during a wedding. 
I hope you enjoyed reading and discovering Yanouh.
Cheers!

An apple tree and a walnut tree as seen nearby the Church of our Lady Mother of God:

Chateau Wadih's caves:

The below terrace is located in between two blocs of a multi-apartment building which is affecting its privacy. It was decided to transform it into a glass room. The owner, an interior designer, decided to glaze most of the area while leaving a little space all around as planters.
A low maintenance material is used for the frame (powder coated aluminum profile) and a triple layer tempered glass ensures the tightness of the roof while allowing the sunlight to pass through.
The glass room walls are made of a central fixed glass panel that provides the necessary rigidity and strength to the whole room with sliding glass doors all around equipped with mosquito nets.
A ready-made tiled-roof window has been purchased and integrated into the glass roof in order to evacuate the hot air that accumulates in there in hot weather and to provide a natural ventilation even when all sliding doors are closed (the window is still vented when closed).
The glass walls have been elevated on a brick wall for safety purpose i.e. not to let the glass reach the ground on one hand and for using the brick wall as a planter on the other hand.

The fixed glass in the middle of the left picture strengthens the whole glass window assembly.
Two sliding doors on each side of the fixed glass panel provide wide openings for ventilation and for taking care of the plants.
The brick wall planter is visible in both pictures.
​The aluminum frame is simply sitting on it, then sealed with a beige silicone compound.

​Measurements were taken with a normal measuring tape, then Autocad was used to draw the frame and the roof panels. The CAD drawing was printed on paper in order to cut the roof supporting aluminum frames. and provided on a USB stick to the glass manufacturer who loaded the drawing directly in the glass cutting machine.
​
A wooden pitched roof window was integrated to the central frame above the fixed glass panel which also increases the overall rigidity of the glass window.
The window is held to the aluminum frame by the means of four screws on each side.
The accessory usually used all around this window to allow its installation in a tiled roof has been skipped.

The glass panels are bonded to the aluminum frames with crystal clear silicone, then 3mm thick flat aluminum blades were used to cover the silicone so it cannot be seen when an observer looks at the glass window from top.

A poly cotton curtain was fitted to the largest glass panel, the one that faces the neighbors and for obvious privacy purpose.
The curtain is a simple thick white fabric sewed all around though strengthening its edges and  fixing rings integrated on all 4 corners. The rings are held to the aluminum frame with hooks to keep it well stretched.
It can be easily removed and refitted for washing.