Jan 11 - The name of this town is translated as ‘Dumah of the stone’. It is also known as al-Jouf, which is confusing because some of the signs call it that. For a quiet, unassuming town, it has a very long history, having been settled since at least 1000 BCE. It is mentioned as a city in the Assyrian Empire in 845 BCE, and excavations have uncovered a layer of Nabataean/Roman pottery shards, so it was also an outpost of that time period. There are some low-lying areas here where groundwater was close to the surface and undoubtedly created oases in ancient times, leading to its long history as a settlement. It is a natural stopping point along east-west trade routes, and is located at the northern edge of the al-Nafud Desert.
Dumat al-Jandal Lake. I thought this place would have a more natural feel to it, with trees around. Instead it was just a man-made reservoir on top of a hill.
At least they had Big Letters. And a large playground, devoid of children today, but provided an hour of entertainment for Odette. There was also many food and cafe trucks around (mostly closed) and souvenir stands. It seemed geared-up for a lot of tourists, but I saw only three, the same people I saw at breakfast this morning in the hotel.
In the middle of town, maybe a ten-minute walk from our hotel, is the ultra-modern Jouf Regional Museum and location of the fortress and old town ruins.
I was really impressed by how much has done into making this an attractive museum.
The sliding glass doors opened right up and we went inside. I was sure we would be able to see things here, but someone emerged from a back office and told us that the museum will only open in 2024.
Behind the museum is Marid Castle, with a commanding view of a small ruined city and the original oasis area. A lot has been done here to repair the old mud-brick walls and rooves. However, the heavy rains last week have caused a bit of havoc, collapsing some walls and flooding some room interiors with mud. It is on this site that the Nabataean/Roman pottery was found.
The main fortress complex. Most of the lower walls are blocks of stone, cemented with mud, while the towers are partially just mud brick, mixed with straw.
The tower has several levels inside, presumably originally connected by ladders.
The ceiling/floor inside a tower, made of supporting timbers below closely placed palm fronds (stripped). On top of the fronds are either flagstones or just mud brick.
A tower doorway. Much of what we saw is not all that stable. The structures are not designed to handle a lot of rain.
I was glad that we were allowed to walk around in here, but it had that feeling like something could collapse at any moment.
A view over the old ruined city and the oasis. There was a lot of maintenance going on, so it appears they want to make everything more accessible.
The minaret of the ‘Umar bin al-Khattab Mosque, which is still active.
There isn’t a lot else to do in Dumat Al-Jandal, so we find a place open for lunch (a bit of a challenge to find somewhere where we can sit, rather than just take-away) and retreat to the hotel for work and schooling.
Most ‘no littering’ reminders have a neutral figure, but this one has on a thawb (a traditional Saudi garment).
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)