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Home Ed in the desert !
Friday, 6 January 2006
Madain Salah


Hi Happy New year !!
Had an amazing time at Madain Salah (Sister city to Petra). We went with a family of Americans and a family of Spanish. Just us three families there it was so quite and extremely beautiful. Our guide was excellent. It is such a huge place a lot bigger than Petra and spread over a huge area. We took the whole day over it with a quick lunch break back at the hotel. They cleared the local residents out of the area 25 years ago. Before that all the tombs where being use for keeping goats and sheep in !
There are three explanations for the Tombs.
1) The Western
2) The Islamic
3) The Local

The Western one is that the Tombs where made by the Natbeeins .The same people who made Petra.
The Islamic is that it was built by the Thoumundians who where cursed by god after they refused to believe the probhoet Salah . He told them he was a phobhet but they asked him to show them a miracle to prove it. This he did by making a she camel appear. They still did not believe and killed the she camel. Salah said that after three days they would be punished. After three days they all died. This is why few Arabs visit it as they believe it is cursed by God.
The Local is that for seven days and seven nights it rained gold and that giants inhabited the place. That is how they managed to carve the tombs :0~ The fact that the tombs entrances are pretty small doesn’t seem to matter !
The whole trip was great with a lovely group of people. The kids had fun with the Americans and when we left the Hotel we all swopped e-mails and invites to visit. They live in Jeddah the most relaxed City and right next to the Red Sea.
Our trip to the Red Sea was fun and the drive across the Arabian Shield (Huge Mountain Range) was spectacular. We found amazing shells and coral on the shoreline and saw some huge crabs.
Next trip we make must be to Jizan and the group of Islands on its coast line. The climate down there is tropical and the wildlife amazing. Petrol is so cheap that it is only the truck and your bum that suffers not your wallet :0)
Hope you like the photos and don’t get too photoed out !!
Love Moira

Posted by sandymoos at 9:52 AM
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Thursday, 22 December 2005



Chris is having the time of his life and has decided to have a job with horses. Out of my three kids it was my daughter who I sent off for riding lessons and she had two horses but she never really was that intrested. So I stopped being a pushy mother sold the horse only to find now that I had got the wrong kid ! A good lesson learnt ! Watch and listern to ALL your kids :0)

Posted by sandymoos at 2:54 PM
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Friday, 25 November 2005
Naif Heritage Site Jubba



Hi well what a crazy day !! We decided to go to Jubba to see if we could see the Stone Age rock carvings and paintings. We didn’t have the letter of permission you have to get but we thought we would just go and find where it was then apply for the letter to actually be allowed anywhere near them!
We drove to Jubba (about an hour) and drove through the small streets looking for a possible sign to the rocks. Off we drove and were met by some Arab shouting “Halla halla !” We just waved and carried on towards the direction of the mountains (rocks mountains get our drift ?) As we drove to wards the mountains out of Jubba a pick up truck came up and drove past us then blocked our way. Oh no I thought this it WE ARE DONE FOR !! Anyway the Arab we saw in the village appeared from the truck. Not speaking a word of English Stuart showed him the picture we had of the rock art. He made the follow me sort of motion .So we dutifully followed his truck as it drove back into Jubba !We stopped outside a building. We were ushered into a huge Bedouin tent with cushions and camel saddles around the edges. Beautiful thick rugs covered the floor. A fire was light with wood and from the many copper coffeepots around the fire a lovely mint tea was poured. Dates where uncovered from silver pots beside each of us and then endless tea was poured as well. We were given booklets on his “Heritage site”. After an hour we ventured out and he took us on the most amazing tour of his empire. I can not describe it all but can only say if any of you come to visit we will take you there as a first port of call !! Incredible!! He also showed us where Lady Ann Blunt the first women to travel into the hart of Arabia over 100 years ago had stayed. He had photos of her great grand sons visit to the rooms so we had to believe him. A huge well that seemed to go on forever and various bits and pieces of Saudi history to many to tell ! We then went back to Bedouin tent where the only English speaking Arab in Jubba appeared. Thus another hour of talking and drinking. Naif by this time was very full of Hubbley Bubbly !! We then were taken to “The shop where buy Ancient things!!” A small shack with stuff I’m sure he should not have been selling and things that the local village women had made. The dagger and necklace we chose they gave to us as a present and then dragged us back for more drinking in the tent. Finally we managed to convince them to set us free. They invited Stuart on a huge camel race across the Nafud desert as Naif organises it in February. It can take over a week of sitting on a camel and camping in desert but Stuart was up for it. We tried to pay them the entrance fee but they said no as Sam was dressed as a Saudi and we were not English but Saudi family. Very nice of them but Stuart forced some money as it was their holy day and we had taken up the whole morning of their rest day. They tried to get us to go and visit their father’s house but we said next time. A marvellous day and great people!
Love Moira

Posted by sandymoos at 4:46 PM
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Wednesday, 23 November 2005




Found a very long snake today ! I wondered why hubby was so keen for ME to take photos.Then I rembered he was scared stiff of slow worms in the UK ! We also saw a beautiful desert fox but it was so quick we wont quick enough for photo :0( Maybe next time but they quite rare and so quick !!

Posted by sandymoos at 11:12 AM
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Saturday, 29 October 2005



Heres a photo for the HOME ED lot so you can see what I look like with Hubby! I was totally stupid and got sunburn so that should teach me a lesson in UVA rays if nothing else !

Posted by sandymoos at 12:02 PM
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Volcano



We went to see a huge extinct volcano crater on Friday. It was Amazing! This is the view as you drive up towards it .The wind was extremely strong and the sun hot but it was great fun! No one else around just us and a huge hole :0)


Posted by sandymoos at 11:55 AM
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Volcano



Sam and Chris looking out over edge of crater.This was the side that was blown away with the explosion.

Posted by sandymoos at 11:53 AM
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Stuart looking out over crater

Posted by sandymoos at 11:50 AM
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Volcano



Chris looking for rocks to take home and view under the microscope.


Posted by sandymoos at 11:48 AM
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Friday 28th October



A teenager is never without her mobile even in the middle of nowhere!

Posted by sandymoos at 11:45 AM
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