They have wide feet equipped with fat pads, allowing them not to sink quickly. They possess particularly long eyelashes and furry ears to fend off sand during storms.

They can endure 25 days without water while losing 40% of their body weight, which is nearly unimaginable for us humans.... and they are extraordinarily curious.

In Saudi Arabia, dromedaries, the one-humped camels, are very large, come in various colors, and are traded at the camel market as racing camels, reaching 60 km/h depending on age and condition, or beauty camels.

Thank you very much for the wonderful time, it was a lot of fun to travel with you.... and Sophie, thank you for your clarity in explaining complex interrelations simply, getting to the point, and translating, which I believe shows competence and giftedness.

The stereotype of Saudi Arabia includes proud desert nomads, wealthy oil sheikhs associated with harems and Arabian Nights.

Until recently, Saudi Arabia was one of the most closed-off countries in the world.

The preacher Abd El Wahhab (1703-1792) directed the order.

Five daily prayer times during which all public and commercial life comes to a standstill, meaning businesses had to close five times a day, women were covered, and if a strand of hair showed, they could expect penalties from the religious police.

Due to oil wealth, there was no need to promote tourism.

Women's life took place in the domestic environment.

The invisible walls of religion forbade pleasures such as theater, cinema, and music.

Strict gender separation, men must obey God, and women must obey their husbands.

Only in the year 2000, with satellite television, did the desire for change begin to emerge.

King Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz since 2015 and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), are characterized by radical modernization and economic expansion.

The future NEOM project includes the precursor 'The Maraya Concert Hall' (Maraya-Mirror Reflection), all part of Vision 2030.

The concert hall was thus built within 72 days and cost several million euros.

Implementing this vision is not possible without expats. Expats are individuals mostly from India and Pakistan (the two countries are the largest personnel providers) who live and work here for two years (after which the work visa must be renewed) without being naturalized.

In primary school (6 years), subjects taught include natural sciences, Islamic studies, sports, and English. Girls and boys are separated.

The university serves to orient towards nature, technology, history, medicine, and computer science.

Meanwhile, there is the world's largest women's university in Riyadh.

No matter what one studies, Islam is included and studies are always in Arabic.

Cultural tourism is also being promoted. Among the UNESCO World Heritage sites is HEGRA, the rock tombs of the Nabataeans from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD.

They are near Al-Ula, the exalted place with its historically reconstructed town, a dream of every archaeologist.

The lions above the tombs symbolize power and strength; they are the guardians. It is assumed that high-ranking members of the dadanitic society were buried here.

Northwest of Riyadh, the historical mudbrick city of ad-Diriyah developed in the 18th century into the first capital of the Saudi Arabian state, the seed of the House of Saud and Wahhabism.

While the frankincense was used in Arabic for disinfection purposes, it was needed in Roman history for cultic purposes.

Trade (myrrh, spices, and gems) along the incense route has decreased as the caravanserai is very expensive, and maritime trade has taken over.

Typical Arabic scents include amber, rose, oud agarwood, sandalwood, musk, and saffron.

Incense is refined with Bukhur, which are perfumed wood pieces.

Medina means

After safely sailing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is only 27 kilometers wide, we are now in the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Tomorrow is another day at sea and the day after tomorrow we will reach Aqaba, from where we will then travel to Petra.

The megaproject Neon is in full swing, 1000s of trucks are on the road here.

Traveling without permission can end up like with the flying boat.

Dream beaches and graves are close together.

Wadi Dhisha is the most beautiful valley we have visited so far. Originally, only cars are allowed to pass through, but if you're fast, you can also do it with Bibo.

At times, you drive in the water of the river and have to find your way through the reeds.

It could be mistaken for a carnival, but the costumes and weapons are worn with great pride.

Here we met a couple from Switzerland whom we had met 3 years ago in Sweden! The two of them have been traveling for 14 years now. Together, we drove some beautiful offroad tracks.

Received a bottle of homemade red wine from a nice Austrian living in KSA.

Sand duning with Bibo is the greatest!!

Oops, two French people sneaked in

A liter of diesel costs 19 cents here, but 10 gigabytes of internet costs 40€!

Clothing store, modern or traditional attire.

The entire border of KSA is closely monitored by the Border Control. Most of the time, permission to stay is granted, but swimming is not allowed. After two hours, the permission is revoked, and you should continue your journey. Not understanding or ignoring the rules helps, but not always (penalty up to 5000 riyals!).

Partially, the old villages are rebuilt as museums.

We have never seen such landscapes before.

Monkeys that are not always very friendly.

Visit to the National Museum, with meteorite and prehistoric elephant.

Every evening there are water shows in the Wadi.

A visit to a small workshop was also necessary again, with full commitment of the staff!

The Rub' is the largest sand desert in the world, we drove over 700 km in it.

After the wedding, the women, separate from the men, organize their own daily activities.

When taking pictures, the face cover is naturally removed!

The men just have to provide everything!

Actually, the day started quite normal: getting up early, heading to the next - and final bivouac: Bisha in the south. .. the usual search for water, driving through cities, over countless road bumps, etc.

then after about 150km of driving, the message came: accident with Gerd's truck - crashed into a dune (didn't see a small obstacle in front of the dune due to low sun) - later it turned out from the telemetry data: frontal crash with 98km/h impact energy of 8.9G!!!. The guys all came out safe - without a scratch - thanks to the safety devices, including HANS system, roll cage, and multi-point seat belt system (1 belt torn on Rob!).

the race truck practically fell apart! massive frame breakage - the truck shot up the following dune about 10m and stayed there.

So we stop, our trailer is manually emptied of truck tires so that the race truck can go up there..then turn around - about 400km back into the wilderness. Our second workshop truck called Kerax is also on its way there for recovery - it was positioned near the race track beforehand for tactical reasons. It is supposed to retrieve the damaged truck from the dune.

After several hours, we finally arrive at the agreed coordinate point - nothing to see yet - then finally after 1.5 hours we discover our team thanks to binoculars. In the dark, the truck is finally loaded and we can drive the remaining 400km to the bivouac at night. Under constant police escort, securing our convoy. We reach Bisha late or rather early in the morning. Exhausted.

Just from Al Dawadimi > Wadi Ad Dawasir, said the Dakar organization - so 800km in the truck = 12 hours on the road south. But first, dispose of wastewater: for this, Hermenjan, our 'Dakar hotel' trucker, came up with something special. Due to the lack of official disposal, a special pump construction was used to transfer the smelly stuff into old oil barrels, securely screwed on.. And knowing full well that the helpers in the camp are very interested in the old oil.. well, they will be pleased.

Then get up early and hit the road.. breathtaking landscapes, a camel on the road here and there, warning of a sandstorm - in Al Dawadimi, there was actually a nasty dust storm: everything covered in sand and dust once again. But at least it was warmer, and in Wadi Ad Dawasir, nice and warm - even in the evenings still in shorts and t-shirt!

Oh yes: things are going quite well in terms of sports, sometimes in the top ten or close.

Medically, it's getting busier: some intestinal infections, Achilles tendons, back problems - as always, strains and blockages - nothing new - my workload is increasing.

Once again on tour in the desert with Roel and the other boys and girls from GPTours. Yesterday, around 50 VIP guests from Holland flew in, who were allowed to drive in the dunes today with rental cars... that was not always such a good idea - see pictures of pushing. I was lucky that my driver is an experienced off-road pilot who will be participating in the next Dakar as a race car pilot - so no problem in the sand.

First of all, to the starting point of today's stage - about 100km south of Riyadh. Thanks to GURU-Maps on my phone, I had the coordinates of the starting point and Ronny, the pilot, skillfully guided us through the off-road section. Just in time to see all the celebrities of the Dakar up close. Then also the start of the favorites (Carlos Sainz in the electric Audi, Peterhansel, Nasser Al-Attiyah, etc.)

Then after this spectacle, about 10km off-road - wild ride over bumps and rocks - but found it - landed right next to the racetrack - great desert panorama and fast cars.

Then another 1 hour to the finish - in the middle of the dunes - very cool.

Insanely beautiful cloud panorama, dark sand, and also up close to the race track - almost too close - too dangerous.

I also had to pull some local teenagers out of the danger zone several times. Afterwards, when the trucks raced past us at a distance of only 3m, they knew why.

Then there was also a barbecue by the locals - delicious.

A perfect day!

By the way, 5th place for Gerd and 11th for Pascal - also perfect!

The VIPs then drove to the Dutch embassy - why?

They supposedly have Heineken there - the only place in Saudi where alcohol is officially extraterritorial. (supposedly..).

Back to the bivouac for me, tomorrow is a rest day.

Oh, and on the way back from the finish, we quickly helped with changing the tires of race car No.265, a German team - we had seen, while following behind them, that the tire on the left rear wheel bulged inward - a big bubble... that could have ended badly on the highway with cool potholes..

This is the 'Dakar'.. every day everything can suddenly be different:

In the prologue, both trucks were still in the top ten, then on the 2nd day

several hours ! time loss for Gerd, due to turbo damage and a minor dune accident, Pascal's truck is doing fine, on the 3rd day Gerd is catching up very well, in 14th place, Pascal in 11th place, today Gerd in 5th place! Pascal is still in the desert at night - oil pan among other things broken..

The team doctor has more work now - knees, elbows, neck, back, headaches, diarrhea, etc. .. it adds up.

Today, with the press guys from GPT Rally and Rally- Maniacs

got up at 5:00 and drove into the desert. The photographers have orders from the teams - take good photos among other things for the sponsors, etc. So a few hundred kilometers drive to the rally track off-road. The press people - including me - receive GPS coordinates for so-called viewpoints from the race management every morning at 5:30 am - beautiful spots where you can see the rally vehicles well.

The approach there is given in 3 levels of difficulty - today was level 1 . But level 1 was already tough with Roel's off-road Touareg over rocks and stones. But then sunrise in the desert and the fun with the racers could begin.

Spectacular jumps, etc..

In the evening then off to the capital city of Riyadh

Liasion to Al Qaisumah- another 600km drive. But first quickly the water aria part 2 - however, thanks to the tank truck and 2-stroke pump (started with hand and rope) quickly done. Breakfast in the bivouac,

Preparing trucks, etc.

Then the heavy rain came in the so-called Marathon bivouac. Marathon means that the race vehicles are not allowed to receive mechanic support - so they have to stay there alone overnight. However, canceled because the whole bivouac was like a lake.

So stage canceled, off to Al Qaisumah- a place near Kuwait, Iraq and the Persian Gulf, but upon arrival- at night, rather muddy and cold- it had rained nicely here too.

Since there was hardly any work for the team doctor (except for straightening a few backs and treating gastrointestinal problems), he does the work himself: just trapped Richard, our cook's finger in the seat bench set....

12 hours on the road - starting in Jeddah at over 25 degrees, then encountering thunderstorms, rain, and temperatures below 15 degrees while traveling.

Then, amazing landscapes in the Arabian desert - somewhat similar to the Atacama in South America, but different nonetheless.

Very cold and windy at night - dropping down to 6 degrees, even at an altitude of 1100m.

Oh, and the prologue ended well: 6th and 10th place - both trucks in the top 10 - so everything went well for the first stage tomorrow.

Medical report: nothing out of the ordinary - some neck problems for one and others..

Now the final tests of the racing vehicles, then we can finally get started.

About 40m outside of the bivouac there is a good test track with almost tracks, sand, and also some dunes, which is about 20km long.

Just drive there quickly and then do several laps - again and again.

Then evaluation of the telemetry data - one more click on the shock absorber or rather the rough tires, why was truck 1 faster than 2? Oh yes, it's a hybrid truck - it still has additional electric power! So a day passes quickly.

By the way, the team doctor doesn't have much else to do except for a few blocked vertebrae and a nasty hand infection - but hopefully that won't happen anymore.