Stepping Back in Time in Qatif

This week we have all been getting withdrawal symptoms from our road trip. Even the kids expressed how much they missed our adventures in the car when we all jumped in to go pick up a takeaway the other evening. We decided this weekend to go on a short distance adventure and visit somewhere we haven't been before. We decided to head to Qatif because it is so close, under an hour away and because we had no idea what to expect.

The Dammam to Jubail highway is such a crazy road but it wasn't long before we were en route to Qatif and the scenery changed to small farms, Polytunnels and old Date Palms.

Qatif is one of the oldest settlements in Eastern Arabia. Its History goes back thousands of years and long before oil was discovered, most of its inhabitants would have been farmers and fishermen.

Our first stop was at Corniche al Majidiyah which you pass as you head towards Tarout Island. You can immediately see the huge fishing boats that sit out at sea. The kids thought they were pirate boats and indeed they did look pretty imposing along the shoreline. Once we stopped being distracted by the boats we realised that this was a corniche with a difference. while it was lovely and green, lined by huge trees and plenty of play areas, what struck me the most was the Street Art. Almost all of the benches were covered in wonderful drawings. We saw cheeky Minions, perfectly depicted Flamingoes, beautifully drawn eyes, superhero symbols, Arabic calligraphy and more. It really was wonderful. It reminded me of the time I visited one of my old friends in London's East end where I used to live and we spent the whole afternoon walking around looking for Street Art.

Next we headed to Tarout Island. As we crossed the causeway I was surprised to see loads of Flamingoes in the distance. I had heard that it is possible to see the Flamingoes along the Persian Gulf in the winter but didn't expect to see some by chance, just chilling there along the shore, so now I am just going to have to take a trip to go looking for more of them!

Tarout island is considered to be one of the most ancient sites inhabited by humans. It has human history that goes back pre 5000 bc and played a major role in the history of this area. We drove by Darin Corniche and took a quick stroll past the boats stuck on low tide that looked like shipwrecks on a deserted island. As we got closer to the centre of Tarout Island we passed through small streets with quaint houses and lovely traditional doors. It was really hard to imagine that the chaotic highways of Dammam and polished, modern Khobar were just half an hours drive away.

We arrived at Tarout Fort which was placed high up on a hill. The road to get to it was steep with little parking. It is surrounded by tiny little streets with very old houses and a beautiful green domed mosque sits underneath it. I imagine those streets hold many glimpses into days gone by and I will return to get lost in them one of these days.

The Fort itself was said to have been built around the 16th century, on ruins that are 4000 years old. It was a steep climb to the top on sandy pathways past a deep waterfilled bath that used to catch water from a spring that ran beside the castle supplying water for the whole town. The kids loved exploring the ruins and the view over the whole area was wonderful and made the difficult trip back down worth while. There is a little coffee shop at the foot of the hill that looked lovely but we had our eye on somewhere for lunch on our way back to Dhahran.

We ended our day of exploring by stopping at Cancun Mexican Restaurant in Saihat. While there was limited seating space so takeout is the best option, the food was delicious. We had Beef Tacos, Chicken Burritos and Burgers and it was all amazing. I can't believe we didn't visit all of the history on our doorstep much earlier, If you live in the Eastern province and haven't been already then do it, it really makes for a nice day out.