Camel Crossing

Anytime you think of Saudi Arabia or the desert life here, you are bound to picture Bedouins, traveling with their camels across the vast expanses of the desert. Although times have changed and most of the Saudi population live in cities and towns, you still see camels roaming free, or apparently free, in the desert.

 But the desert itself has changed and is now crisscrossed with paved roads. At first, I kept on wondering why the highways were fenced… Could it be to prevent cars from free driving into the desert? I didn’t take me long to figure out the real reasons for those fences…. Everywhere and each time we’ve been in the desert, we’ve seen camels. They appear friendly and don’t shy away from moving vehicles… So, the fencing keeps them safely away from the roads.

However, some roads do not have fencing on either side and, it came as no surprise to me when we saw the famous “Camel Crossing” signs, which really are not just for show. Only yesterday we had to come to a complete stop twice to let a group of camels stop. It is almost comical, to see the biggest male of the herd standing in the middle of the four lane highway and watching around as the mama camels and baby camels are crossing. It’s such a cool sight: the camels are right there, in front of us, trotting across the road, not a care in the world. They truly are the most beautiful beasts of the desert, so elegant in their walk and so proud in their demeanor!