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oreiviuklubasaudenis · 1 year ago

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Airmen's Club Adventures in Saudi Arabia

The Airmen's Club Audenis welcomed the year 2020 in the Middle East - in the Al Ula Valley in Saudi Arabia.

You can find photos in our gallery , and here are the adventures in detail:

December 30 we're trying to jump on the outgoing 2019 hot air balloon event bandwagon. This time the destination is very exotic, we are going to a hundred balloon event in Saudi Arabia. This is our second visit to this little-known country, and our experience allows us to foresee certain surprises that sooner or later we will still have to face in the Arab world. However, at the very beginning, as soon as the plane from Istanbul to Medina lands, we find out that we have no place to live in Al-Ula, where we fly.

So, will we welcome the New Year in Medina and many other questions to which no one gives answers. Due to the inexplicably long check-in at the reception, we can only get the hotel beds at around 5 o'clock in the morning.

The next day we sleep until noon. Later we find out that we will spend one more night in Medina. We decide not to waste time and see the city. The Uber driver asks if we are Muslim. After receiving a negative answer, he calls someone who immediately informs us that we are forbidden to visit the central part of the city and offers to take us somewhere on the outskirts of the city. We agree on an intermediate option. We get off about a couple of kilometers from the center and continue on foot. Near the mosque, not wanting to risk it, we ask the policeman. He replies that we can look around. One of the largest mosques in the world is truly impressive. First of all, its size is enchanting. The red glow of the evening sky deepens the impression. Thousands of worshipers flocking inside heighten the sense of mystique.

We return to the hotel, where a New Year's festive dinner awaits us. 12 o'clock New Year's greetings are displayed in the hotel's restaurant in various languages of the world. Hour difference with Lithuania. We call and congratulate the housemates.

We leave the hotel at 8:30 in the morning. Five buses have to take us 400 km to a city in the middle of the desert called Al-Ula. This is where the Winter at Tantora event takes place. The journey takes 6 hours. a couple of stops to exercise the legs. The road stretches monotonously through the desert with poor vegetation and herds of camels and goats grazing here and there. The monotony of the trip is diversified by the chains of pink sand rocks and the camels that run into the road, forcing the bus to stop.

We arrive at Al-Ula. The nearby 2,000-year-old ancient Nabataean site, Madein Saleh, where 130 monumental rock tombs have been found, is the first site in Saudi Arabia to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our event center is located right next to this area. We go to the center, where we unpack the balloons, fill the cylinders with gas and move towards the accommodation, a picturesque campsite at the foot of the rocks. The next morning we find out that we live right next door to a very impressive mirrored structure built in the desert in 2018, the Mariah Concert Hall, where Winter at Tantora concert events such as Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras and other exclusive events have been scheduled for the next few days.

We collapse into bed because we have an early morning flight in the desert.

We get up at 4:30, get dressed and head towards the bus that will take us to the airstrip. We are trying to wake up the bus driver. We knock on the door and after waiting for a few minutes, he starts the bus. There is a breeze in the campsite. This is the influence of the gorge between the rocks. Thus, the fears of those participating in the event for the first time due to excessive wind are not confirmed at all. A calm ascent, at lower altitudes we move very slowly to the south, higher up we turn around and move faster and faster to the north. Mountain ranges stretch to the right and left. Piloted by Ignas. A great opportunity to refresh your piloting skills. Let's go in the desert. Our team, the driver is a local Arab who lives in Al-Ula and has a hard time picking up English words. But a wide smile betrays that this morning's performance in heaven was a success. All hundred pilots of the event are divided into four groups: yellow, blue, orange and red. Depending on which group you are in, your flight schedule and evening illuminations will be on certain days. Only on January 3 and 4, all one hundred balloons will rise into the sky.

So on January 3 extraordinary commotion at the center of the airmen's event. The organizers' decision to change the team's drivers and cars every morning has the predicted results. The slight chaos of finding a way to transport your balloon to the airfield eventually ends with a hundred balloons lined up in three rows. Dusk is torn apart not only by the rays of the rising sun, but also by the multitude of lit fans. One by one, multicolored balloons rise into the sky above Madain Saleh. Very calm winds allow pilots to explore the terrain of the UNESCO heritage site. After playing, some do not notice that the gas is running out and, violating the strict rule of the organizers, they go inside the protected area. As we find out later, they will be subject to severe sanctions, disqualification and no further opportunity to participate in this event.

The following day once again pampers the pilots of one hundred balloons with excellent weather conditions, unforgettable views, and the hospitality of the local people.

January 6 we wake up not only with the mood of another future flight, but also with a kind of excitement for the planned World Guinness Record attempt in the evening, the essence of which is the world's longest night illumination of hot air balloons. It is planned to light 3 km at a time. long string of balloons standing in a row. A lot of organizational details, tuning, radio communication, and already almost midnight, dusk is illuminated by an impressively long rainbow of light and colors. The record is registered, we become part of history. The following day is a free day from flights. We receive an offer from the organizers for an exclusive entertainment - a jeep safari in the desert. 12 o'clock 15 luxury jeeps arrive at the meeting point, driven by local Arabs, who kindly agreed to show around the area and help understand the peculiarities of driving in the desert. A line of cars moves out of the campsite. The first destination is the highest point of Al-Ula, which has an observation deck that allows you to rest your eyes on the impressive mountain ranges surrounding the city. The temperature here drops by five degrees. Pleasantly cool. Our driver, an intelligent 45-year-old Arab dressed in luxurious textiles, tells us that this place is a special favorite of theirs. Looking down, he mentions the interesting fact that the city rests on large aquifers, and for the latter reason we see an unusual amount of greenery. that this place is a special favorite of theirs. Looking down, he mentions the interesting fact that the city rests on large aquifers, and for the latter reason we see an unusual amount of greenery. that this place is a special favorite of theirs. Looking down, he mentions the interesting fact that the city rests on large aquifers, and for the latter reason we see an unusual amount of greenery.

We continue our journey. Before entering the desert, car tires are deflated to give cars more clearance. We fly through the desert, suddenly rising or falling unexpectedly from wind-blown sand dunes. Sometimes we stop at spectacular rock formations to hear local stories, sometimes on loose sand slopes to see the skills of the safari drivers. The day passes like an hour. In the evening, we stop at the foot of a huge rock, where a bonfire, a picnic, and Arabic tea await us. All this takes on a mystical tone as dusk approaches. Arab drivers present a surprise. In the reflective light of the campfire, they play an Arabic song. We return to the campsite after dark.

January 8 the day when the participants of the Dakar rally, one of the stages, have to finish in Al-Ula. The day begins with a desperate search for the finishing position of the rally stage. We ask everyone, but we hear a variety of versions: Elephant Rock, Madein Saleh access, on the outskirts of Al-Ula and so on. Finally, the organizers offer everyone to go to the observation deck in the desert, at the foot of which the spectators, after a long wait, see cars whistling by at high speed.

January 9 the flight will be remembered as one of the most impressive flights of the event. The morning, as always, meets with darkness and freezing cold. As soon as the first rays of the sun attempt to cross the horizon, painting the desert and rocks with an ominous red, the first meteo probes rise into the sky. As they spin, they rise up until they finally find a clear direction in the vastness of the sky. After a short briefing, we move to the takeoff field. With calloused fingers, we pull the dome, the bag, the fan. A car driver wrapped in a camel wool blanket does not want to leave the comfort zone. But, he smiles and helps Igna and I prepare the balloon. This morning we are flying two passengers, Arabs from Riyadh. A calm, northwesterly breeze blows in the lower layers. We need at least a 40 degree left wind to reach Madein Saleh. We jump to an altitude of 5000 feet and drift towards the goal with several balloons still trying to reach Madein Saleh. We drift towards the goal. After reaching it, we quickly glide down and find ourselves in the very center of the rock formation. Passengers are impressed. "Wow… all we can say." We go down in the desert.

Friday starts very unexpectedly. Getting on the bus early in the morning, we learn that the bus drivers are on strike. The reason is unpaid wages. We wait for about an hour while the company managers solve the problems by phone. We are finally moving. In the afternoon, the forecasted rain decides to surprise. It starts to rain. Tomorrow is the last day of the event. We start packing the balloons. Snow force, a Dubai company hired to help, promptly organizes various works. The Pakistanis working in the company are really hardworking guys. Before the trip, we have to empty the gas cylinders. We are going to the takeoff field. The flames of the burners begin to lick the red desert landscape. It doesn't even take an hour, the cylinders are empty.

The journey back to Madinah takes less than five hours. At the airport, we say goodbye to our colleagues and aircraft take off at different times and in different directions to different countries of the world.

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