The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 183rd day I explored historical places in Saudi Arabia to better understand the origins of this country. In the morning, my friend Sam took me to the National Museum, a place where historical items from Arabia are collected. Unfortunately that Sunday the museum was closed, even though the museum was free. Fortunately, there was another free museum nearby, the Murabba Palace, a building that was once used by King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, as his family residence and government offices. Even though it has been converted into a museum, the building is still occasionally used to welcome state guests such as Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. From there I walked to the largest market area in Riyadh, along Al Bathaa Street, where on both sides of the road there are lots of shops. Allegedly, you can find any item in this shopping area. Near Al Bathaa Street, there is Al Masmak Fort. According to history, King Abdulaziz started the campaign to unify Saudi Arabia by first capturing this fort in 1902, which later became his basecamp for the expansion of his power. The exhibits of the fort were only photographs and heirlooms of the royal family. Opposite the fort is Alsafat Square, the supposed location for the death penalty for serious criminals I continued walking to Souq Al Zal, a traditional market which holds Arabian street auction to this day. Then I took a public bus towards the city center. There is the Kingdom Center with many expensive brand stores from all over the world. From the outside, you can see that this 300 meter tall building is split into two buildings near the top with a bridge connecting the two peaks. When the light changed to red, the building reminded me of Sauron's Tower in the Lord of the Rings story. It was late at night so I continued home. Tomorrow I planned to continue my journey towards Jeddah. ___ Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!): Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan Stage 5 Route - Afghanistan (DONE!): Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran Stage 6 Route - Iran (DONE): Mashhad - Tehran - Isfahan - Persepolis - Shiraz - Ahvaz - Shalamcheh Border - Shushtar - Shush - Bandar Abbas - Sharjah, UAE Stage 7 Route - Arabian Peninsula: Sharjah - Dubai - Abu Dhabi - Riyadh - Jeddah - Madinah - AlUla - Hegra - Tabuk - Haql - Aqaba, Jordan *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. --- Chapters: 00:00 Prologue 03:14 Murabba Palace 09:04 Villagio Mall and Al Baik 13:02 Al Bathaa Commercial District 16:02 Al Masmak Fort 24:25 Souk Al Zal Auction 30:13 Riyadh Bus Terminal 32:45 Kingdom Center