IX. MAN IN ARID LANDS: NORTH FROM JIDDAH
539
Fig. 5. Al 'Ula oasis.
of wonderment. Last night we camped near an oasis (see Fig. 5) called
Al 'Ula—which has, we noticed, its own tombs carved into a great red
cliff high above the scented gardens of the oasis. This morning we left
early, following the railbed as usual, squirmed under a great overhang,
and swung west. After a wild dash through a field of fine but treacherous
white sand we entered a valley and paused in amazement. Suddenly, unbelievably, we were no longer in Saudi Arabia, but in the American Southwest—Utah, perhaps, with its Monument Valley, or Arizona with its
539
Fig. 5. Al 'Ula oasis.
of wonderment. Last night we camped near an oasis (see Fig. 5) called
Al 'Ula—which has, we noticed, its own tombs carved into a great red
cliff high above the scented gardens of the oasis. This morning we left
early, following the railbed as usual, squirmed under a great overhang,
and swung west. After a wild dash through a field of fine but treacherous
white sand we entered a valley and paused in amazement. Suddenly, unbelievably, we were no longer in Saudi Arabia, but in the American Southwest—Utah, perhaps, with its Monument Valley, or Arizona with its