Camel Market, Suq Shopping, Caves, Pottery Making and a Fancy Dress Party...All in a Day!

At 7 a.m. Thursday morning Mom and I left the compound for a tour of Hofuf and other sights in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia! Our first stop was a working camel market where you can see live auctions. We both agreed that we had never seen so many camels in one place. Now, it is VERY common to see camels on the side of the roads here in Saudi (much like you see cattle grazing in Texas) but it was overwhelming to see so many of this beautiful and exotic animal while visiting the market. On the way to the camel market, we passed the sheep market. Again, amazing to see so many sheep in one area. We shopped through the suqs in Hofuf and then went to see the natural caves here in the Eastern Province. The interesting fact about the caves are that they sit in one of the largest natural oases in the world. Can you imagine an oasis in Saudi? Who knew? Mom and I climbed on top of one of the jebels (see picture) and as far as the eye could see was date trees. There are several hot springs in this area as well. Our final stop was to see pottery being made from a wheel controlled by the foot. Then, we returned to the compound, got dressed and headed out to a fancy dress party hosted by the American Legion. All of this in one day!