Apparently this site is not called the 'Edge of the World' but I rather think it should be.
The landscape that I have seen so far has been very flat, with sand dunes on the edge of town, but I had heard of the drop of the escarpment where you can look down into a deep valley. When we received the invitation to go camping with friends, I didn't know that this is where we would be headed!
We drove about an hour out of town, through a wadi which was at first cultivated with stands of palm trees, and then increasingly sparsely populated the further we travelled. Finally we saw only camels and thorn bushes, then we turned off somewhere and came to a stop at the most incredible precipice. The ground was simply littered with fossils of corrals and shells and what the kids told us where the fabled 'Saudi Diamonds'.
Saudi diamonds are quarz crystals that can be cut to look exactly like real diamonds. I have seen these in jewellery. The stories go that they can be picked up in the desert at certain places. Well, we certainly found bucket loads of what I think were quartz crystals. For all we know we can now retire in luxury!
Fossil hunting was certainly a highlight. Once again, we came home with quite a large number of rocks. I wish I could find out more about the natural history of the region and the ancient seabed that has left behind such treasures and beautiful camping spots.
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