MADINAH: Many pilgrims visiting Madinah during the Umrah season in order to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and the province’s historical and Islamic sites also get to enjoy recreational programs that include land trips.
Arab News joined pilgrims of different nationalities as they visited the Al-Baida Park, which is also known as Wadi Jinn (the Valley of Jinn).
Al-Baida Park is 40 km northwest of Madinah, and is one of the most attractive sites for families and pilgrims.
Taxi driver Abdullah Al-Harbi told Arab News that pilgrims came to Al-Baida Park for entertainment and to enjoy the wild atmosphere, especially in the early morning.
“This program is organized in coordination with the heads of Umrah groups,” he added, “Al-Baida Park is a new destination for pilgrims.”
Pakistani-British pilgrim Amjad Khan said that he heard of Al-Baida from friends who had previously visited the place and enjoyed the beauty of Wadi Jinn and the wonderful atmosphere.
He continued: “As you can see, everyone is enjoying the scenery, taking beautiful photos, watching the camels, and loving the mountains that are covered with white and golden sand, various reefs, and wild trees.”
Al-Baida Park is very famous due to its association with Wadi Jinn and its strange phenomenon, which was explained as a geographical one, making it a destination for pilgrims of different nationalities, especially Pakistanis, Indians, and Arabs.
Al-Harbi said that brokers have exploited pilgrims’ interest in Al-Baida and promoted it in different ways for financial gains.
“You find dozens of cars and busses in Wadi Jinn eager to experience the reverse gravity phenomenon, which makes a car roll uphill,” he explained, “People have also tried pouring water on the asphalt and rolling down the road to prove that cars were moving on their own.”
Haunted valley in Madinah attracts paranormal buffs
Haunted valley in Madinah attracts paranormal buffs
Is sourdough Saudi Arabia’s latest craft food?
- Saudi home bakers point to a practice that was once routine, not artisanal
- Naturally fermented bread reflects a broader shift toward process-driven, premium food culture
ALKHOBAR: Sourdough has started to shift from a niche interest into a mainstream feature of home kitchens, cafes and specialty bakeries across the Kingdom.
The rise of sourdough is part of a wider shift in Saudi Arabia’s food landscape, where artisanal production and slower preparation methods are gaining traction.
Specialty coffee seems to have set the early template for this transition, normalizing premium pricing, craftsmanship and an interest in process.
Bread is now undergoing a similar shift, with fermentation replacing extraction and roasting as the central point of differentiation.
In both cases, the appeal is rooted in the product’s perceived authenticity, reduced additives, and a clearer link between raw ingredients and final consumption.
Home bakers in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province have adapted natural yeast cultures to the Saudi environment, adjusting feeding schedules, hydration ratios, and fermentation times to accommodate higher temperatures and lower humidity in the summer months.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Home bakers in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province have adapted natural yeast cultures to the Saudi environment.
• They adjust feeding schedules, hydration ratios, and fermentation times to accommodate higher temperatures and lower humidity in the summer months.
Cafes and specialty bakeries have responded by adding sourdough loaves, baguettes and focaccia to their menus, often positioned as premium alternatives to conventional commercial bread.
For younger home bakers, the appeal lies in the craft and the learning curve rather than nostalgia. “It feels more real and more intentional,” home baker Sarah Al-Almaei told Arab News. She began experimenting with natural yeast at home after watching starter tutorials online.
The technical aspect — hydration percentages, fermentation control and starter maintenance — has become content in its own right, with TikTok and Instagram compressing trial-and-error learning into short videos and recipe cards.
But the practice of maintaining a natural yeast culture is not new in Saudi Arabia. Long before sourdough became a global trend, Saudi households kept what was commonly referred to as the “mother dough,” a natural yeast starter fed and used daily.
“We used to maintain it every day and bake with it,” said Hessa Al-Otaibi, 56, a Saudi home baker with more than four decades’ experience. “People today call it sourdough. For us, it was simply bread.”
Her comment highlights a cultural continuity that has remained largely unrecognized, partly because the practice was not framed as artisanal or health-oriented, but as a routine household function.
The modern sourdough trend differs in its market positioning. While the older model was practical and domestic, the current model is commercial, aesthetic and often health-coded. Bakeries justify higher pricing through longer fermentation times, higher ingredient costs and smaller batch production.
Consumers justify their purchases through digestibility, perceived health benefits, flavor and product integrity.
“Once you get used to it, it’s hard to go back,” said Amina Al-Zahrani, a regular buyer of sourdough from specialty bakeries in Alkhobar.
Digestibility and texture are often cited as reasons for substitution, especially among buyers who report discomfort from standard commercial bread.
Another consumer, Majda Al-Ansari, says sourdough has become part of her weekly routine, noting that availability and quality have improved significantly in the past year.
The social media component has played an outsized role in accelerating adoption. Home bakers document starter feeding cycles, cold proofing and first bakes, turning a once-private domestic process into visible public content.
This has also created micro-markets of home-based sellers, where individual bakers offer loaves to local buyers, often fulfilling orders through direct messaging.
What remains to be seen is how far the trend will scale. If specialty bakeries continue to expand and consumers maintain willingness to pay premium prices, sourdough could establish a long-term place in Saudi food culture.
If not, it may revert to a smaller niche of committed home bakers and specialty cafes. For now, however, sourdough occupies an unusual position: both a newly fashionable trend and a quiet continuation of an older Saudi baking practice.
