AL-QUWAY’IYAH, Saudi Arabia: The ‘Heart of Arabia’ trek led by British explorer Mark Evans has crossed through some of Saudi Arabia’s most iconic historical locations.
The journey follows in footsteps of legendary British explorer Abdullah Philby, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday.
The team crossed Qiddiya mountains through Darb Al-Manjur, a path that extends from the heights of Qiddiya mountains toward Dhurma.
Residents and caravans used the path throughout history to move between cities and villages. It extends westward to the village of Dasman affiliated to Al-Quway’iyah and is located on sandy ground with a bottom layer of hard rock that retains rainwater for long periods of time.
Among the distinguishing features of Dhurma, which is located within the trek, are the agricultural areas that extend to Nafud Al-Qunfudah and are located on the path of Philby’s historic journey. It is a high sandy area with a charming view of the city and a park for residents and visitors.
Within the trek’s path, there is also Nafud Dalqan, where Evans and his team stayed for a day. An uninterrupted running water stream is located east of the town of Al-Quway’iyah to Nafud Al-Sir from the east, where the sand ends.
The area is also distinguished by sand dunes that form golden curves, interspersed with types of wild plants on the slopes.
British explorer Mark Evans’ ‘Heart of Arabia’ trek crosses iconic Saudi sites
https://arab.news/jbnq2
British explorer Mark Evans’ ‘Heart of Arabia’ trek crosses iconic Saudi sites
- Journey follows in footsteps of legendary explorer Abdullah Philby
- Group crossed Qiddiya mountains through Darb Al-Manjur
Saudi surgeons train Indonesian doctors in maxillofacial, thyroid surgery
- Saudi team is embedded with a general hospital in eastern Indonesian city of Makassar
- During their stay in Indonesia, they performed free maxillofacial, thyroid surgery on 60 patients
JAKARTA: A 19-member surgical team from Saudi Arabia has trained Indonesian doctors in oral, maxillofacial and thyroid surgery under a King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center program to expand access to advanced medical procedures in eastern Indonesia.
The Saudi medics were embedded with their Indonesian colleagues at the Wahidin Sudirohusodo Central General Hospital in Makassar, South Sulawesi province.
“KSrelief’s medical team consisted of surgeons and consultants, so doctors from our hospital had the opportunity to directly observe surgical procedures done by the Saudi doctors that have never been performed here,” Aulia Yamin, spokesperson of the Makassar hospital, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“There were also in-depth discussions on diagnosis and plans for surgery for highly complex cases.”
The KSrelief team was in Indonesia in late December, during which Saudi doctors performed free maxillofacial and thyroid surgery on 60 patients, she added.
The transfer of knowledge by KSrelief also supported Indonesia’s health system transformation plan, which seeks to improve access and quality of services in all regional government hospitals, particularly in eastern Indonesia.
“Makassar is the primary transportation and health referral hub for eastern Indonesia, which means there’s a high number of cases requiring maxillofacial and thyroid surgeries,” Yamin said.
“We hope that this collaboration can continue in the future for other cases, so that more Indonesians can benefit from the program.”
The KSrelief program had also included guest lectures by the Saudi doctors, covering facial and jaw reconstruction as well as updated and new approaches to paranoid gland surgery.
“We’re really thankful to the very hard work that we saw here. The (Indonesian) team was with us day and night and throughout very long surgeries and very complex surgeries,” Prof. Basem T. Jamal, who led the KSrelief team in Makassar, said in a video statement.
“And not only was it supporting the medical effort, but there was always interest in expressing and exchanging knowledge and experiences, and it was really really, a very rich experience for all of us.”
KSrelief has conducted similar programs in other parts of Indonesia, including in Medan, North Sumatra in 2024 that focused on training Indonesian doctors in advanced cardiac procedures on adults and children.
