JEDDAH, 18 September 2006 — In an intriguing tale of either hallucinations or ghosts, three Saudis escaped death from dehydration after the car they were driving in ran out of petrol in the Empty Quarter (Al-Rub Al-Khali).
The three Saudis — Miteb Al-Harithi, a teacher from Taif, his brother and a cousin — spent two days in the desert and claim that they were tormented by ghosts who “scared the living daylights” out of them.
The men told Al-Watan newspaper that they were close to death and were saved when a bedouin gave them food, water and life-saving directions on the second day.
Al-Harithi told the Arabic newspaper how he became lost in the desert and how his cousin went crazy. Al-Harithi, the teacher, had been assigned by the Education Ministry to work in Wadi Al-Dawaser at the King Fahd School.
“I had been assigned in an area called Al-Sawada, which is 240 km south of Wadi Al-Dawaser though the desert. I went to the school with a teacher from the area who knew the way. At the school, the principal refused to accept me unless I had a letter from my previous school. So I returned to Taif to obtain the letter,” said Al-Harithi.
Having got the letter, Al-Harithi took his brother and cousin with him and traveled to Wadi Al-Dawaser thinking that he would find his way through the desert. He said that he found a woman driving in the area that showed him the way to Al-Sawada.
After a few days, Al-Harithi took permission from the school principal to excuse him for one day to go back to Taif to bring his luggage to his new home. While driving through the desert, he noticed that he had nearly run out of gas and asked a man, who was walking, for directions to the closest gas station. “The man directed us toward a mountain and said there was a village about 20 km away,” said Al-Harithi.
“When we reached the area, we were shocked that the guy who directed us toward the area was there before us, although he was walking and not driving and the village which he directed us to was deserted,” said the teacher.
To add to their dilemma, Al-Harithi said, they began to see and hear ghosts. “While driving I could see a little girl appearing from nowhere and then disappearing. We left the village thinking that it was haunted. We saw a lot of bones, maybe of people who had lost their way in the desert,” said Al-Harithi.
The car was by that time out of gas and the men ended up camping near the village. “We set up a fire so if there were people in the village, they would notice us. All the time we heard voices of women and children and dogs barking but no one in sight. We were certain that there were ghosts in the area,” said Al-Harithi.
That night, the three men stayed awake and remained hungry and thirsty without food or water. “We walked looking for help and even drank the water from the car radiator to quench our thirst,” said Al-Harithi.
Finally, they spent the night near some mountains hoping that someone would come to their help. The next day while walking, Al-Harithi’s brother began to start talking to himself and crying.
“We continued walking on a mountain road and saw car and rail tracks. It was then that we saw a car approaching with a bedouin at the wheel. The man took us to his house where he provided us with food and water. He was surprised when we told him our story and he told us that the area is called the ‘Crazy Valley’ and is known to have ghosts and other scary things,” said Al-Harithi. The bedouin then guided Al-Harithi and his cousins to the main road where he directed them toward Riyadh and showed them the way.
Al-Harithi took his cousin back to Riyadh and his brother to Taif for treatment. Doctors said that the brother was badly affected by the trip and what they had gone through and that he had threatened to even kill his brother.
Al-Harithi added: “What is very strange is why there were no signs? Many people could easily get lost in the middle of nowhere because there are no direction or signs to show them the way.”
