The Saudi desert that yields
Flying over Saudi Arabia en route to Jordan from Kuwait, I spotted these circular patterns in the desert. It was a vast expanse full of circles that the plane took about 15 minutes to fly over from one end to the other.
The photographs I shot from more than 10 km above show perfect circular patters like the face of a clock with two hands visible as if telling the time (or take it as an LP record or better, a compact disc). I couldn’t make out anything of the scene down below but clicked some photos. Later on, I thought the circular planes must have something to do with crude extraction or refinement or some sort of treatment of crude waste. Little did I imagine that it could be something else?
I was curious to know about the circular patterns and showed the photos to some Jordanians in Amman and Petra. No one had any clue. In the hotel lobby, while editing the photos I took during the day, some fellow tourists showed curiosity to have a look at my portfolio. I showed them these photos too and asked if they knew what it was or could decipher it for me. Nothing concrete came out. One Western tourist who had been to Saudi Arabia many times told me that he was looking at these patterns for the first time. The matter ended there.
A few days back I stumbled upon a NASA write up on desert irrigation that was yielding agriculture produce in Saudi Arabia. The area I flew over was the Meegowa desert and the patterns are agriculture fields. The ‘hands of the clock’ are actually the sprinkler taking water from the central pivot to irrigate the crop circles.
I wonder how the theocratic state has adapted modern technology with a purpose which is yielding it the best results (the water for irrigation was coming from up to 3 km under the earth’s surface). However, when it came to granting freedom of thought and living free for its citizens, the religion raised its ominous hydra heads to deny them all.
Some photographs:
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