Valley of Magic

Wadi Jinn, Saudi Arabia

Dec 26, 2023

“Do you know that water runs uphill here?” he said. But there was a twinkle in his eye as he followed it up with tales of cars that accelerate without any power.

I was in Ahmad’s car, being taken to this mystical valley with its strange properties. I had been given Ahmad’s contact by someone I met in the hotel lobby and learned that he is from Swat in northwestern Pakistan. Delighted that I had visited his hometown, he ensured that the hospitality I received in Swat continues to be the norm even outside Swat. Not content with ferrying me to and from the bus station, Ahmad took time out of his busy day to show me a valley some 30 kms outside Medina that I would never have seen otherwise.

Past scrubby desert but sporting miles and miles of fencing we drove. Saudis do seem to love fences but rarely is it possible to tell what it is they are keeping in or keeping out. Past groves of date palms we drive and past a pair of camels foraging by the road we drive to the valley.

Called Wadi Jinn, it is deemed the home of jinns, or spirits. Stories abound of their magical deeds. Stories of miracles they have wrought and the havoc they might wreak if displeased. There are tales aplenty of otherworldly phenomena that happen here and of voices heard in the dead of night.

Under sunny skies though, it seems innocuous. It is a pretty valley and a popular place for picnics. There are plenty of cars and buses crowding the parking area and plenty of people out enjoying the day. I offer a mini picnic and we settle on a rock to enjoy the last rays of the sun.

Ahmad has not quite given up on selling me on jinn stories and insists on leaving the gear in neutral when we leave. He cackles aloud as we accelerate downhill but hastily refuses when I offer an explanatory lecture on physics.