EXPLORING THE MYTH BEHIND THE CAVE: A Day At The Judas Cave

Whenever there is an opportunity to explore Saudi Arabia, I don’t hesitate to do it. Aside from the fact that there are only a few places which you can visit, going to these places alone is quite hard especially if you don’t have your own car.

It was an unplanned trip; I was just tagged by a friend who has a guest from Jeddah, luckily I’m not busy that day, and even if I am I would probably leave everything just to join this trip.

The weather is cold, perfect to roam around; a two-hour drive to the cave is not quite boring at all especially if you have a good companion and you are not the one driving.

I’ve been looking forward to visiting this place quite some time but I just couldn’t find the opportunity. There have been plans before but nothing materializes, I thought I won’t have the opportunity anymore to see this place.

The Al Qarah cave or popularly known as the Judas cave is located in Hofuf, a city in Al Hasa which is a part of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is an approximately 2hr drive from Al Khobar where I live.

We arrive in Hofuf around ten in the morning, it was a perfect time as there are not quite a lot of people present. I don’t know what to expect since it was my first time there, I have been told that I should visit this place by some people since it is very popular.

The cave has been closed for a year because it was renovated. I was told by some people who have been there before that the cave was neglected and had a lot of vandalism which I found a few when I was inside.

The Saudi government doesn’t really care much about this kind of historical attraction and besides its local tourism is not very popular among its citizen; they would rather go to Bahrain or UAE than to find time visiting these places.

After some renovations, the cave is now open for visits. I paid 31 SAR for the entrance and I was quite impressed by the looks of it, it is very rare to see some kind of attraction like this in Saudi, so I felt a little bit of excitement.

So when I entered the gate I suddenly felt like I was transported in the Valley of the Kings. They had done an amazing job in renovating the site. While walking at the facade, you will be greeted by some rock formations, and as you walk a little further, there is a narrow path which will lead you to the cave.

The entrance is not for the claustrophobic, the opening is just enough to fit a person and while getting inside the cave will give you a feeling of walking in a maze. There is a stair which will lead you to the wider part of the cave and from there you will begin your exploration.

The extensive restoration gave me the unnatural feeling, there were a lot of security camera and the path is well lit and the lights from above gave a dramatic effect.  It was well maintained and very clean, however, I still saw a few vandalism which was not totally removed, nonetheless, I was impressed!

There was a projector playing Quranic verses on the wall, however, there is no mention of the myth about Judas and how the cave was named after him.

As I continued walking, I explored the parts of the cave passing thru narrow labyrinths wherein you have to squeeze yourself for you to get in until you reach a dead end.

I was truly blessed to see this kind of place in Saudi, it is one of a kind experience and it only proves that the Kingdom is not just about oil and gas.

There are other places here that need to be restored and renovated like the Tarout Castle in Qatif, given the proper attention by the local government, I believe that the place has so much potential to attract local visitors especially now that Saudi is opening its doors to tourists.