Wadi Al-Disah, a Captivating Illustration of Saudi Arabian Nature

A view of Wadi al-Disah in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of Wadi al-Disah in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Wadi Al-Disah, a Captivating Illustration of Saudi Arabian Nature

A view of Wadi al-Disah in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of Wadi al-Disah in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Winter has its splendor in Saudi Arabia, especially in the north, and even in parts of the country that are characterized by moderate weather in the summer, like the south. Many tourists and visitors flock to the country at this time of every year.

This year is no different as the Kingdom succeeded in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Winter is around you” is a Saudi marketing slogan that highlights the importance of this season for the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia. Winter becomes more than just a season when one can enjoy a road trip in the desert, mountains, coasts and valleys.

Wadi Al-Disah, one of the most visited locations in Saudi Arabia this year, is a valley that is located in the heart of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Nature Reserve and extends into the city of Neom. Wadi Al-Disah boasts some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the Kingdom, with its crystal-clear streams, flowing springs, lush patches of green and towering palm trees. The valley’s Nabataean facade and rock-carved tombs only add to its beauty.

Asharq Al-Awsat met several tourists who came to enjoy Saudi Arabia’s natural beauty from across the globe. Through the lens of their cameras, they documented what they saw and posted the pictures on their social media.

Nataliya, a photographer from Ukraine, said that it was the first time that she visited the valley and that she and her husband couldn’t be more impressed with what they had seen. She added: “This valley is definitely the most beautiful place we have visited in our trip.”

A Brazilian tourist said that she decided to visit Wadi Al-Disah after she saw photos of the valley on Instagram. “I loved it ... Wadi Al-Disah is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen,” she said, adding that she was captivated by its mesmerizing nature and unique landscapes.

Saudi photographer Younis Al-Dohaiman also said that he first discovered the valley while scrolling through Instagram photos of travelers who had visited it during winter.

Tourists can visit Wadi Al-Disah in winter or summer. Temperatures in the area range from 12 degrees Celsius in winter to 31 degrees during the summer, while it rains for eight months a year on average.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund intends to invest in new development projects in Wadi Al-Disah that aim to preserve the environment and wildlife of the valley, while hoping to transform it into a major touristic attraction.



How Did a Jet Flip Upside Down on a Toronto Runway and Everyone Survive?

A Delta Air Lines plane that crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport is seen on February 18, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (Getty Images/AFP)
A Delta Air Lines plane that crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport is seen on February 18, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (Getty Images/AFP)
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How Did a Jet Flip Upside Down on a Toronto Runway and Everyone Survive?

A Delta Air Lines plane that crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport is seen on February 18, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (Getty Images/AFP)
A Delta Air Lines plane that crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport is seen on February 18, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (Getty Images/AFP)

Investigators are probing the causes of an unusual plane crash at Canada's largest airport on Monday, when a regional jet flipped upside down upon landing during windy weather, sending 21 of the 80 people on board to hospital.

Video shows the Delta Air Lines plane belly up and missing its right wing at Toronto's Pearson Airport, and of the crash that involved no fatalities, circulated widely on social media. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said on Tuesday that parts of the plane -- a Bombardier-made CRJ900 -- separated after impact and the fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway, upside down, facing the other direction.

The TSB said it is too early to know what happened and why. Here is what we know about this accident and similar crashes.

HOW DOES A PLANE LAND UPSIDE DOWN?

US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said aircraft are normally designed to land first on the two main landing gear, and then the nose gear. While the cause of the accident is unclear, the type of impact on the runway likely damaged the landing gear, leaving the plane imbalanced.

Brickhouse said that the plane ending up pointing in the opposite direction speaks to the amount of force and speed that led it to change direction.

"With all the forces and everything going on, if that wing is not there to support the aircraft it's going to go over," Brickhouse said. "It's not something that we see regularly, but when structures start failing, they can't do their job and the aircraft is going to react to the different forces on it."

HOW DID EVERYONE SURVIVE?

Passengers say they were hanging upside down in their seats after the crash.

"All of the passengers were wearing the safety belts. This prevented more serious injuries from occurring," said Mitchell Fox, director of the Asia Pacific Center for Aviation Safety.

Airplane seats are designed to withstand the force of 16 times the normal pull of gravity, or 16Gs, in a crash, whereas wings and fuselage are designed to handle 3-5Gs.

"In an impact-survivable crash, it's more important for the seats to hold up, giving passengers the best chance of survival," said Raj Ladani, a program manager for aerospace engineering at Australia's RMIT University. Good evacuation is key to air accident survivability, as witnessed last year when all 379 people escaped a burning Japan Airlines plane after a runway collision.

"The crew did a remarkable job of evacuating all of the passengers expeditiously," Fox said of the Delta crash.

HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?

While rare, there have been cases of large jets flipping over on landing, including three accidents involving McDonnell Douglas' MD-11 model.

In 2009, a FedEx freighter turned over on landing in windy conditions on the runway at Tokyo's Narita airport, killing both pilots. The left wing was broken and separated from the fuselage attaching point and the airplane caught fire.

In 1999, a China Airlines flight inverted at Hong Kong while landing during a typhoon. The plane touched down hard, flipped over and caught fire, killing three of 315 occupants.

In 1997, another FedEx freighter flipped over at Newark in the United States, with no fatalities.

Brickhouse said it is too early to draw any conclusions from these earlier cases, especially as the MD-11 is a three-engine aircraft and the CRJ900 has two engines mounted toward the back of the aircraft, producing different flight dynamics.

HOW WILL THE INVESTIGATION PROCEED?

Unlike other investigations in which parts of the plane have gone missing, and there are mass fatalities, investigators will be able to interview all 76 passengers and four crew.

Investigators have access to the fuselage and wing, which are on the runway, and the black boxes -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- have been sent for analysis.

"This is going to be a textbook investigation," Brickhouse said. "Some accidents, a lot of the pieces of the puzzle are missing. But right now looking at this accident, all the puzzle pieces are there. It's just you piecing them back together at this point."