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16 Dec 2025
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16 Dec 2025
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An explorer is hoping to make history by becoming the first recorded person to cross the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from north to south on foot.
Writer and BBC TV presenter Alice Morrison, 61, from Edinburgh, will set off next month on the journey of around 2,500km (1,553 miles).
She will be accompanied by camels and local guides on the trip which will take her through the Kingdom’s vast deserts, oases, and mountains.
Saudi women who have expressed an interest in walking part of the way with her include explorer Princess Abeer Al Saud, racing driver Mashael AlObadain and travel business owner and guide Sara Omar.
Ms Morrison said: “I have been studying Arabic and the Middle East for 45 years but Saudi has always been closed to me. Now, I get to explore the heart of Arabia. I want to get past the politics and meet the people.
“I’ve got an explorer superpower: being a woman. The view of Saudi women in the West is very one-dimensional. As a female explorer, I’m uniquely able to spend time with Saudi women and tell their stories.
“The route I am taking is stuffed with history so I’ll be searching for new sites. I’m also walking through climate change and will be recording my findings.
“The desert is a harsh mistress and I am sure she will be teaching me many lessons along the route.
“I am a mid-life woman and I hope my adventure inspires others to get out and follow their dreams. I couldn’t have attempted this at 25, I needed the life experience to get me here.”
As the route is too long to accomplish in one season due to hot weather and the month of Ramadan, Ms Morrison will do it in two halves over two winter seasons.
The first stage will take seven weeks over January and February 2025 and will take her from the border with Jordan to the gates of Madinah.
The 61-year-old is no stranger to adventure and was the first woman to walk the length of the Draa River as part of crossing Morocco and the Sahara on foot with camels.
She has recently filmed a two-part series for the BBC in Petra, Jordan and AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
The author of four travel books already, she will be writing another book about this expedition as well as making a film.
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