Taif is an old city in Saudi Arabia that has proved to be an excellent summer resort. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica report that it is the main and most popular summer resort in Saudi Arabia, and I am not surprised to learn about it (par. 1). One of the most commendable features of the city is its multiple gardens, which yield fruit, vegetables, and flowers; Taif is most famous for its roses (Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage par. 3). The gardens also offer a welcoming shade, recreational opportunities, and a change of scenery from the typically sandy landscape of the city and the country (see fig. 1). While mostly made by a human’s hand, they invite nature into our world and hearts.
The gardens are numerous; there are small ones that can be crossed in ten minutes and bigger ones that can offer more lengthy strolls; some have various entertainment features and restaurants while others are much more simple and suggest only the pleasure of watching the beauty of nature. Throughout my life, I have visited these gardens numerous times, and they have become an important part of my memories, which is why it is difficult for me to single out one of them that might have affected me to a greater extent.
As a result, I chose the Garden of King Fahad for this description because it did play a major part in my life and also because it is one of the most spectacular places in Taif (see fig. 2). Apart from its impressive size (175,000 square meters), which makes it the biggest garden in the city, it hosts multiple recreational facilities meant for adults and children, including playgrounds, various types of restaurants, summer houses to hide from the sun, souvenir shops, and, of course, a mosque (“King Fahad Garden” par. 1).
The Garden of King Fahad is filled with vibrant colors so unlike the sandy desert; almost in the center of this green landscape, a lake is situated (see fig. 3). The lake is not too large (7,200 square meters), and it is fed by an artificial waterfall that is also most fascinating to watch. The bridge that crosses the lake has a smooth, gliding shape, and its white color stands out beautifully against the pure, crystalline blue of the water (see fig. 4).
However, the beauty and pride of a garden usually consist of its plants. In the Garden of King Fahad, you can meet bushes and trees of different sizes and shapes, and the ground is covered with velvety-looking grass (see fig. 5). I rarely saw the Garden being cared for, but it has always been always obvious that the plants are kept healthy, and their vibrant green color, highlighted by the bright sun, testifies to it. In general, the beauty of the garden is, of course, not only the favor of our nature but also the result of people’s efforts that have been needed to create the waterfall and the lake, chart the map of the plants, and devise and build the buildings for the facilities that are graceful in the simplicity of their design.
The Garden of King Fahad is one of the most beautiful gardens in Taif that offers numerous options for recreation and rest. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is an important tourist attraction (Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage par. 3). As a result, the garden is typically filled with people, and it may be difficult to find a solitary place within it on the majority of occasions. The summer houses may offer privacy, but they are rather large for a single person.
For me, the garden was always a place of meeting with my family and friends. I do not want to imagine how lonely it could have been to sit in the summer house on my own; instead, I have the memories of choosing the house together with the people dear to me so that the view could offer a glimpse of the lake. In fact, I have a favorite summer house, and being able to choose it always improves my mood and satisfaction with the trip to the garden. The house maybe not very different from the rest since all the houses have the same design and are colored bright white, but the view is exceptionally beautiful in my opinion, especially if I sit with my back to the road: in such a case, I get the full panorama of the lake.
I do not remember a single negative experience I could have had in the garden; I have never even witnessed a quarrel, and the time that I have spent with my friends and family was always either lazy and contented or excited and entertaining. For some reason, I have grown to prefer the first variant: having tried some delicious foods, I would sit and chat, feeling the heat of the sun even in the shadow of the summer house and watching the light wind touch the trees and ruffle the bushes.
I think that the place cannot evoke anything but positive emotions; with time, I even stopped being mildly annoyed by the noise that playing children tended to make and accepted it as a part of the jovial scenery of the place. After all, it has never been silent, and, probably, it is a good thing for a place to bustle with life and happiness. Together with my friends, we rarely raid souvenir shops, but I do have a couple of small figurines from the garden. I also used to have a Rubik’s cube with Arabic letters on it: a useful and entertaining toy for a young child, but I bought it at an older age as a growing-up joke I shared with a friend.
To sum up, I have spent much time in the Garden of King Fahad, and it involved happy experiences that colored my childhood bright sunny green and got carried into adulthood as events and memories of the past and opportunities for the future. Apart from that, I am a devout nature lover, and I think that the gardens of Taif, including the Garden of King Fahad, have helped me to develop this tendency.
I find this outcome most fortunate: as a result, I have one more thing to enjoy in my life, and the Garden of King Fahad offers multiple opportunities for me to exploit this advantage. The varying shades of green of the bushes, trees, and the neatly trimmed grass have always been pleasing to my eye; the sound of the water splashing in the lake has always been able to calm me down after a difficult day and help me to relax.
Even though I often hide from the bright Saudi sun in the summer houses, I cannot deny that it has always complemented the colors of the garden greatly. I have also been noticing other people who look at the scenery with similar emotions in their eyes, and I tend to think that it is possible to consider the garden to be a kind of a club for us, nature-loving persons. Perhaps it would be more logical to search for such a club in more desolate places, but I think that people do not really hinder the admiration of nature, even though the attempts to tune in with it may be difficult when a happy child giggles in the background.
I think that each place serves its purpose. For me, the Garden of King Fahad is a place for relaxation and happy moments during which I would rather not be alone. Its gorgeous scenery that requires so much effort to maintain has been nurturing my love for people and nature; it has been offering me a respite from routine and an opportunity to relax and enjoy good company and spectacular views.
The Garden of King Fahad has gifted me many happy moments, and I am not sure that I can view the place without glancing back at these memories. As a result, it has become more than an artfully created space with carefully maintained plants and simple but stylish buildings: it has become a welcome part of my life.
Works Cited
“King Fahad Garden.” TaifOpenCenter. 2014. Web.
Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. “Ṭaif.” Saudi Tourism. Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. 2013. Web.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Al-Ṭāif.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2012. Web.