21:30 · Every clear night
The last room.
i The dark
You can see your shadow by starlight.
There are almost no lights for a hundred kilometres around Ghasaq, and the air is dry and clear most of the year. On moonless nights the Milky Way rises over the valley like smoke, and the dark itself becomes something you learn to look at.
That is why we turn off everything we can. Every light in the reserve is low, amber and shielded towards the ground, and after nine we ask guests to use the red torches we leave in every villa.
Your eyes need about twenty minutes to adjust fully to the dark. Do not rush, and leave your phone inside.
The night
Three hours, then as long as you like.
- 21:30The telescope terrace opens with our resident astronomer: the moon if it is up, the planets, the star clusters
- 22:15Naked-eye stories: the stars that guided the caravans, by their Arabic names
- 23:00Fire, cardamom coffee and silence on your own roof
- 04:45For those who stay up: the false dawn, then first light over the eastern cliffs
ii The names
A sky that speaks Arabic.
Many of the stars we know today still carry Arabic names. Here are six our guides love to talk about.
When it rises in late summer, people across Arabia say the heat has broken: when Suhail rises, the nights grow cool.
A small cluster of stars that set the calendar for planting, harvest and travel for our grandparents.
“The follower”, because it chases the Pleiades across the sky every night and never catches them.
The star that does not move. Caravans found north by it, and our guides still do.
A faint star beside Mizar in the Plough. If you can see it, your eyes are sharp. Our sky villa is named after it.
“The lance-bearer”, a bright orange star that appears over the eastern cliffs on spring evenings.
A private session
Per villa, two hoursSAR 900
The astronomer on your roof with a larger telescope and a tour of the sky on a theme you choose: planets, galaxies, or photographing the stars with your phone. Included on the first night for guests at Suha.
Add it to your stay| New-moon weekThe darkest nights, the Milky Way at its clearest | ✦✦✦ |
|---|---|
| October – AprilCool, dry air and a steady sky | ✦✦✦ |
| Full-moon nightsThe moon itself through the telescope, the valley lit silver | ✦✦ |
| SummerAfter midnight, when the air cools | ✦ |
Night questions