Rouna Babanji … A female Saudi Mountain climber
By : Marwa Mahmoud
Rouna Babanji … a Saudi girl who ventured into exploring the geographical variations in Saudi Arabia, to move between plain and sea, sometimes climbing up the mountain heights, and cutting the sand dunes in the sand,
She seated between the woods of trees on the Sarawat Mountains, looking for relics and inscriptions, and refusing to live in hotels, to set up tents in Nature and enjoy exploring nature.
Rouna said that: “This hobby prompted me to change my specialization for the third time, after I started studying the Arabic language and languages and translation, then in the last year when I opened the field to study archeology, I chose this specialization in order to delve into the field of inscriptions for heritage of Saudi Arabia.”
She added: “I started camping and exploration trips on my own, the first experience was from Riyadh, followed by Tabuk, Umluj, Yanbu and the coastal areas. I decided then to add mountain and rock climbing to my exploratory experiences and my trips, which led me to go towards mountainous areas such as Abha, Al-Baha and Taif.”
She stated: “My hobby motivated me to get to know a number of friends who share these interests with me, and we seek to go out on these exploratory trips periodically in the various desert, mountainous and coastal areas.”
She also talked about her experience: “I love being away from the city, the experience of living in nature in all its details, and staying there away from housing in hotels, gives a different feeling and awareness of the place.”
Rouna considers that educating people about the geographical diversity of Saudi Arabia is an essential goal for them, and informing people of the importance of preserving antiquities dating back thousands of years in a number of regions, which constitute an important history that must be preserved and taken care of.