Reddesertfox:
The actual crossroads was often referred to as the mirrors; however for those who actually went into the restaurant for the chicken, rice and potato soup will still remember the Yemeni waiters shouting their orders through to the kitchen. The biggest challenge was to eat the food before the cockroaches landed on it.
To update you on this Reddesertfox,I had mentioned that the first time I went to Kuwait,“The mirrors” was just a tee junction,not a crossroads,the road to Riyhad had not been built.
I happened to say that following directions from “Old sweats”,as one did,I turned left at the mirrors and skirted to the right around Hafar al Batin,to find the Kuwait border at Ar Ruqi.which was a collection of tents in the desert.
Another “Old sweat”,Rita,had his own ideas,but I’m sure we all have different memories of the routes we used to take.
I know what route I took,I’ve even checked up on “Flash earth” which I know is not as things were all those years ago,but it’s still shows the route I took,and also the route Rita says he took.Whatever,we all got to Kuwait by whichever route you used!
Well……. Ian, it must be called evolution and progress, albeit not always for the better.
Me being a Younger/Old M/E driver the “T Junction had become a Crossroads when I got there in 1978 and the restaurant was filthy.
Continuing this conflab about “The Mirrors”,here is an up to date view courtesy of “Flash earth”,showing the crossroads as they are now.
Route 85 is the “Tapline”,route 50 is the road from Riyhad to Kuwait.Just off screen top right is the Kuwait border at Ar Ruqi.
Whether you turn left at "The Mirrors " as I did,or turn left further down to get onto route 50 is neither here nor there.
The + is directly over the crossroads.
If you go to “Flash earth”,type Hafar al Batin in the location finder and it will take you straight there.
From there you can pan in any direction to follow the routes we used to pound up and down.
I found it interesting to go to Turaif,then pan North across H4,you can see the tracks in the desert.(But you can’t quite see the oil drums!).
Yeh… when you were coming down you turned Right for KKMC and left for Kuwait and straight on for Dammam. By the way Ian…Did you ever try the Chicken, Rice and Cockroaches…Quite tasty, albeit it did clean the system out the next day…
Never tried it mate,any time I tried to get near to the place it was a crunchy walk over the 'roaches that bred in the diesel pumps and covered the ground!
bestbooties:
If you go to “Flash earth”,type Hafar al Batin in the location finder and it will take you straight there.
From there you can pan in any direction to follow the routes we used to pound up and down.
I found it interesting to go to Turaif,then pan North across H4,you can see the tracks in the desert.(But you can’t quite see the oil drums!).
HI all just to be really pedantic I think you will find that the desert track was not actually H4 ( I’m ducking and putting on my flack jacket ) H 1,2,3,4,5 were the segments of the road that ran from Baghdad (H1) to Amman H5) there could have been an H6 that took it to the coast. I believe the road was built by the Brits in the war. My father was in Iraq then.
H4 was where the Jordanian customs post was (on the road) immediately after clearing customs you picked your spot , turned right off of the road and headed across no-mans land to the Saudi customs 110K’s away. I can’t remember the name of the Saudi customs but you had to find a fort almost surrounded by a bog (yes in the desert).It used to get dark about 4/5 o/clock and if we had not reached the customs we would park in sight of the fort until morning,rather than risk the bog, the Saudi’s would come out in the evening with a list of expected trucks to make sure everyone was OK and probably to check that no-one had sneaked past the customs.
As I’ve said on here before I’m certain I turned left at the 'Mirrors for Kuwait. I never ate there but I remember once buying 2 bottles of water there opened 1 and chucked the other 1 on my bunk. A couple of hours later I went to open the other 1 it was so hot that I stopped and used it to make coffee , it was hot enough to dissolve the coffee!
Gavin
Gavin McArdle:
HI all just to be really pedantic I think you will find that the desert track was not actually H4 ( I’m ducking and putting on my flack jacket ) H 1,2,3,4,5 were the segments of the road that ran from Baghdad (H1) to Amman H5) there could have been an H6 that took it to the coast. I believe the road was built by the Brits in the war. My father was in Iraq then.
H4 was where the Jordanian customs post was (on the road) immediately after clearing customs you picked your spot , turned right off of the road and headed across no-mans land to the Saudi customs 110K’s away. I can’t remember the name of the Saudi customs but you had to find a fort almost surrounded by a bog (yes in the desert).It used to get dark about 4/5 o/clock and if we had not reached the customs we would park in sight of the fort until morning,rather than risk the bog, the Saudi’s would come out in the evening with a list of expected trucks to make sure everyone was OK and probably to check that no-one had sneaked past the customs.
As I’ve said on here before I’m certain I turned left at the 'Mirrors for Kuwait. I never ate there but I remember once buying 2 bottles of water there opened 1 and chucked the other 1 on my bunk. A couple of hours later I went to open the other 1 it was so hot that I stopped and used it to make coffee , it was hot enough to dissolve the coffee!
Gavin
Gavin,
The Saudi customs post after crossing from H4 was Turaif.
Even after the new road was opened from Haditha,it brought you down to Turaif at the top of the tapline was still the only direct route acros Saudi as you well know.
Reddesertfox:
Dave Duxbury was a true professional and did the M/E for quite a long time, I think he had a chap named Colin Johnson driving for him for a while who was also a very good guy.
Colin is over near Hull living and working now, see him occasionally, also used to see Bob who worked with Colin on Trans Arabian
Hi Malc, I just wondered when you mentioned Trans Arabian if it was this mob from Northampton who you were refering to.
Regards Steve.
Joe 90, used to take TAF trailers destined for Baghdad and do changeovers in Iskenderun, the main problem was that the Turks used to sell the trailer tyres and replace them with cheap nasty ones whilst doing the Isenderun to Baghdad leg. Apart from that, I gather it was a really good Job.
Reddesertfox:
Dave Duxbury was a true professional and did the M/E for quite a long time, I think he had a chap named Colin Johnson driving for him for a while who was also a very good guy.
Hi Malc, I just wondered when you mentioned Trans Arabian if it was this mob from Northampton who you were refering to.
Regards Steve.
I never saw the TAF trucks, it was before I met Colin but we did collect an F12 from his driver in NN when I did a couple of helpout trips for him.
Hi Alison, many thanks for the P.M. and I hope that your Astran guides took you on a tour of Istanbul while you had the chance . If they did then no daubt that they took you to see The Blue Mosque, The Grand Bazaar and you probably called into The Pudding Shop for one of their delicious pastries.
On my first trip to Turkey I.I.R.C. I met a school teacher from Liverpool called Barbara who’s husband Alan was a fitter for Falcongate. Alan had worked for them for a few months and had asked if he could do a trip to Baghdad as a driver, the boss had said yes and as it was the school summer holidays he had decided to take Barbara along. He had been told that to take his wife to Baghdad could be a bit risky so they had planned that Barbara would stay in the hotel at the Londra Camp for a week, as Alan had been told that he could leave Istanbul tip Baghdad and be back in Istanbul within a week .
Alan did get back after twelve days I think it was, he said that when he had been parked up on a loading bay while he was tipping somebody had driven into him. He had been locked up because he was a foreigner and if he had not of been there then the accident would never of happened.
I wonder if any Falcongate lurkers could confirm this story .
Regards Steve.
There is a reason for the RHD, they had lots of them there were quite common. I cant remember the official reason, but i know one reason i heard was, it meant the driver sat on the side of the cab nearest the edge of the road, handy when going up narrow mountain roads so you dont fall off the edge! I like that.
Hullo Mr141,
Yes you are correct, that was the reason, mountain roads in rainy and foggy weather can as you probaly know or remember are no joke. Even the old 619 Fiats that they loved so much, many of them were right had drive, as were the Scania’s that were mentioned.
Cheers, Archie.
Hullo Mushroomman,
Hi Steve good to see you back on the site. That sounds just about right to me, whoever it was that told you this story was correct. I loaded many loads of Melons back from Greece , either from just north of Patras or on the Peloponese, cleared Customs usually very local to where they were loaded, and then in my case because I chose an easy life ship to Italy by Ferry. I was fortunate that I nearly always wound up tipping them on Holoway Road. Same proceedure though Chris the importer would send you to the local Cafe with one of his other Greeks, a good long breakfast and a nice little earner at the end of it. Mind you I always wound up with all the crap and straw in the trailer still so usually had to find a convenient place on my way back up North to pull over and have a good sweep out.
Cheers, Archie.
I think you will find that the desert track was not actually H4 ( I’m ducking and putting on my flack jacket 
) H 1,2,3,4,5 were the segments of the road that ran from Baghdad (H1) to Amman H5) there could have been an H6 that took it to the coast. I believe the road was built by the Brits in the war. My father was in Iraq then.
. If they did then no daubt that they took you to see The Blue Mosque, The Grand Bazaar and you probably called into The Pudding Shop for one of their delicious pastries.
.
.