Northern Region Kites

This kite in northern Saudi Arabia is approached by two fence systems from two opposite directions. Open in Bing Maps > Placemark download >

Star-Shaped Desert Kites

In the northern region of Saudi Arabia, which stretches along the border with Iraq, most kites are star-shaped, as are those found in other parts of the Middle East, all the way up to Syria. A special feature here is that many kites have feeders from two different directions. This raises the question of whether these were used simultaneously or at different times. Perhaps new guide walls were built on the existing kites if the animals' migration direction had changed over the course of decades or centuries?

Images courtesy of Google Earth™

Round Kites

A unique kite variant that I've only seen here so far are these kites with round enclosures and feeders that are much narrower than usual. This raises the question of whether these are actually kites in the traditional sense and how old they are. Were these kites perhaps not used for hunting, but rather for herding purposes, to bring the animals together?

Is this the transition from the star-shaped kite to the round one? On the left a collecting enclosure with straight fences, on the right they are curved.