Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (January 2008): Al Ula and Medain Saleh (Hegra)
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Medain
Saleh, the historic name of which is Hegra, is
arguably the most important and interesting archeological site in the Arabic
peninsula. Located near the small oasis town of Al Ula
in northwest Saudi Arabia, 400km north of Medina and over 300km south
of Petra in Jordan, it is the second largest (after Petra) and
southernmost Nabatean
site. Like Petra , the city of Hegra was built about 2000 years ago. It was annexed
by the Roman Empire in 106AD and more or less disappeared a century later.
Today the site contains the remains of more than one hundred tombs hewn into
sandstone and spread over several kilometers. The tomb facades display
ornamental elements with Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman influences. The
site is surrounded by extravagantly shaped sandstone formations.
I visited this site in January 2008, just a few
months before it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (July 2008). I
was very fortunate to make this visit alone, without being part of an organized
group. Amazingly, there was nobody else on the site on the day of my visit, so
that I had it all for myself. Unfortunately, this was only a one-day trip from
Jeddah, though a very long one. (I flew from Jeddah to Medina in the early
morning and a car drove me to Medain Saleh;
I returned to Jeddah in the same way late on that day.) Medain
Saleh, Al Ula, and their environs deserve at least 2
or 3 days.
During this January 2008 trip to Saudi Arabia, I
also visited Old Jeddah, portions of the Eastern Province, and the construction
site of the future KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and technology). A
distinct page (see here)
is dedicated to that part of the trip.
Early morning along the road between Medina
and Al Ula:
In the oasis of Al Ula:
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Rock formations around Al Ula
and Medain Saleh:
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Jebel Ithlib.
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Tombs in Medain Saleh:
The tombs are scattered over a large area. Most are
grouped into ″clusters″. Each cluster consists of several tombs
hewn either in a single huge sandstone outcrop, or in a small group of adjacent
outcrops. A few tombs are isolated, the most famous of them being Qasr
Al Farid, which is also the largest tomb on the site.
The ruins of the Nabatean town of Hegra are located
at the center of the site; but they were fenced off during my visit.
Map of the site at the southern entrance. (It
reflects the poor state of the site infrastructure at the time of my visit. In
fact, at that time the Saudi government lacked interest in such a pre-Islamic
site, most Saudis had never heard of it, and access by foreigners was
restricted by red tape.)
Cluster Qasr Al Sani.
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Cluster Al Khuraymat.
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Cluster Qasr Al Bint.
Tomb Qasr Al Farid, one of the few isolated tombs and the largest tomb
in Medain Saleh.
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Cluster Qasr Al-Ahma (on the right in the
first photo below).
Tomb interiors.
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Locomotive in the
former Medain Saleh railway station along the Hijaz Railway
built at the beginning of the 20th century under the Ottoman Empire. The
railway connected Damascus to Medina to facilitate travel during the Haj
season.
