This is good news for a young population, of whom 70 per cent are under the age of 35 years of age. ![]() ![]() Yet, Andrea Bocelli had a concert at the Maraya Stadium in the Alula desert while Bruno Mars, Post Malone, Marshmello, Carl Cox and were part of MDL Beast’s Soundstorm mega festival in Riyadh. As for music, even hotel lifts were banned from broadcasting any music. Yet here I was, a blond-haired woman from London doing the unthinkable travelling in Western attire passing freely through the ultra-modern King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh having my passport stamped by a female whose face was not obscured by a niqab.įor the longest time, there were no cinemas screening western films and now I see billboards advertising them. Yet from its inception as an absolute monarchy in 1947, the borders have been closed to non-Muslim tourists jealously guarding its Islamic culture, effectively keeping its UNESCO sites, such as the ruins of the Nabatean Kingdom in Al-‘Ula, away from Western eyes.Ĭlerics bolstered the power of the royal family ensuring religiosity paved the way for secrecy while religious police (mutawa ) ensured women were hidden behind an abaya and certainly not seen working or walking with members of the opposite sex in public.įor 75 years the only stories heard by the west were of controversial human rights issues, capital punishment and the headline news of the alleged assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. This, after all, is Saudi Arabia, a young country of 13 provinces, whose people have been living nomadically on this land for thousands of years. Stop At: Jabal AlFil (Elephant Rock) Then enjoy Elephant Rock,This spectacular rock formation resembles an elephant with its trunk touching the ground, is one of AlUla’s geomorphological wonders became one of AlUla iconic landmarks.I never imagined that I would ever follow in the footsteps of Laurence of Arabia in any way shape or form to the world’s 12th largest country and the largest in the Middle East. It features well-preserved monumental tombs with decorated facades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. Formerly known as Hegra it is the largest conserved site of the civilization of the Nabataeans south of Petra in Jordan. The Archaeological Site of Al-Hijr (Madain Saleh) is the first World Heritage property to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia. The site constitutes the kingdom’s southernmost and largest settlement after Petra, its capital. ![]() A majority of the remains date from the Nabatean kingdom. Stop At: Hegra Start your tour visiting the Hegra, also known as Madain Saleh, or Al-Ḥijr is an archaeological site located in the area of AlUla within Al Madinah Region in the Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. Once in the car, your tour leader will talk to you about all the things on the way as well as other aspects of your tour that will interest you. They will be holding a sign of your name, You do not need to look for them – they will be waiting for you and will find you.įrom the moment your tour starts, your tour leader will give you full attention. ![]() This is a typical itinerary for this product Stop At: Old Town of AlUla Your Tour leader/driver will be awaiting you.
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