Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, is a city in the province of Medinah, northwest of the country – a destination that has been widely promoted in recent years luring tourists in. One surprising fact is that you either are aware of Al Ula and you want to visit it, or you’re oblivious (Saudi is still a widely undiscovered country), as when I was talking about my intention to travel there even some Saudis said: “Where is it?” But also I truly can’t pronounce Al Ula the way the Saudis say it.

Flight To Al Ula

The convenient direct flying options from Dubai include Fly Dubai and Fly Nass, which are both low-cost airlines. But from my observation, Al Ula airport can’t cope with planes any bigger than the one we took. To be honest, they could hardly cope with ours, and it took almost an hour to get through passport checks, but it is not the first time I am stuck at customs in KSA. So let’s just say it is a part of the experience.

Elephant Rock

After escaping into the fresh air of the evening, we ventured out to witness one of AlUla’s most beloved celebrities – the one, the only, Elephant Rock. Because nothing says ‘desert magic’ like a giant boulder that looks like it’s mid-nap after a long day of being famous

The area was very fancily lit with torches and had a bunch of seating areas for groups to enjoy their experience. However I wished it was more how it used to be – just a rock in the desert that you come to see.

As the desert temperatures took a dramatic plunge to 11°C (basically arctic by local standards), F. and I made the necessary decision to hunt down some hot chocolate before we fully froze. In our chilled daze, we accidentally cut a Saudi guy in line — an innocent crime of survival, really — and let’s just say, he was not amused. To smooth things over, I tried a peace offering in the form of hot chocolate to buy for him, which he very dramatically refused like I’d just handed him a poisoned cup. But after a few rounds of ‘no, no, no,’ he finally accepted — and thawed out both emotionally and physically. Lesson learned: try buying something for a Saudi man in his own country and see how far your charm gets you. Spoiler: not very far without a full diplomatic negotiation.

26 Degrees North Hotel

Time to go to the hotel. We stayed at the so-called glamping location called 26 Degrees North, which had amazing views, comfortable tents and nice breakfast. Not to freeze to death, Mohammed (the Tamashee tribe leader and the tour organizer) provided us with farwas (the warm brown bisht with fur). So we equipped the farwas and went to sit around the fire.

When the tea was drunk, the stories were told, we went back to our tents to sleep on a cold night (but equipped with heaters).

As usual, I felt way too excited to sleep, so the morning came sooner than expected.

Morning Roamings

The next adventure was to take a shower (when it is 6 degrees outside), but where there is a will there is a way. Afterwards I ventured out to take some photos of the surroundings. Hoped to see the sunrise, but turns out you have to climb up the rocks next to reception to see it.

After munching on foul madames and some other tasty things, we boarded the bus (called the Shariah bus, may God protect your journey) to see the ancient tombs of the previous inhabitants of these areas.

Some things that happened to be seen outside the bus window:

So most of you are aware that there is Petra in Jordan, which represents the culture of Nabataeans, an Arab tribe that lived in the area during the 6th century BC (damn long ago). But not so many people know that you can see their tombs and inscriptions all over the North of Saudi Arabia as well.

Hegra

We arrived at the meeting point, were greeted by jolly Saudi ladies offering us hot drinks with ginger and lemon, and loaded onto the old Land Rovers to go explore the area.

As the guides explained, this area was once completely buried under sand, but after a series of heavy rains, the tombs began to emerge, prompting archaeologists to begin excavations.

Nabataeans were traders, and they possessed something that many wanted on their trade routs – they had water. So they constantly received visitors in these lands, and we had seen the sitting rooms carved into the mountains for people to sit around and discuss important matters. They were also very tolerant with other people’s beliefs and religions, so they allowed everyone to worship their Gods while they were in the area, providing them places to do that.

Funerary monuments were represented by carved royal tombs and tombs built with cut stone. The Nabataeans paid great attention to their tombs. This was reflected in their architecture, in which a lot of architectural and artistic methods of respecting the dead were developed, which suggests the Nabataeans’ interest in the afterlife. As you can see a lot of tombs feature stairs in their decorations. It was believed that these stairs will take you to heaven.

The next stop on our trip was the educational one, where we got to dig our own artifacts, document them, and file them.

Everything was well-explained in both Arabic and English. The tour guides do an incredible job here in Al Ula, ready to answer any questions you have.

The next stop was the visit to Jabal Ikmah or the library, where you can see various rock carvings and inscriptions on the mountains – in different languages and styles. If you are interested to take a course on how to read the inscriptions – it is also available.

Lunch In The Wadi

Of course, we were getting rather hungry after all these explorations, so we headed off to a secret location provided by the local people to take a much-needed food break.

With our bellies full of delicious Saudi food, we were entertained by a local musicians who sang us some songs about the mishaps of the newlyweds. Afterwards we ventured to discover more rock inscriptions and enjoyed the views.

Later we headed back to the hotel for a quick break and to change into something slightly more ‘civilized’ for our visit to the Old Town of AlUla. Naturally, instead of resting like a sensible person, I ran off in pursuit of a sunset shot. Unfortunately, either my vantage point was too low or the universe just wasn’t feeling generous that day. No epic golden glow – just me, some rocks, and a good laugh at my own optimism.

Old Town Al Ula At Night

Upon reaching the old town, we did some retail therapy. I enjoyed some street photography, and we finished our night with a big dinner in a restaurant that I can’t find on google maps so the name of it will remain unknown.

Such was day 1.5 with Tamashee at Al Ula.

Much love,

Anna

Al Ula Old Town, Maraya, Star Gazing – Day 2.