Hegra

Hegra, also known as Mada'in Salih or al-Hijr, was the southern outpost of the Nabataeans, the trading people whose capital was Petra. It was their second city, and in one respect it surpasses Petra: its rock-cut tombs are often better preserved. Across the desert plain north of AlUla, isolated sandstone outcrops rise from the sand, and into their faces the Nabataeans carved 131 monumental tombs, mostly in the 1st century AD, spread over about 13 km. In 2008 it became Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage Site.

The facades mix influences from across the ancient trading world, borrowing from Assyria, Phoenicia, Egypt and Hellenistic Alexandria, and archaeologists distinguish a local style they call the Hegra type. What makes them unusual is that many carry an inscription above the door, a kind of legal deed naming the owner, who could be a man or a woman, stating who had the right to be buried inside and warning against misuse, dated by the reign of the Nabataean king. The largest and most photographed tomb, Qasr al-Farid, the Lonely Castle, stands apart from the others, its facade rising more than twenty metres.

Beyond the tombs, the site preserves traces of the town and its wells, and of earlier Lihyanite and later Roman presence. At Jabal Ithlib, in the northeast, a narrow corridor about 40 m long between high rocks, recalling Petra's Siq, leads to the rock-cut hall known as the Diwan; the area is thought to have been dedicated to the Nabataean god Dushara, and small sanctuaries with inscriptions are cut into the surrounding cliffs. The Hejaz Railway, built by the Ottomans between 1901 and 1908 to carry pilgrims to Medina, passed right through the site. For centuries local tradition, drawing on the Quranic story of the people of Thamud, held the place to be cursed, which helped keep it undisturbed.

Hegra can only be visited on organised tours, which leave from the Hegra Welcome Centre and stop at Jabal Ithlib, the Jabal al-Banat tombs, the tomb of Lihyan son of Kuza, Jabal Ahmar and other groups.

Getting there

Hegra lies about 20 km north of the town of AlUla in Medina Province. AlUla International Airport (ULH), about 40 km from the site, has domestic flights and some international services. The tours start at the Hegra Welcome Centre, which is reached by road from AlUla.