Hegra (Mada'in Salih)

Hegra lies in the desert north of AlUla in Medina Province, in the Hejaz region of north-western Saudi Arabia. It was the southernmost and second-largest city of the Nabataean kingdom after Petra in Jordan, and it grew rich from the caravan trade in incense and spices passing between southern Arabia and the Mediterranean.

People lived in the area long before the Nabataeans. Rock inscriptions date back as far as the 6th century BC, and Lihyanite inscriptions and rock art from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC have been found nearby. The main Nabataean settlement flourished in the 1st century AD, and after Rome annexed the Nabataean kingdom in 106 AD, Roman troops were stationed here. The site is also known by its Arabic name, Mada'in Salih.

Hegra is best known for 111 monumental tombs cut into rock outcrops, 94 of them with decorated facades. About 30 carry Nabataean inscriptions naming the owners and the date of carving, and some 2,000 simpler burials lie across the wider site. The largest, Qasr al-Farid, stands alone on a rock and is more than 20 metres high, its facade left partly unfinished. Remains of the residential area, wells and an old station of the Ottoman-era Hejaz Railway are also on the site.

In 2008 Hegra became the first place in Saudi Arabia inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The restored Hejaz Railway station is now part of the Chedi Hegra hotel.

Visits are managed through the official Experience AlUla programme, with timed tours by bus or vintage Land Rover leaving from the Hegra visitor hub, and tickets should be booked in advance. Modest dress, sun protection and water are needed. The cooler months from October to March are the best time to go.

Hegra lies about 20 kilometres north of AlUla town, 400 kilometres northwest of Medina and 500 kilometres southeast of Petra. Its four necropolises stretch over 13.4 kilometres. The city drew its water from about 130 wells cut into rock in the western and northwestern parts of the site, some 4 to 7 metres across, reaching a water table about 20 metres down. Annual rainfall is below 50 millimetres, but a natural gully collected runoff that recharged the groundwater.

Jabal Ithlib, northeast of the tombs, is thought to have been dedicated to the Nabataean god Dushara. A 40-metre passage between high rocks, similar to the Siq at Petra, leads to the Diwan, a rock-cut hall used for gatherings. Lihyanite inscriptions and rock art on the mountain date from the third and second centuries BC. After the Roman annexation, the Legio III Cyrenaica was stationed here and built a citadel as its headquarters.

The Quran links the region to the Thamud, a people who carved homes in the mountains, and for a long time the site had a reputation as a cursed place, which kept many local visitors away. Opening it to tourism has been part of the government's AlUla programme. Bring a hat and sunglasses, as there is little shade between the tomb clusters, and check whether your ticket includes a stop at Jabal Ithlib.