Saturday, July 5, 2025
Buried Wonders of AlUla: UNESCO Magazine Explores "Pearl of the Saudi Desert"
The "Pearl of the Saudi Desert," AlUla, was featured in a comprehensive report published in the July 2025 issue of The UNESCO Courier. The report offers interesting facts regarding the major transformations that this historic oasis, which served as a hub on the Incense Route that connected the Arabian Peninsula to Eastern and Western civilizations, went through. Most Viewed: Ceasefire in Gaza is one of the top priority of Saudi Arabia - Saudi Foreign Minister
Al-Ula, in the Medina region to the northwest of the kingdom, has reportedly been a secret archaeological treasure store for a long time, according to the magazine.
But since 2017, under the auspices of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, researchers and excavators have been exposing the site's deep history, which extends back over 200,000 years.
A Nabataean Gateway to Global History: Al-Hijr (Hegra)
The center of attention in the study is the ancient site of Al-Hijr (Mada'in Saleh), which was the first Saudi site to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Various civilizations, such as Assyria, Egypt, and Greece, left their mark on these 111 rock-cut graves. The tombs were decorated with ancient writings that recorded the names of the elite buried there and spells to protect them from evil spirits. Recommend: AlUla heritage sites for visitors
According to the research, Hegra was an economically prosperous town more than 2,000 years ago, when it was a stop for merchant caravans on the Incense Route to restock their supplies of water, dates, and other items. In the first century AD, it was granted to the status of capital by the southern Nabataeans.
A mission in cultural tourism that has never been done before:
With the launch of the Royal Commission for AlUla in 2017, the Kingdom has set out on a grand mission to promote AlUla to the status of a world-renowned cultural and tourist destination, in keeping with Saudi Vision 2030.
Archaeologists, historians, and ancient linguists from over 20 countries are among the dozens of specialists brought to the site to search for hidden treasures and repair damaged monuments.
According to the report, AlUla is currently host to thousands of archeological sites. These sites contain artifacts such as Paleolithic stone tools, the largest stone axe in the world that is over 200,000 years old, and sites of ancient rituals that date back 7,000 years.
Located on Mount Ikmah, the library serves as a welcoming space for the past:
The recently inscribed Jabal Ikmah on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register was characterized in the report as an outdoor "library" with 300 rock inscriptions, most of which are from 800 to 100 BC. Read: Free Transit visa of Saudi Arabia
Dadanite, spoken in the old kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, is one of several ancient languages that Saudi scholars headed by Professor Suleiman Al-Dheeb have decoded. Others include Aramaic, Safaitic, Minaite, and Nabataean.
This is where tradition and progress converge in modern AlUla:
The little town of AlUla has been transformed into a global hub for cultural tourism through the development of hotels and the modernization of its airport.
The research highlighted the hundreds of thousands of visitors predicted to arrive annually, surpassing 286,000 by 2024. It brought to light the kingdom's efforts to cultivate sustainable tourism while also protecting its archaeological legacy.
José Ignacio Revilla, an expert from UNESCO, concluded the assessment by emphasizing the value of keeping human, intellectual, and cultural qualities central to development. He saw AlUla as an example of how to responsibly combine legacy with progress on a global scale. See Also: Is it possible to return to Saudi Arabia after exiting on final exit? Jawazat response
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| Buried Wonders of AlUla UNESCO Magazine Explores Pearl of the Saudi Desert |
