“Set in the AlUla Valley amid the soaring sandstone and granite mountains of north-western Saudi Arabia's Hijaz region, this ancient desert oasis has supported human life for the past 200,000 years. The area's fertile soil and access to water amid the arid, mountainous desert helped multiple civilisations blossom. The Dadan and Lihyan kingdoms that flourished here between 800 and 100 BCE were followed by Hegra, an important city in the Nabataean civilisation whose capital, Petra, was located farther north, in modern-day Jordan.
Yet, it wasn't until 2019 when Saudi Arabia began issuing tourist visas for non-religious travel that foreign visitors were able to witness this long closed-off and unexplored valley. Today, echoes of AlUla's long and mysterious past are everywhere, and as archaeologists slowly begin to uncover the many burial mounds, tombs and rock inscriptions scattered throughout AlUla's numerous sites, this ancient oasis is finally starting to reveal its secrets.” (BBC)
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