It’s freezing cold in the Saudi desert. After sunset, a group of tourists have gathered on a colorfully patterned carpet in the middle of sandy nowhere in the nature reserve al-Gharameel. Everyone is given a floor-length hooded teddy bear coat and treated to hot, sweet tea and a few dates.
Suddenly, star expert Abdul Rahman turns off the light in the desert camp – and turns on the sky. A faint crescent moon hangs just above the horizon, with Jupiter glowing alongside. With Abdul’s help, one discovers the North Star in the firmament, which thankfully stands as if glued to the north and has shown travelers the right way for as long as anyone can remember.
Here in the nature reserve al-Gharameel he has demonstrably helped many migrants. It is located in the al-Ula region of north-western Saudi Arabia, on the legendary Incense Route.
This 2400 km long, oldest trade route in the world led from Oman through western Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea. From the 3rd century B.C. In addition to frankincense and myrrh from southern Arabia, it also transported spices, silk and precious stones from India and Southeast Asia to the 2nd century AD.
The route always led along the oases that provided water and food. One of the most important was the oasis of al-Ula with around two million date palms today. The al-Ula valley, surrounded by steep cliffs, is so fertile that it has always attracted people from a wide variety of cultures and offers today’s visitors testimonies from thousands of years of human history as if on a platter.
As old as the natural and cultural wonders of al-Ula are, the opportunity to explore them is new. Tourist visas for non-Muslims have only been available in the previously strictly isolated kingdom since the end of 2019. Since then, travel in the country has picked up speed.
This is in the spirit of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who wants to lead his country into a prosperous future after the oil boom with the large-scale “Vision 2030” project worth billions. The private sector should be promoted, society liberalized, women should be granted more rights and tourism should be boosted. In addition to the development of the al-Ula region, “Vision 2030” includes the construction of the futuristic city of Neom on the border with Jordan and the Red Sea tourism project.
The mammoth project begins with the development of al-Ula. The greatest amazement there is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like the famous rock city of Petra in Jordan, Hegra also owes its existence to the Nabataeans, who ruled in the 1st millennium BC. BC as nomads roamed north-west Arabia and were buried in imposing rock tombs in Hegra.
130 graves have been found so far. Most recently, a mummified woman of about 30 years was discovered in 2014. “She wore a necklace of dates around her neck,” says Lama Bedewi, “that shows how important these fruits are for us here in the desert.”
The young woman in a floor-length black robe and a niqab, a face veil, studied toxicology at the Berlin Charité and is now enthusiastically guiding interested guests to the cultural treasures of Hegra. “Tourism gives us young women here in al-Ula the opportunity for a professional career. Up until a few years ago, we mainly worked in schools or hospitals,” she says.
It shows the “Girls Mountain”, where mainly women found their final resting place in the rock tombs, and the assembly room on the Jabal Ithlib mountain, which lies at the end of a dramatically narrow rock passage. The highlight is “the lonely castle”. The detached tomb, carved into a 22-metre-tall golden sandstone cliff, adorns a façade with mighty columns. Five steps are carved into the stone on each side. It is the “stairway to heaven”.
Archaeologists from all over the world are currently working on more than a hundred excavation sites in al-Ula. To date, less than ten percent of all localities have been explored. Among them are the rock-cut tombs of the Dadan civilization, framed by lion figures, dating from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. reached its zenith before the Nabataeans.
Equally spectacular is the “Open Library” in a shady valley at Jabal Ikmah. This time it is Amal Aljohani who shows the guests around and shows them the 2500 year old inscriptions carved into the rock.
Amal studied in the USA and takes a very progressive approach to the traditional dress code. She wears the abaya open, revealing striped harem pants and a gray sweatshirt underneath. His feet are in trekking shoes and a ranger hat is casually bobbing on his black headgear. So she runs through her territory with resolute steps. She is a service manager at Jabal Ikmah and has set herself the goal of moving to the Ministry of Culture soon.
Alhanouf Rashed Slanazi also has big goals. The 26-year-old is currently working as a guide in the al-Ula oasis, which stretches 20 kilometers through the valley. It shows the old irrigation canals, the cisterns and small mosques made of mud bricks. She still guides tourists, but she has high-flying plans. “I want to be rich,” she explains confidently. What does that mean for you? “If I can afford a private jet and shop for Chanel like I would in a supermarket.”
The way there is already clear. First of all, she uses her earnings to buy a Toyota. She invests the rest of the money in cryptocurrencies. She thinks the development in her country with all the new opportunities especially for women is great. What is missing? “Maybe a movie theater,” she muses, and then heads to Pink Camel, an outdoor café with a hipster menu where she has arranged to meet friends.
You can also meet women like Amal and Alhanouf in the bistros, bars and shops in Old Town al-Ula. The approximately 900 half-ruined houses of the centuries-old city are to be restored in the coming years.
Hadeel Bin Qassin, in a floor-length abaya, with a black corona mask instead of a niqab in front of his face, leads through the narrow streets and shows how people lived there 40 years ago, before the last residents moved to modern al-Ula. Hadeel’s father spent his childhood in the two-storey mud houses with roofs made of tamarisk beams and palm leaves.
Everywhere in al-Ula you can feel the spirit of optimism, especially among the young people. In fact, many social restrictions have been relaxed under Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Since 2018, women have been allowed to drive cars, move about freely without a male companion, meet in cafés and open companies.
There are generous scholarships for both men and women if they want to study abroad. However, criticism of the crown prince is not allowed. The Muslim desert state continues to act repressively internally and is repeatedly criticized internationally for human rights violations.
However, the young people who believe in “Vision 2030” primarily see the opportunities for their generation. “I would like everything to go much, much faster,” says Bassam Albalawi. He is a ranger in the newly established Sharaan Conservation Area northeast of al-Ula. Native animals such as Arabian gazelles, Nubian ibexes and red-necked ostriches are being reintroduced there in the midst of a spectacular hilly landscape. The Arabian leopard is to follow.
But the real highlight is the backdrop. The far-reaching hills are peppered with steep, gigantic sandstone cliffs that greet the newcomers like stone guardians. If you lurch along the soft sandy paths in a four-wheel drive vehicle with Bassam Albalawi, you will always see new formations.
As if hundreds of sculptors had been at work, one discovers mythical figures, dragon creatures, dancing women, monks in flowing robes, battlemented castles, monkey faces, giant mushrooms and mountain peaks that have been cut into the stone as if with pinking shears. Here, Bassam reports, his ancestors braved the cold winters and scorching hot summers of the Arabian Peninsula just a few generations back.
Bassam comes to the solitude of the desert when he wants to escape the hectic modern world. “I am happy with the rapid change in Saudi Arabia. But sometimes I need a break. Then I come here into the deserted nature, lie down on the warm sand, look up at the sky and watch the sun go down.”
Getting there: Saudia Airlines and Lufthansa fly from Frankfurt and Munich to Jeddah and Riyadh. From there onward flight to al-Ula. Once a week there are direct flights from Paris to al-Ula.
Entry: A tourist visa (approx. 150 euros) is available in advance as an e-visa at visa.visitsaudi.com or upon arrival at the airport. There will soon be a free four-day visa for stop-over guests.
Travel time: High season is from December to March with pleasant temperatures, mid-season from April to May and from September to November with daytime temperatures up to 35 degrees, low season from June to August, when the thermometer reaches 40 degrees during the day.
Individual trips: Hotels, cultural events, tickets for sights, etc. can be booked at experiencealula.com/en or gozahid.com. Activities such as climbing, hiking, mountain biking, stargazing etc. at Husaak.com/alula.
Tour operators: Various tour operators such as Geoplan, Gebeco, Diamir, Edeltravel and FTI offer group trips or individual stays. A ten-day round trip through Saudi Arabia costs from 5,000 to 6,000 euros, a three-day stay including admission to al-Ula (without a flight) from around 1,000 euros.
Regulations: As a tourist you don’t have to wear a veil, even a t-shirt and jeans are no problem. Clothing that is too revealing is not so popular. Alcohol is still strictly forbidden everywhere.
For more information: experiencealula.com; visitsaudi.com/de/see-do/destinations/alula
Participation in the trip was supported by the province of al-Ula. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.com/de/Werte/downloads.
