Al-Ula and Madain Saleh

It is so nice to be able to travel and have new experiences.  While hubby was on vacation we decided to visit the cities of Jeddah, Al-Ula, Madain Saleh, and Tabuk.  Jeddah and Tabuk will be covered in future posts In Shaa Allah.

Located in northwestern Saudi Arabia about 380 km north of Medina, Al-Ula goes back to the 7th century H/11th A.D and is most known for its ancient trade route that connected the areas south of the Arabian Peninsula with Egypt and Syria; and its archaeological sites- some of which date back some 2000 years.  Al-Ula is also home to the remnants of one of the stations of the Hejaz Railroad.  Al-Ula has a significant place in Middle Eastern history because it was a capital city established on the incense trade route and as such hosted caravans coming from Southeast Africa, Southeast Asia, and the South of the Arabian Peninsula.  Prophet Muhammad (SWA) passed through Al-Ula in 630 AD on his way to The Battle of Tabuk.  Major commercial trading of spices, perfumes, and incense took place until the Nabataeans made the city of Madain Saleh (22 km north of Al-Ula) the second capital.

At different times in history the ancient Lihyanites (Dedanites), Nabataeans, Minaean, and Thamud people lived in Al-Ula.  Arab history gives credit to the Thamud people for having been the people who carved the stone dwellings at Madain Saleh and they are also mentioned in the Quran.  In the Old Testament and in Assyrian and Arabic writings Al-Ula is mentioned by its biblical name “Dedan.”

Since Al-Ula is about a 10 hour drive from Al-Baha (where we live), we decided to drive to Jeddah spend a night there then fly into Al-Ula.  So that’s what we did.  To our surprise we found out once we landed that Al-Ula’s airport is brand new.  It had only been open for a few weeks, and currently only offer 2 flights, 2 days a week coming in and out from Jeddah.  Other than these flights the airport is closed.  There are no food service facilities nor is there a car rental service at the airport yet, and no taxi service past 5pm. In the past visitors to Al-Ula flew into Tabuk then traveled by ground to Al-Ula.    Tourism has increased into Al-Ula such that this new airport was built.  Like anything new the bugs are still being worked out.

Our flight left Jeddah was an hour late so we landed in Al-Ula at 11:15pm.  If you could have seen the look on my face when hubby give me the news that there was no transportation, but Alhamdulillah, the airport administrator was kind enough to give us a lift to the resort where we were staying which was about a 25 minute drive from the airport.  Hubby tried to give him some money for his troubles but in the end he would not accept.

If you want to fly direct to Al-Ula I suggest that you call the airport before booking the flight to verify what transportation options are currently available, or pre-arrange for a certified Al-Ula tour guide to pick you up, or fly into the bigger city of Tabuk where you can rent a car and drive to Al-Ula.

Since there is more to do in Tabuk we have decided that in the future we will fly into Tabuk and rent a car.  Don’t get me wrong Al-Ula is a very beautiful, nice, and peaceful but past the historic sites, there is not much else to see or do on your own.  You can pretty much see the sights in one full day and then head back to Tabuk where there’s more to see and do.   Now if you mostly want to get away and lay back and rest staying more than a day in Al-Ula will suit you fine.  

We found the locals of Al-Ula to be very friendly and welcoming to visitors.  We hired a licensed and certified tour guide named Abdelaziz Al-Abdeldaym to show us around.  For our first two days he drove us to see the sights of Al-Ula and Madain Saleh, complete with the history of each location.  He was very knowledgeable, and spokes English fluently.  He was born, raised, and has lived in Al-Ula all his life.  He is married, has 9 children, and 3 grand-children.  Abdelaziz was in law enforcement and has been a professional licensed tour guide of Al-Ula for over fifteen years.  He can be reached at 0554359623 or 0561789623.  Here are some of the places Abdelaziz took us to see in Al-Ula and Madain Saleh:  

1) King Abdulaziz National Park located in Al Harra Mountain 700 meters above the city were you’ll have a bird eye view of Al Ula and Mada’in Saleh. A steep track, 26 km long, drives you to the top, starting from the bridge at the end of the road from Hail.

2) The Elephant Rock, 5km south of the Mada’in Saleh site gate, a natural beauty produced in the sandstone by the regular sandstorms over thousands of years.

3) Madakheel and Shiraan Valleys similar to the Wadi Rum in Jordan.

4) Al Hawiyah Canyon: The depth of this canyon is almost 400 meters at its deepest.

On our third day we decided to walk into town (about 4 miles) to rent a car. About half way into the walk two brothers offered us a ride (this sort of kindness is normal here in the kingdom I’ve discovered.)  So, we hoped in.  Hubby spoke to them in Arabic and English.  They gave us nice cold bottles of water and off we went to the car rental shop.  There are only two car rental places in Al-Ula.  The first shop we went to had rented all its vehicles so off we went to the other rental store.  It was getting close to time to pray the afternoon prayer Dhur and stores would be closing and we had to hurry.  All businesses throughout Saudi Arabia close every day during all pray times.  Anyhow, we got there in time for the salesman to tell us to come back after prayer.  Our new friends insisted that we go to his family’s house for tea until after prayer and then they take us back to the car rental store.

Now, I must admit that in America, there is probably no way I would have accepted a ride from strangers let alone go to their home, I mean come on, you can only take a joke so far, but Alhamdulillah, we went and boy oh boy, were we welcomed.  The men had tea and conversation in the “man cave” and I sat drinking orange juice and talking with the ladies in the main house while the children played around us.

My new sister friends taught me some Arabic and I taught them some English.  This was and at the moment still is the first time that I have been inside someone’s home since I’ve been in Saudi Arabia.  It was a very pleasant experience sent by Allah especially for me.

Al-Ula and Madain Saleh are rich with history and great places to visit.  There are loads of places with     spectacular views to see, so make sure you have a good camera because you will want to snap tons of pictures.

Please enjoy the pictures below, and thanks for reading.