AlUla: A new wind is blowing through the Arabian Desert

First century BC: frankincense is exchanged for its weight in gold in the souks of the Orient.

A caravan loaded with the precious aromatic resin stops in the oasis of AlUla.

As dusk sets the sandstone cliffs ablaze, the rested camel drivers leave the palm grove to meditate in front of prayers engraved on the rock.

These travelers are indeed in need of heavenly favors.

The road that leads them from the high plateaus of Yemen to the ports of the Mediterranean is still long through the burning massif of the Hejaz, in the northwest of Arabia...

City of caravanserais, but also of pilgrimages, AlUla preserves the memory of all the ancient civilizations that occupied the region.

In total, ten types of writing have been identified on the vertiginous walls that surround its valley.

Permanently occupied since Neolithic times, this oasis is a veritable open-air museum!

On one side of the modern city, the sacred canyon of Jabal Ikmah displays sacred inscriptions as far as the eye can see.

On the other, the necropolis of Dadan protects tombs dug into the red cliff between the 8th and 5th centuries BC.

Four centuries after the Dadanites, the Nabataeans in turn spread over this part of the Hejaz.

About thirty kilometers north of AlUla, Hegra is the Saudi cousin of the famous Petra.

As in the city of Jordan, here we find a narrow defile called

as well as an ingenious network of cisterns and wells.

Remarkable for its water management, the Nabataean civilization is distinguished above all by its tombs with monumental facades, carved into the rock.

In Hegra, some one hundred and ten burials have been recorded.

The site, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has escaped degradation thanks to a religious taboo that has long kept the curious away.

Its preservation over the centuries has also been favored by a very dry climate.

Nine months were needed to carve the facade of a tomb.

By mixing elements of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Arabic styles, this funerary architecture provides valuable clues to the cultural exchanges that animated the region before the advent of Islam.

A land of opportunities

Wahhabi clerics, who imposed a rigorous reading of the Koran in Saudi Arabia, deny any pre-Islamic past.

But with the rise of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, enlightened authorities are working to break taboos, weakening ultra-conservative rhetoric.

Since September 2019 and the issuance of the first tourist visas, customs have been changing visibly in the kingdom.

Foreign travelers are invited to visit the country hair in the wind.

And this liberation from the veil also applies to Saudi women (at least in theory), who can now study, drive, work, travel, live alone or stand for local elections.

These profound changes correspond to the aspirations of a dynamic youth open to the world thanks to social networks.

Today, every town has its own cinema, and western music played in cafes spills over into the streets.

In the chic restaurants of AlUla, the locals willingly mingle with visitors of all faiths, whom they do not hesitate to thank for their curiosity.

Anxious to diversify an economy still highly dependent on oil, Prince Ben Salman is betting on a “Vision 2030” plan, of which tourism is one of the main axes.

In this context, AlUla becomes the cultural showcase of the country.

Encouraged by this policy and proud of their heritage, many Saudis converge on this oasis of 64,000 inhabitants, which had only half of them barely ten years ago.

Young people who have left to study abroad return to work in contact with visitors, become “storytellers”, the local version of tourist guides, or engage in top-of-the-range support.

Mass tourism, however, is not the goal.

To avoid the mistakes of Jordan, which delivered Petra to the hordes of cruise passengers calling at Aqaba, Saudi Arabia is not rushing and is surrounding itself with specialists.

The economic development of the region and the enhancement of its historical and natural heritage have been entrusted to a Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), which has chosen France as its main partner for its expertise in archeology and tourism.

The new Eldorado of archeology

The first Franco-Saudi excavation mission dates back to 2002. The trust established on this occasion laid the foundations for closer collaboration.

Result of an agreement signed in Paris in 2018, the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) supports the RCU in the fields of culture, architecture, hospitality, security, water, agriculture and botany.

This intergovernmental entity chaired by the former boss of Engie, Gérard Mestrallet, is already working to create bold and sustainable green spaces, museums, trails, cycle paths and tourist complexes.

In the architectural field, the most remarkable project is undoubtedly that of Jean Nouvel.

Highly esteemed in the East since the design of the National Museum of Qatar and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the famous French architect was inspired by the Nabataean tombs of Hegra to offer a luxury establishment carved into the rock and therefore perfectly integrated into the landscape.

With its million date palms and lush gardens, the oasis is the true wealth of AlUla.

From the 12th century, the communities of the valley gathered near it in stone and mud houses.

Over the centuries, nine hundred housing units have thus agglomerated.

But for reasons of hygiene and convenience, they were all abandoned in 1982, in favor of new concrete districts.

Without maintenance for forty years, this Old City is now a field of ruins.

Mandated by AFALULA, in close collaboration with the RCU, the company Archaïos has been involving, since April 2021, anthropologists, geologists and architects to understand the dynamics of the Old Town and its adaptation to the environment.

Historian Claire Pinault is delighted with the extent of the work and the means implemented across the region.

“Last year, the valley had the largest concentration of archaeologists in the world!

By opening up to researchers and international visitors, AlUla is helping to restore the image of the regime.

Bedouin culture remains, indeed, at the heart of the Saudi identity.

Here, hospitality has been practiced since the dawn of time.

And as in the days of the caravans, travelers are always welcomed in wisps of incense.

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Entry into Saudi territory is subject to obtaining an electronic visa and completing a Covid health form.

Saudia Airlines serves AlUla from Paris via Riyadh or Jeddah.

From the start towards the Wahhabi kingdom, the travelers are put in the mood, when a cavernous voice implores Allah to grant them a good trip.

Prayers raised thanks to the great comfort of the economy class whose seats benefit from record legroom, meals served on a tablecloth and washed down with drinks, of course, non-alcoholic.

Housing

Nestled at the bottom of a cirque in the Ashar Valley since November 2021, the villas of Habitas AlUla guarantee a "zero impact" stay on the environment.

This eco-friendly hotel company itself develops removable living cells, made from recyclable materials.

Inspired by nomadic tents, they can be moved without leaving a footprint.

No television or room service promotes conviviality around a spectacular swimming pool, which a permanent service of electric buggies makes it effortless to reach.

The site, which houses ancient rock carvings, has preserved various art installations from the first group exhibition Desert X.

Habitas AlUla also offers hippie spirits the opportunity to stay in an Airstream caravan as close as possible to nature.

Arranged around food trucks and common Bedouin-style spaces, these unusual

accommodations allow you to attend film screenings directly on the cliff face.

Cosmetics

The Habitas AlUla health center prides itself on using prestigious local products, such as moringa oil.

This shrub, whose peregrina variety only grows naturally in the Hejaz massif, produces a non-greasy and odorless oil with antioxidant and moisturizing properties.

Used since Antiquity, this oil is also prized by the cosmetics industry for its ability to fix the properties of other components.

Around AlUla, 72 farms cultivate 90,000 vines, the production of which is notably exploited by the Moringa Peregrina Project laboratory.

With the help of the RCU and AFALUA, the latter acquired analysis and distillation equipment that is unique in the Middle East.

Information

AlUla's official website compiles all useful information about the region.

In particular, you can book a visit to the archaeological sites of Hegra and Dadan.

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