Saudi Arabia - Nabateans & Rock Art

Our first morning is in Riyadh exploring their archaeological history. We begin with the stunning National Museum of Saudi Arabia which has an outstanding array of artefacts dating from the Palaeolithic to the Arabic periods, including a section on petroglyphs. We continue to the King Saud University to meet Dr. Samer from the Antiquities Department who will speak to us about recent excavations. After lunch, we fly to Wadi al Dawasir to venture into the Empty Quarter where we overnight under the Saharan sky.

Most of today is spent in one of the world’s most evocative deserts, the Empty Quarter. The Rub’ al Khali, as it is known in Arabic, is a 1,000 kilometres long desert which covers the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Here you will see sand dunes that rise up to 250 metres high and will be immersed in the classic desert landscape of your imagination.

We leave Riyadh and take a scenic train journey in business class to Ha’il once ruled by the Rashid dynasty, formidable enemies of the Saud family. In the afternoon, we arrive in Ha’il, once the centre of the Ha’il Empire made prosperous from being on the route to Mecca. Here we visit some of the city’s characteristic adobe forts, including the Qislah Fort, used as a garrison and prison, as well as the A’arif Fort, located in the citadel of Ha’il.

Today we spend the whole day at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jubbah, which contains some of the best petroglyphs in the Middle East. Produced from the 10th to the 6th millennium when Jubbah was a lake, the rock carvings provide precious testimony of the Middle East from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neololithic periods. Some of the best petroglyphs are at Ghouwtah, which depict a variety of animals and humans fighting.

We continue our exploration of the wonderful petroglyphs in Saudi Arabia as we venture on 4x4s to Shuwaymis, which offers a wonderful contrast to Jubbah. This rock art was produced by pastoralists from the Neolithic period onwards who adorned whole sections of rock face with hunting scenes, as well as depictions of wild animals such as leopards and cheetahs, as well as a memorable lion. Afterwards we drive to our camp in Al-’Ula where we stay for the next four nights.

Al-’Ula, the erstwhile capital of the ancient Dedanites was a powerful kingdom from the Northwestern Arabian Peninsula which dominated the area and trade routes for centuries. This afternoon, we visit the Antiquities and Heritage Museum which has interesting remains from the Dedanite and Nabatean past, as well as remains of the Old Town, including the Al-’Ula fort.

The day begins with a journey to the Elephant Rock, a strangely shaped rock outcrop, before venturing to Hegra, where we spend the rest of the day. Located in Mada’in Saleh, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra is remarkable for its Nabatean rock cut monuments, though there are also remains from the Dedanite as well as Roman period. The second most important Nabatean city after Petra, Hegra monopolised the trade of incense and myrrh. There are a staggering 131 monumental tombs on the site, along with 2,000 non-monumental tombs.

Today we explore more petroglyphs in Jebel Ekma, before travelling to Dedan, one of the oases in the North Western part of the Arabian Peninsula which had a flourishing frankincense and spice trade. Dedan, which thrived from the 6th to the 2nd century BC developed its own culture, influenced by the many peoples with whom they came into contact. Here there are monumental remains of a necropolis of the side of Jebal Dedan.

This morning we fly to Jeddah, a city important in the Nabatean frankincense trade, which became the gateway of the Mecca in the Islamic period. After lunch we visit the Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, which explores the history of this city from the Palaeolithic period to the Islamic period.

Today we spend time in the old city of Jeddah to explore its Red Sea architectural traditions, which made it a UNESCO-listed site. Key to this architectural style are the 19th century mercantile houses which have imposing tower houses decorated with wooden casements or roshans. We will be exploring some, including Nassif House and Dar Al Banaja, as well as traditional mosques such as Al Qabal Mosque and Al Shafi’i Mosque. There will be free time in the afternoon to further explore Jeddah.

Our tour ends in Jeddah and we catch our return flight back to London.