Mada'in Saleh

Mada'in Saleh is an ancient city carved into red cliffs, 22km from the Saudi town of Al-Ula. As a sister city of Petra in Jordan, the city offers spectacular architecture dating from between 100 BC and 200 BC - most famously 80 rock-cut tombs which held prominent members of the Nabateans; a wealthy people situated along the trading roads between Mesopotamia, Greece and Egypt. They maintained their wealth along the frankincense route by issuing large caravan tolls in their region, where water was abundant. Unlike its Jordanian sister, Mada'in Saleh was never colonised by the Roman. In ancient times the city was known as Hegra.

Today the tombs remain in very good shape, and are one of Saudi's few well-known tourist sites. Interestingly, the way the tombs have been carved indicates they were built from top to bottom.

Images

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