| AT LAST -- My first opportunity
to travel and tour within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I flew from Riyadh to Al
Wadj, a small town on the Red Sea (by way of Medina, where we remained in the
plane on the ground for an hour before continuing on). |
Al Wadj roadway along the Red
Sea. |
The Red
Sea was very clear and calm. |
Me beside the Red Sea. |
| After lunch and our visit to
the seaside, we drove for about 2-1/2 hours eastward to the town of Al Ula
where we stayed at the Madain Saleh Hotel & Resort. |
My room at the hotel. Notice the
Qiblah (arrow showing direction to Mecca) on the ceiling. |
The hotel is surrounded by
mountains. Here is a view of the patio & pool. |
A beautiful moon setting over the
mountains.
|
| In the morning of our day of
touring, we climbed up the mountains overlooking Al Ula. We followed a mule
trail established by the Turks who were here guarding the railway in the early
years of the 20th century. It's hard to believe that mules could have climbed
parts of the trail -- its steepness and the loose rocks made going difficult.
The climb up took about 1-1/2 hours. |
Getting ready to conquer the mountain! |
Our leader waiting for us to catch
up. |
Mr. B resting after the first leg
of the climb. |
Turkish forts were built on the ridges all around Al Ula.
What's left is the stacked stone walls. |
Part of the Turkish fortifications
overlooking Al Ula. |
As you can see, Mr B and I both
made it to the top of the ridge. |
The last few hundred yards were along a narrow
spur with good views from both sides. |
View through a "window" in the
Turkish fortification. |
Having reached the watchtower at the end of the spur I have
earned a "First Class Mountain Goat" certificate! |
| After having lunch and resting
for a short while following our morning's mountain climb, we headed out for the
ancient town of Madain Saleh. The settlement, known in its time as Al Hajar,
was the southern capital of the Nabatean civilization who's northern capital
was Petra. The town, most of which is no longer existent, was surrounded by the
magnificent tombs which were carved into the rock. The civilization flourished
in this area between about 100 B.C. and 100 A. D. |
Our guide, Patrick, demonstrating
how the large blocks of stone were carved out to make the tomb facade. |
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Inside the tombs were various types
of burial crypts. |
| In addition to the tombs and
the remains of the town, there are sactuary areas where the Nabteans gathered
to worship. |
The alter area where icons to be
worshipped where placed. |
The indentations are where the
sacrificial goats were killed and washed. |
Another sactuary area.
|
| Civilizations have been in the
area for thousands of years as evidenced by drawings, inscriptions, and ancient
burial mounds. |
Drawings & inscriptions on the stone
walls. |
Inscriptions in Nabatean and
ancient Dedanite. |
Burial mounds believed to be about
5000 years old. |
| Around 1900 the Hejaz Railway
was built from Damascus to Medina and Mecca in order to transport pilgrims for
Haj. Due to the constant vandalism of the railway, it was abandoned around 1930
or so. The rail station buildings in Madain Saleh have been restored and modern
amenities added. It was anticipated the site would be used as a tourist hotel,
but after most of the restoration was completed, the plan to use it for this
purpose was abandoned. |
About 15 buildings constitute the
railway station which was built alongside the tracks. |
Inside the caravanseria where
pilgrims rested during their journey. |
Our tour group in the railway's workshop. We
were a mixed group -- Canadian, British, Australian, Polish, French, and
American! |
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