24 HOURS IN ALULA FULL

24 HOURS IN ALULA FULL

As a result of World War I, the railway’s full 1,300 planned kilometres were never completed. The guest will learn about Old Town’s settlers and pilgrims, as well as their motives and methods in the city’s construction. AlUla has long been a place of journey, travel and exploration Hijaz Railway station construction began in 1900, reaching Madinah in 1908 and opening in Damascus in 1913. With 900 houses, 500 shops, and 5 town squares, you can explore a maze of remnants of original stone and mudbrick buildings and enjoy views of an AlUla Castle dating back to the 10th century. Inhabited from before the 12th century up until the early 1980s, AlUla Old Town offers researchers unique oral histories and living memory that the area’s other heritage sites cannot. A Rawi (guide) will lead you through AlUla Old Town, where pilgrims, travelers, and permanent settlers congregated through the ages.

Get a glimpse into AlUla’s not-so-distant past on the AlUla Old Town Tour. These stories will one day be available to visitors who can look forward to tapping into AlUla Old Town’s living memory. The ancient city’s recent occupation has enabled researchers to begin to gather oral histories, painting a picture of what life was like inside its walls. At one point, the city was accessed by 14 gates, which were opened in the morning to welcome travellers, pilgrims and other visitors, and closed each evening. The houses were designed to be attached to one another, providing fortification, which hints at defence being a priority for the city's early inhabitants. The city gradually replaced Qurh, to the south of AlUla, and is favourably mentioned by travellers from the 12th to the 20th centuries, when modern AlUla was constructed nearby. Definitely a place to visit if you are in Al Ula.DescriptionIn the 12th century, AlUla Old Town became an essential settlement along the pilgrimage route from Damascus to Makkah. Even the surrounding rocks, especially on the side from which the road arrives, offer excellent photographic opportunities, If you want to use the cafe, circular seats have been created where you sit on sofas in almost one meter deep holes that allow an excellent view of the rock without blocking the view from those in other positions. We then went to the cafe side to photograph the rock whose colors intensified at sunset. We arrived at the car parking almost an hour before sunset and, staying on the side of the parking lot, we took a good number of photos of Elephant Rock with the sun on the opposite side and which could be seen under the elephant's trunk. In fact, after about 1.5 km you reach a large car parking from which a wood path starts, Going around the rock, it allows you to reach the cafe on the opposite side. Well marked with road signs on road 70, elephant rock can be reached by a short umpaved road in excellent condition, suitable for all types of cars. I love traveling to off the beaten track places and Saudi has plenty of these so I am sure I will visit again. I would highly recommend visiting Saudi and especially Al Ula, it's more open and accommodating than most people think. I am sure there are more reasonably priced options and if you are visiting by car you can stay outside Al Ula. Hotel accommodation in Al Ula was pricey, however I did not book ahead as I want sure if I would make the drive in one day. I was annoyed with myself for not realising this and planning it but I will visit Al Ula again with family in April 2023 and spend a few days there to see everything. I went to the visitor's centre at Hegra but I had not booked a tour in advance so couldn't get to see the archaeological site. The Old Town is small but comes to life in the evenings, Harrat viewpoint is worth the drive too and Hegra is a must see. I didn't pass through many big towns though so hotel options were limited until I got to Hail.Īl Ula is a great are to visit, I am glad I had the car as most places you need to drive too. I drove from Kuwait to Al Ula which is a long long 13-hour drive, but the roads are good with plenty of places to stop for a rest and food. I travelled back via Riyadh and crossed back into Kuwait at Nuwaisib which again was really straighforward. I crossed the land border from Kuwait into Saudi at Salmi and was straightforward, I had to get Saudi Car insurance for a week which was a simple process done at a kiosk at the border and cost around $40. I am a GCC resident based in Kuwait and it was easy to get a Saudi Visa online.

You can have food, drink and Shisha there also. Took some great pictures, chilled out in the seating areas they have. I loved Al Ula in general and Elephant Rock is a great place.

24 hours in alula