AlUla is one of the world's most significant cultural landscapes, with evidence of more than 200,000 years of human history. Situated along the ancient Incense Route, it served as a crossroads connecting the civilizations of southern Arabia. Today, these heritage assets form the foundation of AlUla's cultural identity and tourism strategy:
Built from sun-dried mudbrick, the narrow lanes and clustered homes, mosques and commercial spaces of Old Town tell of generations who lived, worked and celebrated together. Old Town was a vital stop along historic trade routes heading north and pilgrimage routes to Makkah in the south.
Today, Old Town remains a place shaped by community and memory, where the stories of the past remain embedded in the very fabric of the town, and it was voted one of the world's best tourism villages by UNWTO in 2023.
'A globally renowned and locally cherished living museum, championing the continued value of heritage'
Hegra was inscribed as Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. After the capital Petra, it was the second-most important city of the Nabataean Kingdom, an ancient civilization that thrived through control over overland trade routes known as the Incense Road. These routes bridged cultures and continents and enabled the exchange of people, knowledge, and ideas.
'Hegra is a testament to the Nabataeans' legacy, set within a landscape of continual discovery where nature, archaeology, and chapters of human history intertwine.'
Dadan, first settled in at least the late 3rd millennium BCE, remains a focus of significant, ongoing archaeological exploration. These efforts include extensive excavations, surveys, and specialized studies, revealing a complex city with two-storey buildings, streets, temples and sanctuaries. Dadan flourished over 2,500 years ago, as a key hub in long-distance trade along the Incense Road. The people of Dadan excelled in agriculture, cultivating the oasis to grow food and harvest materials, supported by advanced water management techniques. This richness of resources made Dadan a vital stop for travellers and traders to rest, exchange goods, and replenish supplies. Dadan's influence and legacy is recorded in inscriptions in other ancient cities, and in historic texts from various cultures.
Jabal Ikmah offers a unique record of expression and belief, where hundreds of inscriptions and rock art etched and carved into rock preserve the languages, rituals, hopes and lived experience of AlUla's ancient inhabitants, forming an open-air archive of cultural memory.
Nearly 300 inscriptions in the gorge of Jabal Ikmah have been studied, almost all of which are in Dadanitic, the language of the Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms. Many mark ceremonies for the health of their crops but they also record names, ancestry, and the year of the current king's reign.
Jabal Ikmah was inscribed onto the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register in May 2023. It has the highest concentration of Dadanitic inscriptions in one place in the world.
AlUla is developing its arts ecosystem as a key pillar of its transformation into a global cultural destination. Anchored by the AlJadidah Arts District, the strategy aims to create a vibrant creative hub where artists, designers, cultural practitioners, residents, and visitors can engage with contemporary art inspired by AlUla's unique landscape and heritage.
The district blends restored heritage architecture with galleries, exhibition spaces, artist studios, public art installations, design spaces, artisan workshops, cafés, and community venues. Rather than functioning as a traditional museum, it is designed as a living cultural neighborhood that supports year-round creative activity, learning, and collaboration.
Learn more at: https://www.experiencealula.com/