Let's discover together the grandiose site of Mada'In Saleh (Hegra)

The site is huge, with around a hundred well-preserved tombs. Most visitors come by 4x4 if they want to see tombs off the beaten track, or by bus for the must-see sites. If you set off from Medina, the road is long: 400 kilometres through the desert. If you leave from Al Ula, you will be around thirty kilometres from the tombs, or even twenty-five depending on the location of your hotel.

At Al-Ula, which has its own international airport, you will have a choice of accommodation, including luxury hotels. Some hotels rent bicycles, but don't venture into the desert on two wheels. The sun is blazing. An air-conditioned 4x4 is the only option (or a bus for group tours). Reserve the bikes for a ride through the oasis.

Before setting off for Madahine-Saleh, get acclimatised by taking a stroll around the town of Al-Ula or head for the oasis. You can also visit the site of Dadan, which will give you a foretaste of your future discovery of the tombs (although they are not from the same period of history).

To find out more about Al-Ula, we recommend this article, which will tell you more about this essential stage in any expedition to Mada'In-Saleh (Hegra).

When you're ready to set off, bring plenty of water and have a snack prepared for you at your hotel. Of course, we recommend an organised expedition, with a guide.

Let's take a leap back in time and look at the site of Mada'in Saleh, built by the Nabataeans, just like the majestic Petra in present-day Jordan. We are a few hundred years before our era, when the Dadanite (Lihyanite) kingdom is in decline. If you have been to Dadan, which we recommend, you will note the similarity between the Dadanite and Nabataean necropolises, whose tombs are also carved into the sandstone cliffs, following large rectangular openings that cut into the rocks: the burial chambers.

Getting there

To get to the site, if you want a degree of independence, you will need a guide who is authorised to enter. From then on, you can get there in a private vehicle - ideally a 4x4 - with a driver and a guide accredited by the authorities. Otherwise, it's a group visit by bus. And that takes longer, not to mention the time constraints.

Jabal AlAhmar

Jabal AlAhmar has 18 tombs, some of which have recently been cleared. This particularly well-preserved site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jabal AlBanat

Jabal AlBanat is an imposing rock with 29 tombs. Allow plenty of time for a tour.

There is evidence that they existed at least 1000 BC and up until the 6th century AD. The Nabataeans were a nomadic people from northern Arabia who traded incense and spices between present-day Yemen and the Mediterranean. Petra, in present-day Jordan, was their capital. They were strongly influenced by the Arameans.

At Madahine-Saleh, their tombs are dug in the same way as those of the Dadanites, whose influence we can assume. Here, the tombs excavated between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD are better preserved than those on the Petra site. The exterior ornamentation carved into the stone is remarkably modern.

In the Arab countries of the Middle East, the Siq is the space left vacant by two rock walls spaced far enough apart to allow people to pass between them. The most famous is the one at Petra, filmed by Spielberg in "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade", from which his character escapes on horseback at the end of the film.

At the entrance to Mada'in Saleh is Al Diwan.

This entire area was dedicated to the god Dusares (Dushara), the supreme deity of the Nabataean pantheon.

This cube-shaped concavity in the rock served as a council chamber for the Nabataeans. It is assumed that it was still in use long after the Nabataeans had disappeared.

It is a monumental rock that rises out of the ground and, from a distance, looks like an elephant, or rather a mammoth, with its trunk touching the ground.

There are cafés around this rock. From four o'clock in the afternoon, you can relax, sip an espresso or have a refreshing drink.

This tomb is the most imposing on the site, due to the size of the monumental rock in which it is carved: 16 metres high. The tomb itself is an unfinished room measuring around 4 by 4 metres. Unfortunately, this tomb can no longer be visited. It is under constant police surveillance.