We had wanted to visit this mysterious place, 800 kilometres
to the north of Jeddah and close to the town of Al Ula for some time. A little while ago we heard that it had been closed but nothing ventured nothing win and a request to the Royal
Commission for Al Ula for a permit for a weekend visit proved fruitful.
The drive north was long, over eight hours in total, but not
dull. The costal motorway up to Yanbu
soon gave way to smaller but well-maintained roads into the interior. Camels, a significant hazard, wandered in
front of the car and we moved from the flat scrub to mountains to stony desert
to true sand. Nevertheless, by the end
of the journey our hotel, nestled in a canyon, was a welcome relief.
The next morning, we were up early to beat the heat and make
our way to the Maden Saleh complex. The
first thing to greet us was a railway station – Al Ula was a major station on
the Ottoman sponsored/German built Hejaz railway (of T E Lawrence fame). It was here that three great Hajj routes met
and pilgrims took a break to restock their supplies. The Germans built not only a station but a
complex of outbuildings and an engine shed a the location and these have all
been lovingly restored. Some engines
have also been fixed up and proved a big draw for the children.
The engine shed has been fitted out as a museum showcasing
the history of the railway. Funded by
subscriptions from the Muslim faithful around the world it must have made the
difficult journey to Makkah so much easier and the photos of the inauguration
ceremonies at different stations along the line show the real pride that those
who worked on the project had in it. I
had not seen any sections of the railway before (although I once lived next to
that other Ottoman/German rail collaboration the Berlin Baghdad line) but my
father, who was visiting us, had been to a museum of the railway in Syria in
happier times for that nation.
From the railway we walked over to an Ottoman fort – small
it might be but this fort was strong, well designed and built around a well
which must have made it a fabulous stronghold in the old days. Now it is set to a more peaceful purpose and
serves as a museum of the Hajj. The well
is said to be the well of the she -camel who is connected to the story of the
Prophet Saleh and the rather unpleasant people of Thamud (Maden Saleh) as
narrated in the Koran.
Little remains of the town of Maden Saleh but the site is
famous for its tombs (it boasts over 130 carved into the rock hillsides, many
more depressions are cut out of the tops of the rocks as well, - possible
pauper graves perhaps). We looked around
some of the smaller tombs before walking over to the main complex in the hill
underneath the chamber of the girl. The
story is that the chamber is so named because a princess was locked up there by
her father as punishment for her refusal to marry the man of his choice.
Tombs are carved into every section of this hill. Many are topped by a face which we were told represented Baal and an eagle which represents Dushra, the supreme god of the Nabatean religion. The eagles have been beheaded but other than that much of the carving survives including many inscriptions, written in Aramaic, showing who built and is interred in the tombs.
A little further on the Divan is also well preserved and
from there a cool, dark siq leads to spectacular red rock formations. We climbed up the hills to look at the site
before driving on to the most famous of all Maden Saleh’s tombs, the Qasr al
Farid, alone in the middle of the desert, huge and unfinished this tomb is
truly something very special. One of the
most fascinating things about the tomb was the fact that, in its unfinished
state, it showcased the building methods of the Nabateans. The stonemasons started at the top and worked
down, it is impossible to know why this tomb was never finished, what led to
its being abandoned – perhaps the untimely murder of a she camel… we will never
know.
Maden Saleh was one of the most unique experiences of my
life. As it is officially a closed site
we had the whole place to ourselves, the only other time I have ever been lucky
enough to see a site without hoards of other people was a visit to NemrutDag. The dry desert atmosphere and lack
of human impact (many people believe the site is cursed and so do not wish to
visit) have ensured that it is phenomenally well preserved. All the infrastructure is there – the coach
parks, the (empty) shop, the bathrooms, the information plaques. With recent developments this site is now opening up again and is to be one of the cornerstones of the new tourism projects for Saudi Arabia. Indeed media is full of photographs and information about the site and a concert was held in the nearby town of Al Ula just recently.
We were lucky beyond belief to see the site as it is now, lonely, hot and unforgiving yet mysterious, beguiling and beautiful.
We were lucky beyond belief to see the site as it is now, lonely, hot and unforgiving yet mysterious, beguiling and beautiful.
For more posts on life in Saudi Arabia please do click on the photograph below.
