Madain Saleh (Hegra; Al-Hijr) is the oldest architectural monument in Saudi Arabia. Two thousand years ago, here, in the middle of the Arabian desert, was the Nabatean city of Hegra - the center of caravan trade. Its heyday fell on the period from 200 BC to 200 AD. The monopoly on the trade in spices, incense and spices, as well as a sufficient amount of water and rich harvests, turned Hegra into one of the richest cities in the East.
The art of the Nabataean kingdom developed under the influence of different cultures. Traders from Assyria, Phenicia, Egypt and Alexandria, who visited Hegra for four centuries, changed the face of the city. Borrowed architectural elements can be seen today on the facades of tombs - by the way they are decorated, one can judge who the grave belongs to.
After being conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century AD, Hegra is part of the Roman Empire. Gradually, the city loses its former power and falls into decay - instead of a land trade route through the Arabian desert, the sea, which runs through the Red Sea, is increasingly used. During the Ottoman Empire, a railway was built near Hegra to transport pilgrims from Turkey, Lebanon and Palestine to Mecca.
On the territory of the Madain-Saleh complex, you can now see 111 monumental rock burials dating back to the 1st century BC, as well as towers, walls, living quarters, temples and hydraulic structures. The oldest buildings are decorated with statues and reliefs carved into the rocks. In addition, more than fifty rock inscriptions dating back to the pre-Babatean period have been preserved here.
In 2008, Madain Saleh was the first of the sights of Saudi Arabia to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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