The southern face of the Nabataeans
Hegra, also known as al-Hijr or Madā᾽in Ṣāliḥ, lies in the north-west of the Kingdom. UNESCO describes it as the largest conserved site of the Nabataean civilisation south of Petra in Jordan.
In 2008 it became the first World Heritage property inscribed in Saudi Arabia. UNESCO recognised it as a meeting point of civilisations on an ancient trade route, and as a unique witness to Nabataean rock-cut architecture and water engineering.
What you will see
The site holds 111 monumental tombs, 94 of them with decorated facades. The facades date from the first century BC to the first century AD.
Older traces sit alongside them: some 50 inscriptions from before the Nabataean period, and a number of cave drawings. The water wells that served the city are, according to UNESCO, still in use.