Kingdom of the Nabateans

Arrive into Riyadh. Meaning ‘The Garden’, Saudi Arabia’s capital has a population of over seven million making it the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula.

Meet your Saudi guide this morning. Al Masmak Fortress, in the heart of old Riyadh, will be your first stop. Built in 1865, this mudbrick citadel turned museum witnessed the birth of the third Saudi State in 1902 when King Abdulaziz captured the fortress and took control of Riyadh (his ancestral home) after having lived in exile in Kuwait. From this fortress, Abdulaziz Al Saud conquered and united the different kingdoms and provinces that make up the Saudi nation as we know it today. A short stroll will then take you past the Qasr Al Hoqm (Palace of Judgement) and the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque to the bustling Souq Al Zal where you can shop for rugs, traditional Saudi robes and headscarves, incense, and bric-a-brac while at the same time witnessing a way of life that has been unchanged for centuries.

Later, drive on to the Murabbah Palace- the former home and court of King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud. This attractive two-story building is built of mudbrick in traditional Najdi-style and was occupied by the founder of Saudi Arabia from 1938 until his death in 1953.

Afterwards, step back in time and discover the World Heritage Site of Diriyah, where the story of modern Saudi Arabia began. Within Diriyah’s historic At Turaif district you’ll see stunning examples of traditional Najdi mudbrick architecture and get a sense of the way of life in the first Saudi capital some two hundred years ago.

Leave the Saudi capital behind you and drive through the desert. This journey of around 200 kilometres brings you to Ushaiger Heritage Village, a stunning example of traditional Najdi architecture, that was once a stopping point on the Hajj pilgrim route. Visit one of the village’s heritage museums and wander through Ushaiger’s warren of shaded winding alleys where you’ll find many fine examples of traditional mudbrick buildings.

Continue your journey to Unaizah, where you will be able to admire the stunning traditional architecture of the Souq Musawkaf and wander through its two main squares that are ringed with shops selling food, handicrafts, clothes, and tea and coffee. The souq comes into its own after 4 pm and is a popular place for locals to meet friends and socialise.

The day finishes with a short drive to your hotel – a property that has been inspired by the local architecture and is set on a ridge above a working date plantation.

Rise early to visit one of Saudi Arabia’s most colourful and photogenic spectacles, the Buraidah Camel Market (Saturday to Thursday). This is the largest camel market in the world where some 700 animals are traded daily (swelling to two thousand animals on Saturdays). The noise and theatre as dealers attract eager huddles of merchants as they auction camels is incredible to witness, especially when prices can reach a million dollars. Afterwards, enjoy a specially prepared al fresco breakfast in one of the beautiful date gardens that Buraidah is known for.

Later, continue to the Uyun AL Jawa Village, which is less than 30 kilometres northwest of Buraidah, before continuing through the picturesque landscape of the Jabal Aja to Ha’il – once the capital of the independent Emirate of Jabal Shammar. After a short tour of the city, check in to your hotel.

Continue south this morning through the red sands of the Great Nefud Desert, the second largest sandy desert in the Arabian Peninsula. Reach the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jubbah and spend time exploring this site (subject to special permission). Once a great lake, this forgotten oasis is littered with ancient rock art sites. The rich variety of petroglyphs located here shed light on how life was in ancient times and the wildlife that was found in this region.

Afterwards, continue to the standing stones of Al Rajajil – Saudi Arabia’s ‘Stonehenge.’ These 6,000-year-old stele are carved from sandstone and some are as tall as three metres and weigh as much as five tonnes. Their origins and purpose remain an enigma to archaeologists.

Finish the day by driving to your hotel in Sakaka.

After breakfast, a short drive brings you to Sakaka’s imposing mudbrick Qasr Al Za’abal – a castle built during Ottoman times that sits on a tall rock with vertical sides in the centre of the city. Climb up to the castle to admire the view, then continue a little way outside town where you will discover Domat Al Jandal.

This is an outstanding example of an early Islamic town and it was already an important commercial centre in the ninth century BC when it was referred to in Assyrian texts as ‘Adummatu.’ Domat Al Jandal is dominated by the Al Marid castle, a vast circular walled fortress with foundations dating back to the first century AD. The castle is said to have once been connected by a tunnel to the seventh-century Umar Ibn al-Khattab Mosque – one of the oldest intact mosques in the world. This mosque is thought to resemble the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina in its early stages.

Afterwards, explore the well-preserved Al-Der residential quarter, with its long alleys and impressive stone architecture, to see a rare early example of town planning. Continue your journey to Tabuk and have a short tour of the city before you check in to your hotel.

Set out on a full-day 4×4 excursion to Wadi Al Disah (“valley of the palm trees”), which is a canyon of spectacular natural beauty. The Al Disah Valley extends for around 15 kilometres and is framed by giant columns of rock and perpendicular smooth cliffs that rise up above the lush vegetation. The floor of the valley is dotted with water pools and palm trees.

Once you leave the canyons behind, follow the route of the former Hijaz Railway south. Continue to AlUla, which has been referred to as one of the world’s great natural masterpieces. This historically rich oasis sits at the crossroads of the Silk Road and the Incense Route. It is an enormous living museum, with its dramatic rock formations, sand-swept dunes and lush valleys of swaying palm trees.

Start the day by visiting Madain Saleh (Hegra), where you will discover the magnificent rock-hewn tombs of the ‘second Petra’ on a shared tour. This UNESCO World Heritage site was built 2,000 years ago by the Nabataean Arabs and had been lost to the world until its rediscovery in 1876.

Afterwards, stretch your legs on a walk along a beautiful nature trail that will take you through the Al Wadi area, with its verdant farms and numerous date palms. Continue to visit Elephant Rock where you will take a comfortable sunken seat and sit back to enjoy the sight of AlUla’s most famous geological rock formation as it looms over you. An onsite café offers delicious sweets and warm beverages (payable locally).

Delve further into AlUla’s past this morning. At Dadan you will join a ‘rawi’ (storyteller) on a shared excursion to see the famous Lion Tombs that are chiselled into the cliff-face. The Kingdom of Dadan was one of the most developed cities in the Arabian Peninsula during the first millennium BC. Dadan was the capital of the Dadanite and then the Lihyanite kingdoms and one of the most important centres of the caravan trade. The area was once just a basin covered in dust and sand. Now, it’s a live excavation site where archaeologists are discovering more about this little known era in Arabian history.

Across the valley, at Jabal Ikmah, continue on to see the impressive rock art. The hundreds of inscriptions and writings on the cliffs and rock faces date mainly to the Dadanite and Lihyanite periods. Five different languages have been found at Jabal Ikmah, including one that is a precursor to modern Arabic. The inscriptions help decipher the way of life and the things that mattered to the people who once lived in AlUla. Lunch today will be under the palm trees on a date farm.

Drive to Medina to visit Islam’s second most important place of pilgrimage. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the city’s mosques, but they can now visit some of the central ‘Haram’ area where the main places of pilgrimage are located. Sightseeing will include visiting the early battlefield site of Jabal Uhud, viewing the Qiblatain Mosque, seeing the location of the ‘Battle of the Trench’ and a visit to Medina’s attractive Ottoman railway station to see the Hijaz Railway memorabilia and early 20th century locomotives.

Stop for lunch at a hotel with beautiful views of the exterior of the vast Masjid al-Nawabi (The Prophet’s Mosque). This is where the tombs of the prophet, as well as his daughter Fatima, and the first caliph Abu Bakr can be found. Also, visit the International Exhibition and Museum of the Life of the Prophet and Islamic Civilisation.

In the late afternoon, transfer to the railway station for train to Jeddah (17:30-19:11).

After a relaxed breakfast, meet your guide and drive along Jeddah’s beautiful manicured modern Corniche to the Al Rahma Mosque, better known as “the floating mosque”, due to its positioning over the water.  In the afternoon, the new city of Jeddah is juxtaposed with the old as you walk through Mecca Gate and enter Jeddah’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed old quarter of Al Balad. Discover the lively souqs and multi-story houses built of coral stone with their distinctive ‘roshan’ wooden windows that comprise one of the finest old towns in the Middle East.

Depart after breakfast and transfer to the airport.