Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia
Madain Saleh or Al-Hijr City, is an archaeological site located in Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. It takes about five hours by road to reach there from the Madinah city. Many people may have heard about the Nabatean capital Petra in Jordan, but Madain Saleh was their second-largest city. The city of Al-Hijr was the capital of the Kingdom of Lihyan in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. The city dates back to the era of the Nabatean kingdom (1st century AD). It contains the largest southern settlement of the Nabatean kingdom after the city of Petra in Jordan, the capital of the Nabateans about 500 km away. In 2008, Madain Saleh was selected as one of UNESCO’s historic heritage sites, making it the first World Heritage property to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia. It was chosen for its well-preserved remains from late antiquity, especially the 131 rock-cut monumental tombs, with their elaborately ornamented façades, of the Nabatean kingdom. The name of Madain Saleh is attribute...