Saudi Arabia is rediscovering and embracing a past that will play a crucial role as it opens up to the outside world as it crafts the next chapter in its history, marked by the ambition of its Vision 2030 blueprint for the future.
Six significant sites in Saudi Arabia have been listed as having “outstanding universal value” by UNESCO since 2008.
Ten additional properties are on its Tentative List, which is being considered for nomination. These include the Hejaz Railway, three ancient pilgrimage routes, and the Al-Faw archaeological area, which was inhabited by people from prehistoric nomadic times until the expansion of a prosperous ancient caravan city in the second half of the first millennium.
There are more than 10,000 historical sites listed on Saudi Arabia’s National Antiquities Register, so there won’t be a shortage of places to choose from for upcoming submissions.
The Hegra archaeological site, the focal point of plans by the Royal Commission for AlUla to sensitively develop as a major destination over more than 22,000 square kilometers of the spectacular landscape of the AlUla region, with its lush oasis valley and towering mountains, is one of the most breathtaking of the UNESCO properties.
The ancient city of Hegra, the southern capital of the Nabataeans, who also constructed Petra in contemporary Jordan, is the crown jewel of AlUla.
The mystery mustatils, which are frequently enormous, rectangular structures constructed by an unidentified prehistoric culture over 8,000 years ago, are among the most intriguing discoveries listed by the AAKSA team. They are believed to have served some sort of ritualistic function and may have been exclusive to the Arabian Peninsula.
In the 300,000 square kilometer region of northwest Saudi Arabia, mostly in the area of AlUla and Khaybar, more than 1,600 are now known to exist.
The world’s largest and most impressive collections of Neolithic rock carvings, or petroglyphs, can be found at two sites in the Hail province that are 300 kilometers apart. Together, these sites were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 2015. They provide additional proof of Saudi Arabia’s prehistoric past.
The adjoining Diriyah neighborhood of Turaif, which the Ottomans had left in ruins, would never again be inhabited. It has been carefully conserved and protected, nevertheless, and is currently the highlight of one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest giga-projects: the Diriyah Gate Development Authority’s development of the surrounding area as “one of the most wonderful cultural gathering places in the world.”
The $50 billion plan to turn Diriyah into a popular tourist destination for history, culture, and lifestyle will generate 55,000 new jobs and draw 27 million tourists a year. They will have the opportunity to become fully immersed in the history and culture of a kingdom that, in less than 300 years, has evolved from a concept conceived in a small desert community to become one of the most powerful.
On the 7 square kilometer site, tourists will find museums, galleries, top-notch hotels, restaurants, stores, residences, and facilities for education and culture, all built in the traditional Najdi architectural style. But Turaif, which, like so many of Saudi Arabia’s historic sites, is a treasured fragment of the past currently influencing the Kingdom’s future, will be at its core.