AA--Al Ula, Madain Saleh, Wadi al Disah (2.3-4.26)

The sleek elegance of our resort contrasted sharply with the sand and grit of  the ruins surrounding Al Ula. We spent two more days in the area, visiting not only the Al Ula ruins, but those of Madain Saleh and Wadi al Disah.

We drove through picturesque Old Town, with its shops, and into the areas with ruins.

One highlight of the day's explorations was Elephant Rock.

We had interesting Arab drivers and local guides.

This was jeep country, as we drove along pot-holed roads and through long grasses to archeological treasures.

Along the way, there were some picturesque stops, such as with this herd of camels.

Saudi Arabia has adopted a grad 2030 plan, by which it hopes to develop a strong tourist industry and be self-sufficient in various areas, including feeding its people.  We visited a goat and vegetable farm, which was attempting to reach that latter goal.  The farmer explained how he was using new drip irrigation techniques funded by the government.  His fields were neatly segmented by type of vegetable, into areas for leeks, eggplant, tomatoes, corn and others  It was a beautiful, lush farm.  Our local guide told us that Al Ula has riches of water, which makes it a great place for farming  It sends vegetables throughout Saudi Arabia.

The goats on the farm were adorable.  They poked their heads through their fences and gobbled the vegetable greens we fed them.

AA--Al Ula (2.2.26)

I have often heard about the beauty of the Petra ruins, in Jordan.  I have never been there, and so was thrilled to see the ruins of Al Ula, in Saudi Arabia, which were created by the Nabateans, the same civilization that created Petra.  Tour members who had visited Petra said the Al Ula ruins were similar.

The Al Ula ruins included huge temples, intricately carved into red rock.

Dave and I rode in an open air jeep to the sites of various temples and rock formations.

Our guide was very knowledgeable, and clothed head to toe in an abiya, with sneakers underneath.

I am always surprised at the mix of cultures in archaic times.  One of the temples had a carving that looked like the Greek Medusa!

One of the temples had a burial chamber, with alcoves for bodies.

Another temple was built into a cavity in a huge rock, entered through a narrow canyon.

During the afternoon, we wandered through the Old Town of Al Ula, with its stucco buildings filled with shops and restaurants.  

Of course, Dave shopped for a t-shirt that said "Al-Ula"!  He likes wearing t-shirts that make people ask, "Where's that?"  

We stayed at the Sedan Resort, a luxurious cluster of individual, ground floor rooms in a palm-lined oasis among red rocks.  Since I would be working late, I asked our guide to see if we could rent an extra room.  The rack rate was $1400 per night!

In Arabian style, the rooms opened onto an unimposing passageway, but had beautiful gardens behind the closed doors.

The hotel was spectacularly lit at night.

AA--Medina (2.1.26)

Medina is the second holiest city in Saudi Arabia.  The Grand Mosque of Medina marks Mohammed's place of death, whereas Mecca, the holiest city in Saudi Arabia, includes the huge black stone box called the "KABA," which marks the spot where Mohammed was born.  On February 1, 2026, we took the bullet train up the west coast of Saudi Arabia, from Jeddah to Medina.

Throughout Saudi Arabia, the conservative and traditional dress jars against ultramodern trains, airports, and skyscrapers.  Here, a woman in full abiya has just gotten off the sleek train.

As we rode in the train, a map marked our route from Jeddah to Medina.

As we traveled north along the Red Sea and then headed inland, we could see herders with their camels.

At the train station in Medina, we saw male pilgrims, dressed in terry cloth outfits that looked like bath towels pinned together.

Outside the terminal there were tour buses loading dozens of identical suitcases.  Pilgrims from all over Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and even Europe buy package tours for the "Haj", or trip to Mecca.  That trip often involves a stop at Medina, as well.  For convenience, many of the tours issue identical suitcases to the pilgrims.

As we visited Medina's holy sites, we could see groups of tourists, like these from Uzbekistan.  The Uzbekistan pilgrims had been issued matching vests.

And then some tourists came individually.  These fellows, as I recall, were Muslims from England.

The Grand Mosque was surrounded by a huge plaza.  As infidels, we weren't allowed to enter, but we could peer in through the gates.

There were people everywhere.

The women on our tour posed in our abiyas.

The Grand Mosque was so huge that it had hundreds of entrances.   This gate was "Door No. 303."

I thought all Saudi Arabians would look Arab.  Our local guide said his family had lived in Saudi Arabia for many generations.

After visiting the Grand Mosque, we visited another mosque which we could actually enter.  It was also a holy place--the first mosque organized in Saudi Arabia.  The Grand Mosques in Medina and Mecca were organized later.

In most mosques in the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia, women can visit the main areas of the mosque.  In this, very holy one, women were only allowed in the women's section of the mosque.  I peeked through the lattice work to take a photo of the men in their preferential male space.

We also visited a museum in Medina, in which a docent showed us scale models of the holiest mosques in Saudi Arabia and throughout the world.

The docent looked very European.  When a tour member asked him what country he came from, he had us guess.  As I recall, he was from Serbia, which has a large Muslim population.

As we drove to our hotel, we passed several of the strikingly modern buildings for which Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are now known.

We also passed a hotel district with dozens of hotels, tightly packed, for the pilgrims and other Saudi visitors.

Throughout Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, there are separate prayer rooms for women and men in most public spaces, such as malls, airports, and train stations.  Since Muslims are supposed to pray five times per day, they need convenient, private spaces to kneel in.