The family had yet another really busy and exciting month. We decided to turn the nursery into a guest room, painted the kids room and assembled new furniture, reorganised and tidied to make sure we're ready for our very first visitor here in Saudi Arabia. My childhood friend snatched up cheap tickets from London via Vienna with WizzAir. The budget airline opened up new routes between the Kingdom and Central Europe this year, which is really exciting as I have family who will now be able to visit more easily and hopefully frequently...
As soon as I heard about my friend's visit, we immediately started planning and visiting AlUla was on the top of her list. No wonder, it's one of the most exciting hubs for arts, culture and heritage, so we promptly booked our flights from Riyadh for less than £250 with Flynas. We needed to go as soon as my friend arrived to make sure the weather isn't too hot during our trip, since most programmes we chose were outdoors, and the majority of heritage sites and of course the unmissable, famous rock formations are out in the desert. I also found a wonderful tour guide with a car via Instagram - Tawfiq helped us make our long weekend a fantastic, memorable experience. I for one have left a piece of my heart in AlUla and even before we left I decided to return someday. I finally found some time to share our schedule. It was absolutely doable with small kids, although most naps happened in the car, buggy or carrier.
Day 1
We arrived at AlUla Airport at 1pm where our tour guide greeted us and drove us to our accomodation. It was a full flight and generally a busy weekend in town, so we weren't able to find an affordable, well-located , highly rated hotel. We ended up staying in private accomodation that we booked via booking.com. We were pleasantly surprised to note that it wasn't only well located and clean, but also very spacious and well equipped. After settling in, our guide took us to a small, local restaurant for a traditional lunch which we enjoyed outdoors in a shaded little oasis. After lunch we headed out to see the Elephant Rock, or Jabal Alfil. The surrounding area has a cafe and seating, and there was live music which created a wonderful ambiance.
We had a strong cup of coffee before heading to Maraya, the world's largest mirrored bulding to catch the reflection of the sunset. It was absolutely magical! That first glimpse of this marvellous building in the late afternoon sun is unforgettable!
The kids fell asleep in the car, so Husband returned to our airbnb with them while my friend and I made our way to experience Hegra after dark.
It's not an exaggeration to say that it was a completely surreal experience. We felt like we have travelled through time! Our group walked a short trail to see ancient rock carvings, then took an actual carriage ride to ancient Nabatean tombs where we sat down to listen to live music, have a cup of fresh juice and nibbles. It was incredible, but needless to say we were completely exhausted by the end of this eventful day, so all of us slept great that night.
Day 2
We only had one organised tour arranged for this day, so we had a more relaxed schedule and could focus more on the kids and taking everything in without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. We started with our guide offering us freshly prepared Saudi coffee and sweet
dates - possibly my favourite breakfast! We also learned that when being offered Saudi coffee, a guest must drink at least three cups as to not offend their host.
After three strong cups of proper coffee, we started the day at the Arch, or Rainbow Rock. It took us over an hour to drive there, but the sight was well worth it. We also climbed up on the rock behind to get a different perspective and some Insta-worthy photos.
We just about made it back in time for our 11am Dadan and Jabal Ikmah tour. The tours are sponsored by RCU (the Royal Commission for AlUla) and most of the guides are young, knowledgeable and very passionate about what they do. It was a joy listening to them! In addition to these, our lovely personal guide always had some additional insider info only locals would know. The kids absolutely loved being transported by golf carts between sites and spotting the helicopters ferrying around tourists, and we enjoyed marvelling at the rock formations and inscriptions left by the people of Dadainite and Lihyanite kingdoms.
After the tour and a light lunch, we were driven to the palm tree lined, tranquil Mabiti AlUla to see the Artist Residency exhibition. It's a small trail laden with works inspired by the unique and captivating landscape of the region. The residency hosted international, as well as young Saudi artists.
Following our tour of the exhibition, we made our way up to the Harrat Viewpoint, which is situated right at the top of the mountain over the old town of AlUla. From here, one can see all the way to Hegra, AlUla Oasis and Dadan.
We arrived before the golden hour and soaked up the wonderful sights before going out for an early dinner at Somewhere restaurant near the Old Town and AlJadidah district. It serves delicious, fresh modern cuisine and delicious cocktails in an oasis farm setting. After dinner we had a quick walk in AlJadidah district, where we saw an open air exhibition of the 100 best Arabic posters (part of the annual AlUla Arts Festival) and listened to a private performance on a traditional instrument called Qanoon in AlUla's first music hub. Toddler was completely enchanted, so much so, that he promptly fell asleep right after, along with Baby, who also couldn't keep up with all the excitement.
Day 3
Our last day was the busiest, and I think I can fairly say we have saved the best for last. Although it's highly subjective, but I loved our guided tour of the beautifully reconstructed Old Town, where we also had a delicious breakfast in one of the newly opened coffee shops.
But what completely blew me away was the five-stop, four hour daytime tour of Hegra (Mada'in Saleh). It's a UNESCO heritage site and is sometimes compared to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan as this was also part of the Nabatean Kingdom. We were driven around to see well preserved ancient tombs while learning about the rich history of this wondrous place. It was a fascinating experience and it's a must when in AlUla. Because these tours are all out in the desert far from any shade, it's important to pick a good time to visit before it gets too hot in the Summer. Even during our trip temperatures soared in the 30's (Celsius), so after we finished our tour it was time to go to the lush AlUla Oasis where we stumbled upon a cavalcade of fresh local produce, freshly made food and traditionally prepared coffee served in a dallah.
Toddler and Baby roamed around and found grazing baby goats. What more could we ask for?! We spent what's left of the afternoon here eating, walking around and swinging in the hammocks suspended between the palm trees. Heavenly, huh?
The last stop of our tour before returning to Riyadh was the Andy Warhol Fame exhibition at Maraya. It's a small show of a few of Warhol's most well-known paintings and silkscreen portraits, video portraits, wallpaper and our personal favourite - the Silver Clouds. We snapped a few photos outside the building before catching the flight back to Riyadh.
Overall it was a great trip, and we had juuuust about enough time to see and do what we planned to. As I mentioned above, I am already excited to plan our next trip to see even more and experience next Winter's festivals, exhibitions, concerts and various other events that go on in this vibrant place.
