Mud Village Al Ula
Dated back to 5000BC, hundreds of mud houses on both sides of the street are just terrific. Segregation was practiced in that the women visited each other and ran their errands traversing narrow covered alleyways from one home to another whereas the men had their own pathways via the roofs of the mud homes. However when heavy rains occurred, the women would be isolated to their homes as the alleyways would be flooded with water. The mud village is continuing to be preserved so visitors can appreciate the way of life as it was that time.
Khyber Dam Al Ula
It is one of the largest ancient dams in the Kingdom. Nobody really knows, but there are stories that it had been built by the Queen of Sheba. There is evidence about it being pre-Islamic.
Madain Saleh (Nabatean Empire)
Madain Saleh also known as al-Hijr, is one of the best known archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia located near Ula (previously known as Dedan), some 400 kilometers north of Madinah. Madain Saleh was once inhabited by the Nabateans some 2000 years ago, Petra (located in Jordan) being the capital of the Nabateans kingdom. The Nabateans are of Arab origin who became rich by their monopoly on the trade of incense and spice in particular between the East and the Roman, Greek and Egyptian empires. Madain Saleh has about 130 dwellings and tombs that extend over some 13 kilometers. However, Muslims believe that Madain Saleh was built and was first inhabited by the people of Thamud. The Quran points out that Thamud `hewed out in the mountains, houses with great skill`(chapter 26 : 149). The Quran makes mention of the people of Thamud with considerable amount of details in several chapters. Many of the tombs and dwellings at Madain Saleh are surprisingly still in good condition and are really stunning.
The façades of their dwellings are carved out from the mountains. Just above almost all the gates there are various decorations namely; eagles and snakes. The inside of their dwellings are not identical as if they were built for different purposes. Some are small with low ceiling while others are more spacious.
Hejaz Train Station Madain Saleh
The Hejaz railway project was one of the biggest and most important projects of the Ottoman Empire in its latter years. It was designed to transport Muslim pilgrims from different locations in the empire to Makkah and Madinah.
Al Khuraibah Madain Saleh
Al Khuraibah is a site attributed to the Lihyanite Kingdom, where there are large numbers of tombs bearing Lihyanite and Minaean inscriptions since 2nd Century BC