The Saudis are carrying out these projects with professionalism, under the leadership of nationals trained abroad and Anglo-Saxon firms experienced in marketing and engineering.
The proof with Al Ula, bridgehead of Saudi tourism. Impossible to escape this destination which combines the best of the country's natural and cultural assets.
It is in this desert valley in the northwest of the country that Nabataeans from Petra, in Jordan, settled in the 1st century. BC At the crossroads of caravan trails, they sculpted gigantic tombs in the rock. The main one is Hégraclassified as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
Al Ula offers spectacular landscapes, likeElephant Rockan enormous rock block with the appearance of a pachyderm. Other sites are set up to welcome tourists: the ancient city of Dadan and its 700 vaults dug into a cliff; Jabal Ikmah and its rock inscriptions, perhaps the origin of Arabic writing; Harrat Viewpointpanoramic view over the agricultural valley.
Al Ula already has an international airport, luxury hotels and a future resort signed Jean Nouvel (the Sharaan Resort)dug into the rock. The territory also boasts of hosting Maraya, a 500-seat palace covered in ice reflecting the desert, a veritable performance hall emerging from nothing.
