Database: Life of a Merchant

Located on a strategic route of travel—the Incense Route up the western side of the Arabian Peninsula—the AlUla Valley was a mandatory stop for traders. In the heart of this arid environment, the oasis here offered a well-deserved place to rest alongside a vital source of water. For the travelers, and for the animals of the caravans, the food grown or produced on site as well as the water extracted from the many wells dug in the area (and later other water management systems) allowed them to regain their strength and resupply food and drink stores for the long and arduous journey that continued in one direction or the other. It was also an opportunity to sleep in safety, as bandit attacks were not uncommon along the route and setting up camp was not always safe. In the surely difficult daily life of itinerant merchants, AlUla was certainly a most appreciated haven of peace.

Gallery

• 
  Two elements indicating mercantile activity over time in AlUla: a gold coin of the Fatimid period ruling from Egypt...
• 
  ...and a bronze figurine of a camel discovered in Hegra.