Database: Hegra
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Located about twenty kilometers north of the AlUla Oasis, the Hegra Archaeological Site is an exceptional testimony to the region's strategic position in antiquity and is the first property in Saudi Arabia to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. It was an essential stop on the Incense Route, a major path of travel between sources of frankincense and myrrh in southern Arabia, the Mediterranean world, and elsewhere, through the Arabian Peninsula in Nabataean times. It is a civilizational crossroads in terms of architecture, languages, and commercial goods connecting Arab, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hellenistic cultures. Additionally, it is an extraordinary heritage site, notably for its nearly 100 ornately carved tomb facades, creations of Nabataean culture in mostly the 1st century CE, and an extensive water management system. There are also numerous inscriptions testifying to multiple cultural influences of the region, including Dadanitic, Nabataean, Greek, and Latin!
The Hegra Archaeological Site (al-Hijr / Mada'in Salih) is the first World Heritage property to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2008.