The Road to AlUla

Today we will start our tour in the morning starting with The Tayebat Museum for a fascinating look into Jeddah’s long and cosmopolitan past, take an informative tour indied the Tayebat Museum for a superbly curated representation of the city’s 2,500-year history. Located in the Al Faisaliyah district, the museum is housed in a multiroom complex that re-creates the traditional Hijazi architecture of the old city, with bay windows overlaid with intricate wooden lattice work and ornate coral masonry.

With several floors of in-depth exhibits, the museum offers a living history lesson on the foundation of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the wider Arabian Peninsula. There is also an entire floor dedicated to the city’s rich Islamic heritage.

Before we move to the next tour we will have lunch in one of the local nice restaurants here in Jeddah that serves the famous traditional dishes in Jeddah, after our lunch we will start cruising around the city and make short stops in the most famous monuments like the world tallest flag pole, the world tallest fountain and the open air museum, then we will go towards the beach to see the floating mosque and Jeddah waterfront to enjoy a walk on the beach, this is our last stop before we start our tour in Jeddah Historical city Al Balad.

Al Balad Tour ( Jeddah Historical City )

Today we will explore and understand the country through its diverse and rich culture of food and people.

We will start our tour in Al Balad as local call it which means “ the town” as reference to the base of Jeddah. Al-Balad was founded in the 7th century and historically served as the centre of Jeddah. Al-Balad's defensive walls were torn down in the 1940s. In the 1970s and 1980s, when Jeddah began to become wealthier due to the oil boom, many Jeddawis moved north, away from Al-Balad Al Balad is registered as a world heritage UNISCO site and since then the old buildings with its unique window designs and doors are being preserved along with its unique buildings which some have been built using sea shells and stones !. The old buildings once housed the famous Jeddah families and hosted the founder the late King Abdulaziz when first entered Jeddah. Our tour will go through the history of these building including going inside one of the buildings to see the interior designs , furniture and life back then Will also explain the historical importance of some sites and locations while we wonder around the narrow streets to explain how merchants used to sell their goods and how pilgrims used to get their supplies of cloth and food before they head to Makkah through the Makkah Gate in Al Balad.

The old Mosques is another tourist attraction where some were founded over 300 years ago and still functional as a mosque. The main attraction in this tour is the food and snacks of Al Balad where we will pass by some famous vendors known to offer the best local snacks such as the local drink made of bread “ Sobia” and the old bakery which its famous for its fresh bread. Another local snack that consist of Bean and pickles “ Balilah”. We will stop for rest in one of the local coffee open air places and try famous local tea mixed with milk and herbs We will move to visit the center of Al Balad to see the first hotel built in Jeddah influenced by Italian architecture then pass by the first school built in Saudi. We will also visit one of the art houses and museum offering its unique local art collection and antiques.

During this tour you will pass by many shops where they offer different merchandise such as perfumes, cloth, jewelry , antiques and souvenirs where you can buy and bargain ! we will also introduce you to some local shops to see some crafts being made such as the local sandals , perfumes and gold jewelry crafts. You will pass by different local communities within Al Balad which each community gather for tea and chat , kids playing around and street cats strolling for food !

the Balad spirit Finally at the end we will visit one of the local restaurants for dinner and try the famous local dishes such as Kabab , fish or liver with bread !

Today after breakfast we will take a train to Madinah which is around 1 hr and 50 min if the schedule did not fit we will drive for about 4 hours  

After our arrival we will start with our tour in here, this city is considered as break on they way from Al Ula.

The first place visited is the Madinah museum that contains the old railway that used to take the people all the way from Damascus to Madinah.

Will visit an open market called " Chef's Market" where their are several restaurants serving seafood , lamp and meat local dishes

Once we finish we will walk in Qiba street on the direction to Prophet's mosque and the landmark of Madinah. We will around the area as non-Muslims are not allowed to enter inside but the feeling , vibes and the crowd will give you the feeling of the place

Will end the tour in Qiba Street which connect two Mosques , the grand Mosque and Qiba Mosque which both have significant importance in Islamic history in which the first was the house that prophet Mohammed lived and eventually it’s his grave visited by . The second was the first Mosque ever built. you will have a general overview how the city was built and shaped throughout the 1400 years.

After our tour today we will go to our hotel to check in and get some sleep before our road trip tomorrow to Al Ula.

Today we will be driving  to AlUla, the road will take us around 4 hours.

Old town tour

Today  we will do the old town of AlUla tour. In the 12th century, AlUla Old Town became an essential settlement along the pilgrimage route from Damascus to Makkah. The city gradually replaced Qurh, to the south of AlUla, and is favourably mentioned by travellers from the 12th to the 20th centuries, when modern AlUla was constructed nearby. The houses were designed to be attached to one another, providing fortification, which hints to defence being a priority for the city's early inhabitants. At one point, the city was accessed by 14 gates, which were opened in the morning to welcome travellers, pilgrims and other visitors, and closed each evening. The ancient city’s recent occupation has enabled researchers to begin to gather oral histories, painting a picture of what life was like inside its walls. These stories will one day be available to visitors who can look forward to tapping into AlUla Old Town’s living memory.

lunch in a farm

After our tour  we will have lunch in the middle of the local farm surrounded by palms trees , lunch will be homecooked meals showcasing the local dishes in this regions.

Hiking AlUla Oasis Trail 3KM

This is a nice trail that can last for 2 hours suitable for anyone to enjoy the palms, mud houses and the surrounding oasis.

Today we will do 2 guided tours then end the tour with visiting the elephant rock to relax

Tour 1: Hegra tour ( the tomb ) and Hejaz Railway

The importance of Madain Saleh is ostensibly displayed by its 111 monumental tombs, among which 94 were decorated with majestic facades on the sandstone massifs of the area, especially the Jibal Ithlib. The smallest tomb is barely 2,7 meters tall but the biggest reaches an impressive 21,5 meters! Madain Saleh was the second largest city of the Nabatean kingdom whose capital was Petra (in today's Jordan) where the Nabatean people created more than 600 tombs. What most people dont know that there are many other fascinating archeological sites attest to the thousands of years of human occupation of the area thanks to the underground water available for millennia. Dont worry we are showing everything you need to see !

We will visit the Hejaz Railway, In the early 19th century CE the Ottomans built a railway station at Madain Saleh that was along the Hejaz Railway linking Damascus to the holy city of Makkah. You will have the chance to see the triclinium (or diwan in Arabic) that were once dedicated to banquets and rituals. They are composed of three benches where people used to seat while musicians were playing. At least six of them were found in Madain Saleh with the names of owners.

Tour 2 : Dedan, is also of great interest, not only for the extent of the remains of this ancient oasis city that once thrived there, but also because its history is much older than the neighboring Madain Saleh. The most famous oases of the 1st millennium BCE the oasis of Dedan, where excavations on extensive archeological sites have revealed the existence of large fortified cities. These kingdoms developed their own culture including a specific language and alphabet, that resulted in a mix of Arabian traditions and strong influences from the surrounding empires. In the ancient oasis Dedan,

Elephant Rock

Before we head to our last stop, we will pass by the Elephant Rock, also known as Jabal AlFil, one of AlUla’s many geological marvels. This is a seating area with nice coffee to relax and enjoy the scenary. Best time to visit is usually at 4 to 5 PM with the sunset

Please note that Hegra and Dedan/Ikma mountain are guided tours by Bus and last each 2 to 3 hours max. These tours are done by AlUla Tourism Board which is a third party and as such sometimes the inclusions of these tours or and timeline changes by the operator  

Our trip is going to be to Wadi Al Dissa near Tabuk, our drive will be around 2 hours and a half to 3 hours.

As we reach the valley we will have our lunch there where our team will be preparing you traditional delicious food. After lunch we will take you on a walking tour inside this gorgeous valley and explore Wadi Dissah which is a 15 kilometer long canyon running through the Jebel Qaraqir, a sandstone massif lying about 80 kilometers south of the city of Tabuk.

This natural wonder was for a long time a well-kept secret among explorers, before the road leading to the nearby city of Dissah was built and satellite images were available to the public, which made it quite difficult to find and reach. Let us tell you a little bit about this valley before we start our hike so you prepare your self and to get astonished ! The first striking feature of this wadi is its dimensions: at the eastern entrance of the canyon the side cliffs are already higher than 100 meters,but at the western entrance the gap between the bottom of the wadi and the tallest cliffs reaches as high as 500 meters! It is there, from the massive rocky peaks, standing on both sides of the canyon, that one can admire the most dramatic scenery of this magical place.

The second - and most unexpected - amazing feature of Wadi Qaraqir is a water stream that runs through the western part of the canyon towards the city of Dissah. While you are exploring Wadi Qaraqir from the eastern entrance will find abundant palm trees growing naturally along the wadi bed. But once half-way through the canyon underground water tops up all year long. As a result, lush vegetation made of 3 meter high grass, numerous palm trees and bushes, flourishes in between the majestic cliffs of the canyon! We head back to Tabuk but with a final stop on our way to have the last look on one of the beautiful view point and then continue to Tabuk.

Will drive to our Hotel in Tabuk.

Our day will start after having breakfast at the hotel as we will be briefing the group about our schedule for today, we will leave our hotel at 9 AM and go on our way to Madian or as they call it now Al Bad', we will have a short stop on the way at Ship Mountain where you will get to see the famous mountain that is shaped exactly like a ship.

We will go to out next stop which is a small local museum on our way, then we keep going till we reach Al Bad', we will have our lunch there.

After lunch we will start our journey in Madian or Al-Bad' which is a small province located 2,5 hours away from Tabuk region, there we will have a closer historical look at the Jethro's cave in the land of Madian or in Arabic "maghayer shu'aib" .a lot of people know Al-Ula but not everyone knows about this collection of Nabatean tombs in Al Bad', These tombs are carved into the rocks, decorated in an artistic way similar to the Nabatean tombs found in Madain Saleh and Petra in Jordan, its an undiscovered gem hidden here in Saudi Arabia that we absolutely recommend visiting. Our next stop will be in Maqna city where we will visit The Well Of Moses and you will find out later why its called that. The final stop for today's tour will be at Tayyeb, It is believed that when later Moses brought the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea they reached the land of Madyan at Tayeb Al-Ism, the reason why it is also called the Valley of Moses.

We will be having a walking tour in one of the magical natural wonders of Saudi Arabia that takes visitors by surprise. This incredible natural feature of Tabuk Province is located on the Gulf of Aqaba, just 15 kilometers north of the coastal town of Maqna. When approaching by the road that runs along the turquoise waters and white beaches of the Gulf of Aqaba, what strikes people first is the imposing shape of the 600-meter-high granite massif of the Tayeb Al-Ism, whose sharp edges fall into the Gulf of Aqaba.

While getting closer to a nice little palm grove ornamenting the bottom of the cliffs, the mountain side that looks towards the Gulf suddenly reveals the stunningly high edges of a narrow canyon whose entrance is just few dozen meters from the sea. There the granite massif looks like it's been torn in two by a supranatural force, the gravel of the first hundred meters of the canyon can be driven by car but some boulders don’t let cars get very far. A wooden bridge spanning the rocks allows pedestrians to carry on deeper into the meanders of this massive breach through the mountain.

From the bridge the Tayeb Ism visitors see another marvel, a small stream of crystal clear water than runs through the gravel all year long. As a result, the wadi hosts numerous palm trees and reeds that create little oases surrounding by the vertiginous sides of the canyon.

We will have a chance to see the sunset at this gorgeous valley before we head to have dinner and then off to Tabuk.

Departure to Jeddah and overnight