AlUla: An Oasis Through Time

In the valleys of al-ʿUla lie two of ancient Arabia's greatest cities. Jane Taylor tells the story of Dadan and Hegra across three thousand years of trade, faith and rediscovery.

In the valleys of al-ʿUla, in the north-west of the Arabian Peninsula, lie the remains of two remarkable ancient cities. Dadan was a wealthy oasis kingdom on the Incense Road, its name known even to the biblical prophets. A short distance to the north, Hegra, the Petra of Arabia, preserves the monumental rock-cut tombs of the Nabataeans, the caravan traders who commanded this desert crossroads.

In Dadan and Hegra, Jane Taylor traces three thousand years of human life in this extraordinary landscape: from its deep geological origins and the rise of the aromatics trade, through the Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms and the Nabataean masterworks at Hegra, to the pilgrimage era and the sites' rediscovery by Western travelers and modern archaeology. Richly illustrated with photography and maps, it is an authoritative and accessible portrait of a place now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.