AlUla : Wonder of Arabia

Résumé :
This book, published to coincide with the Beijing exhibition AlUla; Wonder of Arabia, is a journey through time and landscape. For over a hundred years, explorers, archaeologists, and local communities have been uncovering the mysteries of a magnificent and colourful oasis whose history dates back to prehistoric times and continues to the present day. In the first millennium BCE, AlUla was a major stop on the Incense Route. At Dadan, capital of the North Arabian kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, monumental statues were offered as ex-votos in the city’s main temple. Around the turn of the Common Era, the famous Nabataeans carved large tombs into the rock at Hegra, another key site in the region. They were followed by the Romans, who left more modest but important historical remains. Finally, after the advent of Islam, the Syrian pilgrimage routes to Makkah followed the fertile valley, punctuating it with forts and water reservoirs. What also makes AlUla such an astonishing place are the thousands of ancient drawings and writings in various languages and scripts—Aramaic, Dadanitic, Greek, Arabic, and others—that are carved into the rocks. These are the humble or prestigious vestiges of passing merchants, townsfolk, public figures, and artists, whose achievements we seek to celebrate in this volume.
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