A flock of birds, developing in squadrons, crosses the vast valley of Ashar. Their happy chirping sounds above a large circus of sand surrounded by rock barriers, basalt flows coming from volcanic plateaus, sandstone crumbling to form a plain in a north-south orientation. Against the rocks. 79 villas topped by shade tents stretch the width of Central Park or the Gardens of Versailles. Named after the Arab explorer Ibn Battuta, the view from the elevated terrace of 401 spans the landscape to the valley floor where domestic white camels graze in the sand dunes. The pigeons seem to have been ennobled by the kingdom. Our view has changed.
Here we are more insightful, because we landed in this desert in the north-west of Saudi Arabia, 12 km from Alula, a new Mecca for archaeologists who marvel at the discovery of the remains of Hegra, the “other Petra”, the second flagship city of the Nabateans who lived there. …
Source: Le Figaro
