Day 1: Arrival to Riyadh
Arrival to Riyadh
Today we will be welcoming you at the airport as our representative will be waiting for you holding a sign with your name , we will be taking you to your hotel where you can rest for a bit.
Welcome to Riyadh, the birthplace of modern Saudi Arabia, where old-world charm meets 21st-century vision. Riyadh Province – also known as Al-Wosta – is home to the country’s capital: a modern metropolis with a thriving financial and business centre, and a growing cultural scene. It’s a city rich in history, boasting myriad forts, palaces and museums, and some of the country’s most colorful souks.

Transfer to the hotel
Riyadh city tour – Al Masmak – National museum
Today we will start with at Al Masmak Fortress ,surrounded by sand, this squat fortification was built around 1865 and is like a scene out of the movies: a big fortress representing an empire. It was the site of a daring 1902 raid by Ibn Saud, during which a spear was hurled at the main entrance door with such force that the head is still lodged in the doorway. Highlights among the exhibits include maps and fascinating photographs of Saudi Arabia dating from 1912 to 1937, in galleries converted from diwans (living rooms). The roofs are covered with painted palm-tree, taramic and ethel wood and exude an old-world charm that evokes an Arabian painting. Inside, the information panels and short, chest-thumping films on the storming of the fortress and the ‘reunification’ of Saudi Arabia are reverential towards the Al Sauds but worth watching nonetheless.
In the same area and only in walking distance we will find our self in Souq Al-Zal which is one of the oldest traditional market. They sell traditional dresses, antiques, Oud ” Arabic perfume” and jewelry
Next on we will move to the National museum you will be discovering Saudi Arabia’s rich past is an amazing journey that would bring you along thousands of kilometers around the whole Kingdom. An easier way to have an insight of Saudi Arabia’s rich History is to visit the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in Riyadh where artifacts from all periods are exhibited and with explanations about their historical significance.

Kingdom Tower Skybridge
It was designed by the US-based architecture firm Ellerbe Becket in a joint venture with the Riyadh-based architecture and engineering firm Omrania and associates.
At the top of the tower, an inverted arch is spanned by a glass skybridge housing a public observation deck, Its design was inspired by iconic structures from around the world, including the Gateway Arch in St.Louis, The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Eiffel tower.

KAFD & Grand Mosque
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Grand Mosque in Riyadh won the International Architecture Prize, in the Religious Buildings category, for the Year 2020.
Today we will be visiting a landmark within a ‘forest’ of skyscrapers,
The building represents the spiritual centre of the Master Plan and serves as the Juma’ah (Friday) mosque for the visitors and residents of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD); an all-new mixed-use district in Riyadh.
Inspiration and basis for the unique geometry of the mosque is the crystalline intersecting plates of a desert rose. The building is further landmarked by two sculpted 60m minarets. The development of the design involved a series of complex parametric arrays to ultimately create a simplified and dynamic massing which represents an abstraction of the desert rose. This form and movement in stone extends to the 5th elevation completing an exciting profile, viewed from all angles. The skin of the building appears to rise up from the earth as an emerging crystal mass, bursting from the earth. In the same way the minarets appear to rise up, piercing the landscape.

Diriyah visit
We will visit Diriyah, birthplace of the first Saudi state, historical crossroads of pilgrims and traders, and home to one of the kingdom’s most ambitious heritage developments.
The historical district of Turaif in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for its well-preserved adobe structures that showcase the Najdi architectural style. It was the first capital of the Saudi dynasty and holds great cultural and historical importance in the country’s history. Visitors can explore the traditional mud-brick buildings, historical mosques, and learn about the rich history of the region.

Day 3: Fly to Alula
Departure
Flight to AlUla
Arrival to AlUla
AlUla, The World’s Masterpiece, is one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula and home to Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.
A land rich in historical, geological and geographical significance, this ancient city, once at the crossroads of The Silk Road and The Incense Route, has only recently been re-discovered by the world.

A walk in the old town
Explore Old Market Street in AlUla Old Town and shop a variety of retail stores featuring local artisans, entrepreneurs, cafes and more.
Cultural activations, handicraft stores, local speciality foods to name a few, are featured for guests to discover and learn more about the wonders of AlUla.
Elephant Rock at sunset
Early evening, we will take you to the Elephant Rock, also known as Jabal AlFil, one of AlUla’s many geological marvels. Unlike the ornate, hand-carved facades of nearby Hegra’s Nabataean tombs, the “trunk” and “body” of this monolithic red sandstone beast were hewn by natural forces — millions of years of wind and water erosion. The beauty of the unrefined structure is enhanced by its surroundings of a fine-sand sea studded with rocky outcrops, many of which are equally impressive in size and have interesting shapes and figures.
The area has very nice atmosphere with a cafe and restaurant, the seating area are build underground filled with magical lights that its just wonderful to witness the sunset.

Hegra Vintage Land Rover tour
Today let’s explore the most popular historical site in Saudi Arabia, Madain Saleh in a vintage Land Rover. It is one of Saudi Arabia tours that is a must do, it is the first to be listed as a UNESCO Word Heritage, Madain Saleh means the “cities of Saleh” after the name of the Prophet Saleh who tried to convert the ancient people of Thamud to Islam. But this name started to be used only during the Ottoman occupation of the Hejaz, whereas the people who built this city, the Nabateans, called it Hijra.
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.












