The Atlas Obscura Guide To Saudi Arabia

28 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Saudi Arabia

Updated May 15, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Saudi Arabia

Qasr al-Farid

Hegra, Saudi Arabia

Qasr al-Farid

An unfinished tomb carved into a giant boulder in the Arabian Desert.

Nabataean carved tombs at Hegra

Hegra, Saudi Arabia

Hegra Archaeological Site

More than 100 monumental tombs carved into rock are preserved at this ancient Nabataean site in the Arabian Desert.

Mud-brick houses

Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

Al 'Ula

Within the Saudi Arabian desert lies a 2,000-year-old ghost town made of stone and mud.

Bidah Valley, Saudi Arabia

Thee Ain Ancient Village

Village of slate houses, built on a white marble outcrop.

The escarpment (right).

Saudi Arabia

The Edge of the World

These towering cliffs jut dramatically from the middle of a barren desert.

Moses with tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt, 1659. (Wikimedia Commons)

Saudi Arabia

Mount Horeb

Site where Moses may have received the Ten Commandments.

The site of the tomb in the 1920s

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Eve's Tomb

An archaeological site believed to be the burial place of the "mother of us all."

The Heart Tent.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Tuwaiq Palace Heart Tent

This mesmerizing, colorful structure looks like a tent made from stained glass.

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History & Culture 8

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Deserts 5

Archaeology 4

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Stories About Saudi Arabia

Archaeologists believe the life-sized camel and equid reliefs were likely carved and recarved throughout the Neolithic.

These Carved Camels Are the Oldest Life-Sized Reliefs in World

The ancient sculptures in Saudi Arabia were made when the desert was green and camels were wild.

October 6, 2021

The Red Sea, dividing Africa and Arabia, may be the world's youngest ocean.

Is the Red Sea Really the Red Ocean?

It's complicated.

by Gemma Tarlach

A green smudge in a sun-baked orange expanse, the modern oasis of Jubbah was once a lake, and may have appealed to the first members of our species to leave Africa.

A Desert Oasis Hints at a Long History of Resilience and Exploration

On the Arabian Peninsula, Jubbah holds clues to how humans adapted in the past.

by Gemma Tarlach

From his paraglider, Steinmetz appears to have captured a colorful, abstract mosaic made up of round tiles. In fact, these are shallow basins lined with mud, about three to five feet wide and made by hand, holding salt water that slowly evaporates to yield mineral solids, which are sold to be consumed by livestock. The colors depend on the mix of mud, algae, and salt. Teguidda-n-Tessoumt, Niger.

How a 'Flying Photographer' Sees the World From Above

The perspective made George Steinmetz an “accidental environmentalist.”

A kite from above, taken from a balloon with a camera attached.

The Middle East Is Dotted With Thousands of Puzzling Kite-Shaped Structures

Some of them are comparable in size to the famous Nazca Lines in Peru.

by Robin George Andrews

January 22, 2019

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