Madain Saleh

Remember that scene in Indiana Jones The Last Crusade where Indy finds the Holy Grail inside an elaborate tomb carved into a rock face? That tomb is in Petra, Jordan and was built by the Nabateans in about 50 BC.

Petra's Tomb

The Nabeteans were a pretty powerful tribe that controlled the trade routes from Jordan through northern Arabia. They successfully fended off the Romans a few times and had a thriving business from Syria to Egypt.

While Petra was their capital, their southern-most and second largest city is in Mada'in Saleh in northern Saudi Arabia.

Here you'll find hundreds of tombs carved into the rock faces surrounded by dessert.

The tombs here are very similar to the ones in Petra. Their architecture is a unique blend of Assyrian, Roman and Egyptian. One of the primary differences between these tombs and the tombs in Petra is that these all have a plaque above the door. On the plaque was inscribed when the tomb was built, who the King was at the time and, like the Eyptians, a curse upon anyone who disturbed the tomb.

Because of the curse, the area has been pretty much left alone for hundreds of years. Only now is Saudi Arabia trying to turn this area into a tourist site and leave the curse behind.

The stair steps (stairway to heaven) is Assyrian, the columns are
Roman and man of the decorative elements are Egyptian.

Cue Indiana Jones Music

In addition to the tombs, some of the remnants of a temple remain in the area. Note, the "stairs" are not very helpful anymore.

TB2 and Daddy Gene walking through the desert.
The sand here is almost as red as the Rub Al Khali.

Another face blown into the stone.