Hegra, the Avoided City
In the Arabian desert stand more than a hundred tombs carved into rock. For centuries, many people kept away, believing the place cursed.
What was reported
Hegra, also called Mada'in Salih, is an ancient city in north-western Saudi Arabia. Its builders, the Nabataeans who also built Petra, carved more than a hundred monumental tombs into sandstone outcrops, with doorways and decorations.
The Quran tells of the Thamud, a people who rejected the prophet Salih and were destroyed. Many believed Hegra was their city, and travellers were told not to linger or drink its water.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists date the tombs to the Nabataeans, centuries after the Thamud of tradition. Hegra became Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 and opened to tourists in 2020.
- When
- Carved 1st century BCE–1st century CE
- Where
- Hegra, AlUla, Saudi Arabia
- Witnesses
- Travellers and local people
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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