ROCK ART TRAIL IN HEGRA, ALULA скачать в хорошем качестве

ROCK ART TRAIL IN HEGRA, ALULA

Madain Saleh is Saudi Arabia’s pre-eminent pre-Islamic archaeo­logical site dating to the Nabataean kingdom in the first century. The Thamuds’ presence is dated to at least 715BC. Madain Saleh literally means “Cities of Saleh” after the pre-Islamic Prophet Saleh. Madain Saleh is a necropolis of 131 Nabatae­an tombs cut into massive rocks spread over 21 square kilometres. It was the southern settlement of the Nabataean people, whose capital was in Petra, Jordan. The area where the Thamud peo­ple once lived is one of area’s most important archaeological sites. Saleh was the prophet of the Tha­mud people who built their homes into the cliffs of the area. They were arrogant and corrupt. They lived long but also worshipped idols carved from stone, refusing to listen to Saleh’s message that there was only one God. When villagers demanded a miracle to prove that an invisible god existed, Saleh obliged, and God created a pregnant she-camel rising out of a large rock and giving birth to a calf. The Thamud people were in awe of the miracle. A great stone tub was built and filled with milk from the she-camel. Saleh permitted the vil­lagers to share water from a well with the camel by drinking from it on alternating days. But the vil­lagers refused to allow the camel and her calf to drink from the well or to graze. The villagers killed the mother and the calf escaped. God ordered Saleh to leave the region and then shook the villagers’ land with a massive earthquake and lightning. The disobedient villag­ers perished in the disaster.Today the area is the top Saudi Arabian tourist site for expatri­ates, drawing thousands of visitors each year. But to say that Saudis avoid the area due to superstitions ignores the generational shift in attitudes and religious and cultural history. “Muslims usually go to places that are blessed,” said Abdul­lah Salama, 41, a former Medina resident living in Jeddah and who never visited Madain Saleh. “There is no reason for anyone to go to a place that was cursed.” For many years a fatwa issued by the Council for Senior Ulema, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority, prohibited visiting the area based on a hadith in which the Prophet Mohammad taught Mus­lims to avoid places subjected to God’s wrath. According to the hadith, when the Prophet passed by Madain Saleh on his way to Tabuk, he said: “Don’t pass through the dwelling place of those who wronged them­selves without crying.” The crying refers to the regret of sins in deny­ing or violating God’s messages. Mohammad ordered that his fol­lowers throw away the food they got from that area and spill the wa­ter because the site was cursed. The fatwa has since been lifted. Over the past decade, US, French and German archaeologists have scoured the region to uncover its history. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities has been urging Saudis to visit the site as a means for the poor to earn a living from tourism and to instil pride in Saudi Arabia’s history. Yarob H. Al-Ali, an archaeology manager for the commission, said that sites such as Madain Saleh provide jobs but equally important is introducing Saudis to their long-neglected history. “It’s a long commitment to bring the region’s history out into the open,” he said. While the commission is target­ing all Saudis in its awareness cam­paign, its biggest challenge may be convincing the younger genera­tion of Madain Saleh’s value as an historic site. Some younger Saudis are not avoiding the area because it’s cursed but because decades of neglect have rendered its history meaningless to them. “Madain Saleh is a place to drive by on the way to another city,” said Manal al-Attiah, 38, a second-generation Medinan. “The fact that it’s cursed doesn’t bother me. Its pre-Islamic history doesn’t bother me either. But the government has done such a bad job of promoting it and the infrastructure is so poor, I just don’t have a desire to go.” Akram Alyeenbawi, 21, of Medi­na, agreed: “How can I appreci­ate the history of something that I have never been taught in school?” Attiah complained there are no rest stops, restaurants or adequate accommodations in the immediate area. The Prophet’s admonition not to drink or eat at the site is likely the reason why there are no con­veniences. However, Attiah said Madain Saleh is devoid of infrastructure that would make a visit comfort­able and interesting. “It’s not a place I think about,” she said. Written By Rob L. Wagner Rob L. Wagner is an American journalist based in Saudi Arabia.~ THE ARAB WEEKLY NEWS