Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 884 4444;
www.aracresort-alula.com
;
Madain Saleh Rd; s/d/ste from SR360/440/1600; )
The only
hotel close to Madain Saleh, the three-star Arac Hotel offers attractive, well-sized rooms
7km from Al-Ula on the main road to Madain Saleh; if you're not part of a group you'll
need your own vehicle. The restaurant serves up good buffets during high season as well
as a la carte offerings at other times, while the large, inviting swimming pool is open to
both men and women at different times. The staff are especially friendly, the gardens
make a nice contrast to the arid surrounds and the hotel can arrange a site permit for Ma-
dain Saleh.
Al-Ula Matam Buchary$
MIDDLE EASTERN
( 884 1124; Khaled Bin Walid St; mains SR5-13; 1pm-1.30am Sat-Thu)
Of Al-Ula's small selection
of restaurants, Al-Ula Matam Buchary, which lies 100m south of Saptco, has the best
reputation. It's signposted in Arabic only and there's no family section, but it does do
takeaway. Try the flavoursome barbecue half-chicken (SR10).
Getting There & Around
There are direct flights to Al-Ula from Riyadh (SR280) on Wednesday and Friday. From
elsewhere in the Kingdom you'll need to fly via Riyadh.
Saptco
(
884 1344)
runs buses to Al-Ula from Jeddah (SR125) and Riyadh (SR190).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Around Al-Ula
A wonderful natural rock formation,
Elephant Rock
(Sakharat al-Fil) towers above the sands
in a landscape of red rocky monoliths. Also known as Mammoth Rock, it lies 11km north-
east of Al-Ula, just off the road to Hail, some 7km from the Arac Hotel Al-Ula.
WORTH A TRIP
THE HEJAZ RAILWAY
The Hejaz Railway, with its echoes of TE Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, cuts across northwestern Arabia with
abandoned and evocative stations, substations and garrison forts.
The official idea of the railway was to make it easier for pilgrims to reach Medina and Mecca, cutting the jour-
ney time from Damascus from six weeks to just four days. In addition to the tracks and station buildings, forts
were also built every 25km for garrisons of Turkish soldiers whose role was to protect the railway from bandits.
The line opened in 1908, stretching over 1000 miles through largely desert terrain; the planned extension to
Mecca was never built.
