Saudi Gazette report

ALULA — French President Emmanuel Macron and his high profile entourage were impressed during their visit to historical landmarks and archeological wonders of AlUla Governorate on Wednesday. The French president's tour began with a visit to the historic Hegra or Mada'in Salih area, which is the first Saudi heritage site to be registered on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

During the tour, Macron watched the most prominent archaeological landmarks and sites that date back thousands of years. During the field visit, Macron was accompanied by Emir of Madinah Prince Salman bin Sultan; Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan; Minister of Culture and Governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate Prince Badr bin Abdullah; Minister of Commerce Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi, and a number of officials from the Saudi and French sides.

Macron's tour included the most prominent ancient archeological landmark Qasr Al-Farid, which is considered as one of the largest existing tombs in the Hegra area of AlUla. It is a single rock independent of others, and it was formed in a unique architectural style, as the historical site includes ancient tombs, and its sides are surrounded by columns designed through engravings, decorative elements and pieces of stone carved on the rocks that make up the historical palace. Al-Farid has four columns with Nabatean crowns on the front while most other graves have two columns.

The visit included the archaeological site of Qasr Al-Bint, which dates back to BC and is distinguished by its unique construction method. Qasr Al-Bint is the most famous of Hegra necropolis and its tombs are the most conspicuous and most representative group.

The tour included a visit to the site of Al-Diwan, which is one of the historical landmarks in the northeast of Hegra area, and is a prominent archaeological landmark built to form an open theater between the nature and terrain of Hegra and its components. It is a mountainous area that includes a narrow road, carved into a mountain rock called Al-Diwan and surrounded by stone columns and walls in a beautiful architectural and engineering style, embodying the nature of architecture in those ancient civilizations.

The tour of Macron and his accompanying delegation also included a number of ancient historical sites and monuments that abound in AlUla Governorate, which constitute a destination for many tourists from different countries. These monuments enjoy the care of the Royal Commission for AlUla, the Ministry of Culture, the Saudi Tourism Authority, and various relevant authorities, in preserving its components as a human legacy and the reality of human civilizations that inhabited the region throughout several centuries.