The landscape on its own, the colours, hills, ridges, rock formations and valleys, they are all silent witnesses to a geological past that goes back hundreds of millions of years. Open your eyes – and you will see an incredible variety of impressive landscapes: ancient volcanic formations, steep, rugged but also gentle hills and rocks; sandstone formations that glow from yellow to ochre, orange to red or dark grey lava fields, all of which change their appearance and expression during the course of the day due to the different position of the sun.
Geologists ignore such visual perceptions and sensory impressions and speak dryly of metamorphic, eruptive and sedimentary rocks. For me, however, the result of this geological evolution, namely the contrast between the desert, the desert ridges and the oases, is simply impressive and almost indescribable, i.e. the contrast of colours, scents, freshness, temperature….
On the other hand, the countless inscriptions carved into the rocks, which seem to tell the story of Al Ula, are a kind of pictorial “speaking” witnesses. Some of these inscriptions and rock art are considerably older than the famous rock tombs of Hegra.
