Mount Athleb & Al-Ula city … As if you were “Outside the Earth”
The Saudi photographer, Muhammad Al-Juraibi, was unable to show the greatness of the place when he monitored Mount Athleb in Saudi Arabia, specifically in the city of Al-Ula.
At first glance, some people think that it is just a rocky massif that sits in the desert of the city, but they will change their mind when seeing the pictures of “Al-Jribi”, who added his touch.
The photographer usually tends to observe natural sites with their colors and meanders.
Al-Juraibi was keen to highlight a crack in the middle of Mount Athleb, which was caused by erosion and rain.
The photographer told CNN in Arabic: “The mountain alone is a large mass on the ground, but when you live with it, you feel its greatness and the smallness of the human being against it.”
According to the Welcome Saudi website, Jebel Athleb was a site of worship for the Nabataeans, who were ancient Arab Bedouins from the Negev desert.
One of the biggest attractions for tourists to Mount Athleb is the “Diwan”, which is a large room carved into the rocks of the mountain, which resembles the dining area.
It is historically believed that the diwan was an important room for gatherings such as royal banquets and political meetings.
Al-Juraibi explained that the diwan is not just a square place where people sit, but rather carries many dimensions, and said: “There is an echo in the diwan because they were listening to music.”
The “Diwan” raised the astonishment of many engineers about how it was built in this way, at a time when the necessary and modern means and equipment were not available.
As noted by the Welcome Saudi website, the central area of the mountain contains many carvings and inscriptions that may be related to ancient religious practices.
There is also an aqueduct that flows through the center of the mountain range and leads to a natural water basin and, eventually, to a cistern.
There are many corners engraved on the sides of the mountain, which reflect images of eagles or hawks.
Every time Al-Jeribi visits the city of Al-Ula, he feels as if he lives “outside the globe”, due to its various rock formations, great carvings, and mountainous meanders made of nature.
Saudi Press Agency “SPA” stated that the engineering arts, which distinguished Al-Ula, attract tourists from inside and outside the Kingdom.
These archaeological monuments, which were left by man since the first era BC, still exist in their precise details until our time.