Architecture of Madain Salih
One of the mysteries in the historical science of our time is the origin of the monuments Hegre in Saudi Arabia. In the historical literature, it is assumed that this city was built by the Nabataeans - the people, the basis of the life of which was to ensure the caravan trade. These people, who lived here from the III century BC to the I century BC, carved facades of tombs, built many kilometers of waterways in the rocks to collect rainwater and left behind a lot of mysteries about their religion and language (Khairy, 167).
Madain Salih (Hegra, Al-Hijr) is a fantastic complex of archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia. The complex consists of 111 rock graves (I century BC - I century AD.), and it is a system of hydraulic structures related to the Nabatean city of Hegra, is a center of caravan trade (Abu-Nasr) (“ICOMOS Evaluation of Al-Hijr Archaeological Site”, 10).
In the year 106 BC, Nabataean kingdom was annexed to the Roman Empire and the Hejaz with Hegre became a part of the province of Arabia. Uninhabited city Madain Salih is often compared to Peter, which is also listed among the main impressive and monumental places of the Middle East. UNESCO's World Heritage Committee announced the recognition of Mada'in Saleh as a first Saudi Arabia's World Heritage Site ("Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih)").
Madain Salih (Hegra Al-Hijr) is the oldest architectural monument of Saudi Arabia. Two thousand years ago, here in the middle of the Arabian Desert, located Nabatean city of Hegra - the center of caravan trade. It flourished in the period from 200 BC to 200 AD. The monopoly on the spice trade, as well as adequate water and rich harvests, turned Hegre into one of the richest cities in the East (Hizon). The art of the Nabataean kingdom developed under the influence of different cultures. Traders from Assyria, Phoenicia, Egypt, and Alexandria, attended Hegre for four centuries, changed the look of the city.
The borrowed architectural elements can be seen today on the facades of the tombs - from the way they are decorated, it is possible to judge to whom the graves belong. A detailed examination of the archaeological complex facades indicates the social status of the deceased person.
The size and ornamentation of the tombs reflect the social status of the buried person. reflect human wealth. Details of many graves indicate that many soldiers were buried, archaeologists have suggested that the city used to be able to be Nabatean military base used to protect the settlement of trading activities. After the conquest by the Romans in the II century AD, Hegra is a part of the Roman Empire (Abu-Nasr).
Gradually the city loses its former power and falls into decay - instead of the overland trade route through the Arabian desert the sea route, which runs through the Red Sea, is increasingly used. In the days of the Ottoman Empire not far from Hegre, railway for transportation of pilgrims from Turkey, Lebanon, and Palestine in Mecca is built (Hassan & Ghafour).
Further information about this ancient city is sketchy: it is mentioned only by the pilgrims who headed to Mecca. However, in their memories, there is no information about the inhabitants of Hegre, but the legendary tomb of red stone and great constructions are mentioned.
The List of Heritage UNESCO notices that it is very difficult to identify the main features of the Nabatean cities, basic and complete idea of their layout and architecture ("Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih)"). This is not surprising, because the people in the construction of their cities followed not some kind of a specific architect's plan, both in the Greek city architecture with obligatory Colonnade street or Roman - with a traditional square plan with four gates at the cardinal points.
In the case of the city of Hegra, it is possible to see the confirmation of the magnificent knowledge of the people of this city of the natural environment, in which they live, because the landscape dictated them the layout.
This can be seen in the Hegre, where freestanding limestone cliffs were fitted under the tomb. Now, in the complex Madain Saleh, it is possible to see the towers, walls, living quarters, temples and waterworks. The oldest buildings are decorated with carved into the rock statues and reliefs, mythic masks and animals (Gulyás). In contrast to the elaborately decorated facades, interiors carved into the rock structures are very simple and serious.
Similarity of Hegre facades with facades of Lycian tombs, preserved in Turkey, and with some Etruscan graves, and everywhere present urn crowning the well-known Al Khazneh Monastery El Deir in Petra, gives some confirmation of the similarity of the cults of the peoples inhabiting the territories in ancient times (“ICOMOS Evaluation of Al-Hijr Archaeological Site”, 14).
The method of carving facade of tombs in Hegre is similar to one more ancient monument - Abu Simbel, erected by Pharaoh Ramses II on the west bank of the Nile near Aswan, about 1298 - 1213 BC. Another detail that is not exclusive marker only for Hegre is urns. The practice of burial in urns was characteristic of the tribes that inhabited Europe from the late Bronze Age to the first century AD. The argument in favor of building complexes hypothesis by Nabatean people, who came from the north, can be found in ancient inscriptions. One of them was found on the sundial, found during construction of the railway passing through Mada'in Saleh. Al-Hijr is a unique testimony to Nabataean civilization.
The system of wells and 111 monumental graves, most of which are richly decorated, is outstanding examples of Nabataean architecture and experience of hydraulic engineering. The archaeological site of Al-Hijr is the largest center for the southern part of the Nabataean civilization. Al-Hijr well preserved as an integral object. It includes the ensemble of graves and monuments, architecture and decorations which are made directly from the sandstone (Hizon). In the architecture fantastic rock graves of the first century AD, belonging to the Nabatean town Herge can find borrowing from the architecture of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and Assyria, thus Mada'in Saleh is a valuable historical heritage that has survived to our times.
In the middle of the vast desert landscape of north-eastern part of Saudi Arabia castle of Qasr al-Farid is located (Gulyás). The straight lines and smooth angles of its facade clearly stand out on a background of golden sands and jagged rocks scattered around. This construction was carved out of the rock still in the I century AD by the inhabitants of the Nabataean kingdom, which at that time owned the local land.
The castle is located on the territory of the archaeological complex called Mada'in Saleh. Castle Qasr al-Farid with its architecture resembles churches, hewn in the rock in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan - there is nothing surprising since Peter was the capital and largest city of the Nabataean kingdom (Gulyás). Despite the age, which is almost 2000 years old, Qasr al-Farid is still in very good condition due to the arid climate. While Mada'in Saleh was the second largest city and most important trade link in the kingdom. This building is a luxurious tomb. Unfortunately, at some point, the construction stopped, and the tomb was never found definitive form. It can be concluded that the Nabataeans were peculiar to build the majestic stone constructions for their cities. In most cases, the people of the Nabataean kingdom used to build huge sand boulders and carved into them from the bottom up the necessary parts of the structure.
As it is noted in the list of the UNESCO Heritage, Hegra is much better preserved than the other habitats of the Nabataeans, because, firstly, it was carved in the rock, and secondly, was less susceptible to the influence of the Roman and Byzantine architecture (“ICOMOS Evaluation of Al-Hijr Archaeological Site”, 10). The archaeological site of Al-Hijr indicates the influence of architecture and decoration of different cultures (Assyrian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Hellenistic), as well as the presence of epigraphic monuments of ancient languages (the language of the Talmud, Nabatean, Greek, Latin).
Now an unbiased view of the symbols of the ancient Nabataeans (the people who built monuments Hegre), that is, of facades of tombs, urns, obelisks, worship monument for snake, irrigation facilities, the inscription on the solar disk from Hegre, allow to notice the familiar symbols and to assume the existence in ancient times in the given areas of the people, the guardian of traditions and knowledge that it applied to not only survive, but to live in harmony with nature for centuries, if not millenniums.
Works Cited
"Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih)". UNESCO. Web.
"ICOMOS Evaluation of Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) World Heritage Nomination". World Heritage Center. Whc.unesco.org. Web.
Abu-Nasr, Donna. Digging up the Saudi Past: Some Would Rather Not. U.S. News & World Report L.P. 2009. Web.
Gulyás, Virág. Saudi Arabia’s Hidden City: Exploring Mada’in Saleh. The Culture Trip Ltd. Web.
Hassan, Javid & Ghafour, P.K. Abdul. Move Under Way to Restore Madain Saleh Railway Station. Arab News. 2006. Web.
Hizon, Danny. Madain Saleh: Arabia's Hidden Treasure – Saudi Arabia. BootsnAll Travel Network, LLC. 2006. Web.
Khairy, Nabil I. The Mada'in Saleh Monuments and the Function and Date of The Khazneh in Petra. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 143, Issue 3, 2011. Web.
