Dust & Echoes in Al-Ula: Seriously, What’s Going On?
okay, so i’m pretty sure i’m running on fumes and lukewarm coffee. i landed in Al-Ula yesterday, and honestly, it’s… a trip. like, a really, really weird trip. the air feels thick, you know? almost like static. i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the humidity is clinging to everything - 29%, which is basically a sauna disguised as a desert. the pressure’s a solid 1007, which is unsettling. i’m trying to capture it all, you know? the feeling, the grit, the sheer oddness of this place.
I’m a touring session drummer, so my usual gear list is a disaster, but here’s what’s clinging to me right now: battered sticks, a half-empty water bottle, a notebook full of scribbled nonsense, and a growing suspicion that i’ve stumbled into a forgotten movie set. I’m seriously considering investing in a good pair of hiking boots, because the sandstone is everywhere. It’s like the whole place is slowly crumbling back into the earth, which is kinda beautiful, but also… concerning.
I spent the morning wandering around the Hegra site - the Nabataean tombs. They’re incredible, obviously. Massive, carved into the rock face. But there’s something… off. Like, the shadows are too deep, the silence too profound. I overheard a guy - a local, i think - telling another that someone told him that the tombs are haunted by the spirits of the Nabataean kings. Said they wander the corridors at night, searching for their lost treasures. I’m not saying I believe it, but… it’s a vibe.
Then there’s the town itself. It’s… quiet. Not in a peaceful way. More like a waiting-for-something-bad-to-happen kind of quiet. If you get bored, Riyadh is just a short drive away. The locals are… interesting. They mostly just stare. And they have this incredibly intense gaze. I tried to ask for directions to the best place to get dates, and they just pointed vaguely towards the souk and mumbled something about ‘the spirits’. Seriously.
I found this tiny cafe - ‘Al-Sahra’ - and the owner, a woman named Fatima, gave me the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted. Like, actively bitter. But she also told me, completely serious, that the best way to experience Al-Ula is to ‘listen to the stones’. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’m going to try it. Maybe I’ll just sit here and stare at the sandstone until something happens.
Here’s a breakdown of what I’m trying to capture, because my brain is currently a tangled mess:
Photography Focus: Long exposures, capturing the light and shadow play on the sandstone. Trying to get that ethereal, almost dreamlike quality. Need to experiment with film - this digital stuff is getting a bit sterile.
*Soundscape: Recording the wind whistling through the canyons, the occasional bleating of a goat, the absolute silence. It’s a weird symphony.
*Local Interactions: Trying to actually talk to people, not just stare. It’s harder than it sounds.
I’m linking up some resources for anyone else considering a trip:
TripAdvisor - Al-Ula
Yelp - Al-Ula Restaurants
Local Al-Ula Forum
Seriously, this place is messing with my head. I’m going to try and find a decent cup of coffee tomorrow. Wish me luck.
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