Travel and Tourism in Saudi Arabia

Neom: The City of the Future

Among the megaprojects launched under Vision 2030, none is more audacious than NEOM. Located in the northwestern Tabuk province, NEOM is a planned city-state that will cover 26,500 square kilometers — larger than Belgium — on a site that currently contains little more than desert, mountains, and a stretch of Red Sea coastline. The project is budgeted at more than $500 billion and is intended to become a global hub for technology, innovation, and sustainable living.

The most visually striking component of NEOM is The Line — a proposed linear city 170 kilometers long, only 200 meters wide, and up to 500 meters tall, housing up to 9 million people in a structure powered entirely by renewable energy with no roads or cars. The concept has attracted both admiration for its ambition and skepticism about its feasibility, but construction has been underway since 2022. Other components of NEOM include Sindalah, a luxury yacht destination on the Red Sea; Trojena, a mountain ski resort in the Hejaz Mountains; and OXAGON, a floating industrial city.

Mecca and Medina: The Holy Cities

While non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca or Medina, an understanding of these cities is essential to understanding Saudi Arabia and the role it plays in the Islamic world. Mecca, located in the Hejaz region about 70 kilometers east of Jeddah, is a city of approximately two million permanent residents that swells to many times that number during the Hajj season. The city's entire fabric has been shaped by the needs of pilgrims — massive hotels and apartment blocks tower over the Grand Mosque, the city's road network is designed to channel millions of pedestrians efficiently, and the logistics of feeding, housing, and moving the Hajj's two-million-plus pilgrims have driven extraordinary innovations in crowd management and urban planning.

The rituals of the Hajj are a journey through the key events of Islamic history and theology. Pilgrims circle the Kaaba seven times (tawaf), walk seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa (sa'i), stand at the plain of Arafat in prayer and reflection (the most important ritual of the Hajj), and throw symbolic pebbles at three pillars representing the devil at Mina (the stoning of the devil). The experience of participating in the Hajj, surrounded by millions of fellow believers from every nation on earth, is described by those who have made it as one of the most profound experiences of their lives.

Medina, about 400 kilometers north of Mecca, is a city of approximately 1.5 million people that grew around the mosque built by the Prophet Muhammad. The city contains several sites of great historical and religious significance, including the Al-Baqi cemetery, where many of the Prophet's companions are buried, and the Quba Mosque, the first mosque ever built in Islamic history. The dates grown in the oases surrounding Medina — particularly the famous Ajwa variety — are considered among the finest in the world and are a prized gift brought back by pilgrims.

Al-Ahsa: Oasis of UNESCO Heritage

The Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province deserves special attention as one of the most extraordinary agricultural landscapes in the world. The oasis, which covers roughly 35,000 hectares, is fed by a complex system of artesian springs and irrigation canals that have sustained human habitation for at least 6,000 years. More than 3 million date palm trees crowd together in dense groves that create a remarkable microclimate beneath their canopy — cooler, more humid, and more lush than the surrounding desert.

The historic city of Hofuf at the heart of Al-Ahsa contains some of the finest examples of Najdi architecture in the Eastern Province. The Al-Qaisariyah Souk, dating from the Ottoman period, is one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the region, selling dates, spices, traditional clothing, and handicrafts in the labyrinthine lanes beneath its distinctive arched roof. The Ibrahim Palace, a large fortress complex built during the Ottoman occupation of Al-Ahsa in the 18th and 19th centuries, has been substantially restored and is one of the most impressive historical buildings in the Eastern Province.

The springs that feed Al-Ahsa — particularly the Ain Najm and Ain al-Hara — are extraordinary phenomena in such an arid environment. These artesian springs, fed by underground aquifers that extend northward under the desert, have provided a reliable water supply throughout the millennia and have made Al-Ahsa one of the most densely populated parts of the Arabian Peninsula for most of recorded history.

Hail and the Northern Regions

The Hail region in north-central Saudi Arabia is one of the most historically significant and scenically dramatic parts of the Kingdom. Dominated by the granite massifs of Jebel Aja and Jebel Salma, the region was the heartland of the powerful Shammar tribal confederation that controlled much of northern Arabia from the 17th to the early 20th century. The Rashidi emirate, based in Hail, was the great rival of the Al-Saud dynasty until its defeat and incorporation into the Saudi state in 1921.

The historic city of Hail preserves several significant monuments, including the A'arif Fort, a hilltop citadel offering panoramic views over the city and surrounding desert, and the Al-Rashid Palace, the former seat of the Rashidi amirs, now partially restored and open to visitors. The regional museum of Hail presents the archaeological and cultural heritage of the region with particular attention to its extraordinary rock art sites and the remnants of pre-Islamic civilizations.

The Jubbah and Shuwaymis rock art sites, located north and west of Hail respectively, represent one of the most extensive and well-preserved concentrations of prehistoric rock art in the world. The images, created by communities living on the shores of ancient lakes during periods of wetter climate, span more than 10,000 years and include depictions of human figures, cattle, horses, camels, ibex, dogs, and domestic scenes that provide a priceless window into the lives of Arabia's prehistoric inhabitants. The site's UNESCO World Heritage designation has brought increasing international attention and the development of visitor facilities.

The Abha Summer Festival and Regional Festivals

Saudi Arabia has developed a rich calendar of cultural festivals that celebrate the diversity of the Kingdom's regional traditions and the new spirit of cultural openness that Vision 2030 represents. The Abha Summer Festival, held annually in the Asir highlands during the summer months, is one of the longest-running and most beloved of these events, drawing hundreds of thousands of Saudis to the cool mountain city for performances, traditional craft exhibitions, and celebrations of Asiri culture.

The Janadriyah National Heritage and Culture Festival, held annually near Riyadh, is the largest cultural festival in Saudi Arabia and one of the most important in the Arab world. Since its founding in 1985, Janadriyah has grown into a two-week celebration of Saudi heritage that includes camel racing, traditional crafts, folklore performances from all regions of the Kingdom, and competitions in Nabati poetry, horsemanship, and other traditional arts. The festival attracts millions of visitors and serves as a powerful statement of Saudi national identity and cultural pride.

The AlUla Moments festival, held in the ancient landscape of Al-Ula, combines contemporary music performances with the extraordinary backdrop of the Nabataean tombs and the sandstone formations of the Hejaz Mountains. International artists including Andrea Bocelli, Lionel Richie, and Mariah Carey have performed at events in Al-Ula, creating performances that blend the global and the local in ways unique to the Saudi experience.

Saudi Arabia: A Destination for the Curious Traveler

Saudi Arabia in the third decade of the twenty-first century is a destination that rewards the curious, patient, and open-minded traveler with experiences of extraordinary depth and authenticity. The ancient Nabataean ruins of Hegra, the dramatic landscapes of the Empty Quarter and the Al-Ula canyon, the extraordinary hospitality of Saudi people, the intensity of religious life centered on Mecca and Medina, the culinary pleasures of authentic Saudi cuisine, and the spectacle of a country in the midst of one of history's most ambitious social and economic transformations all combine to make Saudi Arabia a destination unlike any other.

The traveler who arrives with preconceptions formed by decades of news coverage focused on oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and social restrictions will find a far more complex and rewarding reality. Saudi Arabia is a country of profound historical depth, remarkable natural beauty, extraordinary cultural creativity, and a people whose warmth and generosity toward guests is one of the most genuine expressions of hospitality in the world.

Travelers to Saudi Arabia should approach the experience as an encounter with a civilization on its own terms — neither romanticizing nor dismissing what they find, but engaging with curiosity and respect with a culture that has shaped the world through its religious, economic, and historical influence to a degree far beyond what its geography or population would suggest. Saudi Arabia is, in the most literal sense, one of the most consequential places on earth — and the opportunity to experience it directly, now that it has opened its doors to travelers, is one that the adventurous visitor should not miss.

Culinary Traditions of the Holy Cities

The food culture of Mecca and Medina, shaped by centuries of pilgrimage and the mingling of culinary traditions from across the Islamic world, is distinctive and extraordinarily diverse. The Hejaz region in general and the holy cities in particular developed a culinary tradition that absorbed influences from Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, India, and East Africa — all the places from which pilgrims historically came — and blended them with local Arabian ingredients and cooking methods to create a cuisine unique to this region.

Harees, a simple dish of wheat and meat slow-cooked until they meld into a porridge-like consistency, is one of the oldest dishes of the Arabian Peninsula and remains a staple of the Hejaz. It is particularly associated with the holy month of Ramadan and with celebrations, including the Eid al-Fitr feast. The dish's simplicity — essentially just wheat, meat, butter, and salt — belies the depth of flavor that emerges from the long slow cooking and the generous use of clarified butter (samn).

Saleeg, a creamy white rice dish cooked in broth with cardamom and topped with chicken and fried onions, is the quintessential Hejazi comfort food and a staple at family gatherings and religious celebrations throughout the western region of Saudi Arabia. The dish derives its character from being cooked in chicken broth enriched with whole milk, which gives the rice a richness and creaminess quite different from the drier preparations typical of Najdi cooking.

Fateh, a bread-based dish in which toasted flatbread is soaked in broth and layered with meat, chickpeas, and tomato sauce, and Thareed, a similar Bedouin dish in which meat and vegetables are cooked in a broth poured over broken flatbread, represent ancient culinary traditions that transform the simplest ingredients — bread, broth, and whatever meat was available — into satisfying and nourishing meals. The Prophet Muhammad was said to have valued thareed above all other foods, a tradition that has given this humble dish a religious and cultural significance far beyond its ingredients.