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Saudi Arabia UNESCO world heritage sites

Al Madinah province [capital = Medina]

Al-Hijr Archaeological Site in Madain Saleh
It features well-preserved monumental tombs with decorated facades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. The site also features some 50 inscriptions of the pre-Nabataean period and some cave drawings. Al-Hijr bears a unique testimony to Nabataean civilization. With its 111 monumental tombs, 94 of which are decorated, and water wells, the site is an outstanding example of the Nabataeans’ architectural accomplishment and hydraulic expertise.

Ar Riyad province [capital = Riyadh]

At-Turaif District in Ad Diriyah on Thumeiry Street
The property includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.

Al-Faw Archaeological Area in Wadi ad-Dawasir at Qaryah Qaryat al Fa
Archaeological features include the Palaeolithic and Neolithic tools of early people, tapered structures, cairns and circular constructions, the sacred mountain of Khashm Qaryah, rock carvings, funerary tumuli and cairns in the valley, forts/caravanserai, the oasis and its ancient water management system, and the vestiges of the city of Qaryat al-Faw.

Ash Sharqiyah province [capital = Dammam]

Evolving Cultural Landscape in Al Hofuf at Al Hasa Oasis
In the eastern Arabian Peninsula, the Al-Ahsa Oasis is a serial property comprising gardens, canals, springs, wells and a drainage lake, as well as historical buildings, urban fabric and archaeological sites. They represent traces of continued human settlement in the Gulf region from the Neolithic to the present, as can be seen from remaining historic fortresses, mosques, wells, canals and other water management systems. With its 2.5 million date palms, it is the largest oasis in the world.

Ha'il province [capital = Hail]

Rock Art in Jubbah + Shuwaymis
Jabal al-Manjor and Raat form the rocky escarpment of a wadi now covered in sand. They show numerous representations of human and animal figures covering 10,000 years of history.

Makkah province [capital = Mecca]

Historic Gate to Makkah in Jeddah at Industrial Estate, Phase 3, Road 35, Street 33
From the 7th century AD it was established as a major port for Indian Ocean trade routes, channelling goods to Mecca. It was also the gateway for Muslim pilgrims to Mecca who arrived by sea. These twin roles saw the city develop into a thriving multicultural centre, characterized by a distinctive architectural tradition, including tower houses built in the late 19th century by the city’s mercantile elites, and combining Red Sea coastal coral building traditions with influences and crafts from along the trade routes.

Narjan province [capital = Narjan]

Ḥimā Cultural Area in Hima
Ḥimā Cultural Area contains a substantial collection of rock art images depicting hunting, fauna, flora and lifestyles in a cultural continuity of 7,000 years. Travellers and armies camping on the site left a wealth of rock inscriptions and petroglyphs through the ages and until the late 20th century, most of which are preserved in pristine condition.

‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid in Al Khaledah at 19.343321063133775, 45.898100049152724
The property encompasses the western part of the greatest expanse of windblown sand on Earth, known as Ar Rub' al-KhaIi, and conserves one of the Earth’s most spectacular desert landscapes. The varied topography of the property creates a wide range of wildlife habitats and the site is globally notable due to the reintroduction of iconic desert animals, including the Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and Arabian Sand Gazelle (Gazella marica), into their natural habitats after decades of extinction in the wild. The mobile dunes also provide an excellent and well-oxygenated habitat for sand-diving invertebrates and reptiles.