Jebel Al Fil (Elephant Rock), Medina Province. December 2017
Actually before seeing the Lihyanite remains and even before exploring the Nabatean tombs, we met "Elephant Rock" on the great journey northward after the Black & White Volcanoes Adventure [see: Black & White Volcanoes]. I must be fair about it - I had the chance to visit Elephant Rock on the first journey to Al Ula with AM, but we were very unprepared and we only had a "vague notion" about the location AND there was no good signage at that time. I came to find that it was very near Madain Saleh [see: Madain Saleh] and we could have easily made it there on my first visit. Sorry for not having more faith in you, AM - but that trip was just so tentative all around. It amazes me how much the area changed between even my first and second visits, only a few years apart.
Driving northward as we got close to Elephant Rock (or mountain) the scenery was getting more and more "Utah-like". I felt like I did driving from Western Colorado to Arches National Park, Utah. The scenery started to change and got crazier and REDDER with lots of rock formations along the road. We found Elephant Rock easily as it was well sign-marked and parked nearby. Luckily, the parking lot was not right UNDER the rock so our photos were not marred by a bunch of white Toyota Hilux pickup trucks (the preferred vehicle for the Saudi outback). As can be seen in the scale of the photo, Elephant Rock was massive. It was worth the detour.
We took a little time and explored the area with its many outcroppings, caves, and "holes" in the rocks. Totally a page out of a Western USA National Park, I told brothers aQ repeatedly, "this is so much like the US", but neither of them had visited at that time. Now they BOTH have been to the Desert Southwest, so I am guessing on their visit there they said "This is just like Al Ula!" HA! It was all about where you went first and what made an impression - like me in Cadiz, Spain thinking its bastion looked like Puerto Rico! [see: Cadiz]
What followed Elephant Rock was Madain Saleh and then all the Lihyanite ruins of Al Ula. Taken as a whole, the area these days has a lot to offer. We did a blow through visit and just touched the surface. Like Petra, Jordan, I think Al Ula would best be visited over 2-3 days to drink it in more and let it all process a bit. The entire oasis is being developed for tourism these days. I am sure if I were to return in ten years, it would look nothing like I remembered. If it means protection and management of the sites, then it is all probably worth it.
Comments