JEDDAH: To mark World Photography Day earlier this month, Experience AlUla released eight images taken by eight different photographers of the ancient oasis city. “Across eight photographs, no single view defines AlUla,” a press release stated. “Instead, the destination emerges through the details each photographer chose to notice: changing light, unexpected weather, quiet streets, movement, landscape and the night sky. Together, their images are a reminder that the character of a place is shaped not only by what is there, but by the people who stop to look.”
Here, we present six of the images from the collection.
Mohammed Nasif
‘When the Light Finds Elephant Rock’
Nasif captured one of AlUla’s most-famed landmarks in his photograph: Elephant Rock — the 52-meter high sandstone structure shaped by the elements over millions of years. “As the sun rose behind Elephant Rock, its low light began to reveal the textures of the sandstone, casting long shadows across the ground and transforming the landscape,” notes from Experience AlUla read. “What stayed with him was more than the view itself: (it was) the stillness of the morning, the warmth of the rising sun and the way the light seemed to invite him to stop and simply take in the scene.”
Ethar Alruwaili
‘AlUla Through a Smaller Frame’
It’s fair to say that Saudi photographer Alruwaili is an AlUla fan. Her Instagram bio reads: “Where history meets unforgettable beauty, every photo here is a testament to the timeless legacy of AlUla.” In this shot, Alruwaili narrowed her frame by shooting through a gap in one of the oasis’ sandstone formations, revealing both the area’s natural greenery and its distinctive rock formations. “For Ethar, AlUla does not need to fill the frame to make itself known,” the notes state. “Even when the view is restricted and only a fragment of the landscape appears, its beauty still finds a way through.”
Abdulrahman Albalwi
‘Tradition in Motion’
So much of the imagery associated with AlUla understandably focuses on the area’s remarkable natural beauty that it’s easy to forget this is a place with a vibrant, centuries-old community and culture too. That point is well made in Alabalwi’s photograph, as the notes stress, stating that the photographer was “drawn to a moment where AlUla’s landscape and cultural traditions came together in a single frame.” They continue: “As the camel riders moved through the desert, the low golden light caught the dust rising around them, adding movement and drama to the scene. The camels, the riders and the surrounding landscape come together to reflect both the character of the place and a tradition deeply connected to its desert environment.”
Nick Jackson
‘Where the Streets Tell Their Own Story’
Jackson is an award-winning English photographer who spends much of his time based in AlUla. For World Photography Day, he chose to focus on “the human scale of (the town’s) streets” rather than the oasis’ landscapes. “Against the earthen architecture and mountains beyond, people move through a scene filled with small details: colourful textiles, market stalls, shaded gathering spaces and conversations unfolding along the way. Rather than isolating a single landmark, the photograph captures the layers that give the street its character, where architecture, landscape and everyday moments all share the frame.”
Aziz AlUla
‘When the Clouds Descend on Ashar’
Abdulaziz Albalawi (whose Insta handle is ‘Aziz AlUla’) told Conde Nast Traveller in 2024 that he sees AlUla as “an open studio,” adding: “I find inspiration everywhere. I try to capture that and share it with the world. There’s so much I can’t put into words, but maybe with my camera I can show what I can’t describe.” This shot was taken looking down over Ashar Valley and for Albalawi it was “a moment when time seemed to stand still.” The notes state: “He watched low clouds drift between the sandstone mountains, alternately concealing and revealing the landscape below. What began as awe at the sheer scale of the scene turned into something more personal, the feeling of witnessing one of AlUla’s fleeting natural moments, as though the landscape had chosen that instant to reveal one of its secrets.”
Abdulmajeed Albalawi
‘A Story Beneath the Stars’
Albalawi contributes this striking image of the ruins of Hegra at night. “Beneath a sky filled with stars, (he) brings together AlUla’s ancient heritage and its night landscape in a single frame. A solitary figure holding a lantern stands before the illuminated tomb, creating a quiet connection between the human presence in the foreground and the history carved into the sandstone behind,” the notes read. “For Abdulmajeed, the image carries a simple thought: ‘Beneath AlUla’s star-filled skies, history tells a story that never fades.’”
