Saudi Arabia opened the Ancient Kingdoms Festival 2025 on Thursday in the northwestern city of AlUla, launching more than two weeks of programming designed to reconnect visitors with the region’s historic civilizations.
Running from November 20 to December 6, the event is part of the AlUla Moments schedule, a government-supported initiative aimed at expanding cultural tourism and encouraging deeper engagement with the area’s archaeological heritage.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
Organizers selected “Journeys Through Time” as this year’s theme, turning the desert landscape into what resembles an open museum. The program includes guided heritage walks, evening cultural shows, and new artistic installations developed to spotlight the societies that once flourished in the oases and rock-carved settlements of AlUla. Heritage officials say the festival is intended to help audiences better understand the region’s interconnected past, which includes Nabataean, Dadanite, and Lihyanite kingdoms.
Abdulrahman AlSuhaibani, Vice President of Culture at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said the area represents one of the “complex and often unexpected legacies of ancient North-West Arabia.” He added, “Through this festival, and the activations we deliver year-round, we aim to share this rich history and make it accessible and engaging for everybody, standing as a source of knowledge, inspiration, delight, and enrichment.”
AlUla, roughly 1,100 kilometers from Riyadh, has become central to Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambitions under Vision 2030. Its most famous landmark, Hegra, was designated the country’s first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site in 2008 and remains a cornerstone of efforts to attract both domestic and international travelers.