Book publisher Assouline - best known for renowned publications such as Arabian Horses, Mosques: The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Places Of Worship and Chanel: The Impossible Collection - has just released a luxury book of photography and illustrations on AlUla.
Titled, “Al Ula,” the book contains stunning images by internationally renowned photographer Robert Polidori, and interpretive illustrations by multidisciplinary artist Ignasi Monreal, transporting readers to the destination, giving them a glimpse into the city’s rich history and a unique look into Al Ula’s local culture.
Nestled deep within the vast desert of north west Arabia, Al Ula is known as a cultural oasis and living museum with more than 200,000 years of human history: from Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, civilizations such as the Nabataeans, Dadanites, and Romans, Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca and Medina, and trade caravans traveling the Incense Route, to present-day communities who mingle and exchange cultural ideas with global travelers.
Al Ula is home to relics both old and new, including Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, with remains dating back to the Nabataean kingdom, as well as modern landmarks including Maraya, an award-winning multi-purpose entertainment venue, which holds the Guinness Book of Records largest mirrored venue in the world.
Mark your calendars, we're exploring #AlUla next month.https://t.co/WoMr1GyekU
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) September 1, 2020
Each page of this luxurious and limited edition exclusive book delves into the destination’s ancient mystique, where innovative and artistic people lived and journeyed in its exceptional landscapes and contoured mountains, leaving traces of their language, culture and way of life. Images and illustrations captured in the book include monumental tombs carved into the outcrops of Hegra, nature-carved rock sculptures including Jabal Al Fil (also known as Elephant Rock) and petroglyphs (or rock art) showcasing examples of animals that inhabited Al Ula thousands of years ago.
AlUla photographer Robert Polidori began his career in the mid-1980s, when he photographed the Restoration of Versailles, and he has since documented sites across the globe. The Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography awardee has spoken of his experience photographing Al Ula, stating: “The natural situation of AlUla is just amazing and unparalleled, and I was taken by that. I look to try to render what I call an emblematic image, showing its whole and usually showing its entirety through its details and vice versa. I tried to give a timeless image.”
Buy the book here.
