Jordan, Saudi Arabia sign agreement to preserve Nabataean heritage

AMMAN — The Petra National Trust (PNT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), celebrating the rich and distinct heritage found in sites across Hegra and Petra, as centres of the Nabataean civilisation — an ancient people who successfully settled and thrived in both areas.

 The agreement is a “milestone” in regional and global efforts to encourage the appreciation and preservation of shared human history, according to a statement by PNT.

RCU, as the custodian of AlUla’s cultural landscape and heritage, will work closely with experts from PNT to transfer knowledge and skills across critical areas including informal learning techniques, the interpretation of cultural heritage and storytelling across key historical sites, and making history accessible and engaging within their respective communities and youth populations.

Ancient cities with deep historical ties, both Petra and Hegra were major settlements of the Nabataeans, interconnected by the Incense Road. Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, like Petra in the north, is home to incredible examples of the civilisation’s ingenuity, architectural prowess and geographic dominance, the statement said.

The same types of facade tombs, cultic installations, inscriptions, and pottery are found in both Petra and Hegra, and AlUla’s Tomb of Lihyan in Hegra and Petra’s Al Khazne mausoleum reveal the Nabataeans’ ability to carve intricate constructions out of sheer sandstone rock faces. 

PNT and RCU will cooperate in specialised sectors including innovative educational initiatives to help enhance people’s connection with heritage, empowering communities, especially children, to be active participants in discovering and safeguarding AlUla’s rich heritage sites, with the aim to inspire continued conservation efforts and future career choices.

AlUla’s successful “Rawi” storyteller programme will be uplifted as part of the agreement, with young people and students engaged in collaborative training sessions culminating in a pilot programme involving PNT and RCU staff.

HH Princess Dana Firas, PNT president and UNESCO goodwill ambassador for cultural heritage, said: “We are pleased to announce the signing of a MoU with the Royal Commission for AlUla, marking a significant collaboration between Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the realm of cultural heritage preservation.”

Princess Dana said that PNT has continually evolved this programme to address global and regional issues, expanding it to a regional and international scale through the PNT online educational platform. 

Building on its leadership in integrating cultural heritage into the global climate change agenda, PNT has launched the Climate Heritage Youth Leaders programme, she added. 

“This first-of-its-kind initiative empowers young people, aged 16-18, to take an active role in protecting our cultural and natural heritage. By engaging them with the pressing issues of climate change and its profound impacts, PNT is shaping the next generation of guardians for our planet’s heritage,” the princess said.

Through this partnership and joint ongoing efforts, both institutions continue to advocate for cultural heritage as a cornerstone of sustainable development and community engagement, focusing on youth education and women’s empowerment, Princess Dana added. 

RCU Acting Chief Executive Officer Abeer Al Akel said: “AlUla and Petra share a close and deep-lying connection that stretches back through millennia to the ancient Kingdom of the Nabataeans, a remarkable people who were able to harness their environment and create incredible tombs and monuments to their achievements that exist to this day.”

 This latest collaborative agreement will boost ongoing commitments to knowledge sharing and application of the best practices in heritage education, serving an ambitious goal to reach 14,000 school children in AlUla to build a deeper understanding and appreciation for history and cultural heritage, Al Akel noted.