The southwestern border of the Hima Cultural Area is located approximately 18 miles (29 kilometers) to the northeast of the city of Najran. This ancient settlement was an important stop on the region’s incense trade route, which carried incense from its origin in the area of modern-day Yemen to Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and the Levant. This trade peaked between 800 BC and 600 BC but was around in one form or another long before that.
For caravans traveling on this important route, or on others connected to trade, the wells at Hima represented the last opportunity to acquire fresh water in the area. The site at Hima had a busy marketplace where merchants and traders could stop to sell their goods or stock up on supplies if they were just passing through. Hima sits on the edge of the foreboding Rub ‘al Khali desert , a lifeless and desolate expanse of sand dunes and extreme temperatures that wouldn’t be survived for long by ancient travelers who entered unpr
Archaeologists discover 2,550 year-old image of last King of Babylon carved into rock
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Cuneiform inscription from last king of Babylon discovered in Saudi Arabia
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One of the last remaining vestiges of the once feared Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), also known as
Hai’a or religious police was their strict enforcement of closure of all shops and businesses during the five daily prayers.
Despite repeated attempts to overturn this ruling, it remained enforced and violators were immediately met with the full wrath of the Hai’a. Punishments included shop closures for an indefinite time while those caught working in them during prayers calls were subject to detention or deportation in the case of expatriate shop attendants.
With Saudi Arabia embarked on a new vision under a new leadership, fuelled by the determination of a young Crown Prince to move the country out of its malaise and boost ahead, this bizarre ruling of closures had no place in modern times.