AtlasIslamica

Qasr al-Bint

One of the at least four necropoles of Madain Saleh, Qasr al-Bint is the most famous of al-Hijr necropolis and the most visited

Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia

Coordinates: 26.788529, 37.959847

Qasr Al Bint (Palace of the Daughter) consists of a wonderful row of facades that makes for dramatic viewing from across Madain Saleh.

The east face has two particularly well-preserved tombs.

Its 31 tombs are neither the largest nor the most decorated ones but they form, as a whole, the most conspicuous and most representative group at Madain Salih.

Tombs are concentrated in a single group carved around an individual outcrop or rock, as recorded by explorers and travellers to Al-Ula in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Whilst clearly the tombs here at Hegra are of the same civilisation as at Petra and feature many of the same designs and architectural features, there are some differences in their contexts.

Qasr al-Bint contains also an unfinished tomb, best visible from afar, which, had it been finished, would have been the largest tomb at the site probably reaching more than 30 meters.

Some of Qasr al-Bint tombs show remarkable decorative elements such as masks of frightening monsters, eagles, human faces, and other small sculpted animals.

The largest tomb is IGN 20 (16m high), situated in a very prominent position in the middle of the western flank.