A little more than a century ago, a charismatic British army captain called T.E. Lawrence and fearsome Bedouin warriors swept through the sublime canyons around the desert city of Al-’Ula where I stroll today. They blew up the Hejaz railway, built to transport hajjis from Damascus towards Mecca but repurposed during the first world war by Turks to ferry munitions and troops.
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Desert X is at Al-’Ula until 31 March. (desertx.org/dx/desert-x-alula). What Lies Within is at the Maraya, Al-’Ula, until 20 March (experiencealula.com/en/discover-alula).
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