(MENAFN- Mid-East.Info)
AlUla, Saudi Arabia: Acclaimed photographer Gilles Bensimon issues A Dream of AlUla – a visual journey through time and the senses of this ancient Arabian landscape. This oversized book celebrates the rich culture of AlUla and offers the unique experience of traveling to a mythical land and little-known geological wonder, bringing alive 8,000 years of AlUla's past through to its present day.
Captured through the lens of Gilles Bensimon, A Dream of AlUla is an expedition through time and the senses. Filled with 215 pages of original photography, the book reveals the poetic aspects and magnificence of age-old desert landscapes and highlights the people who lived there from history and today. Home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, where exceptionally preserved tombs of the Nabataean age show elaborate facades cut out of sandstone outcrops, it's a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered.
Located on the ancient Incense Route, AlUla is a living museum and a journey through the Lihyanite, Dadanite, Nabataean, and Pre-Islamic times from AlUla's history. Documented in A Dream of AlUla, Gilles Bensimon takes readers on a voyage through AlUla's lush green oasis, vast expanses, drifting sand, basalt uplands, geomorphological wonders and millennia-old inscriptions. These are just some of the stunningly photogenic scenes of AlUla.
An American photographer and the former International Creative Director of Elle Magazine, Gilles Bensimon is celebrated for working with models and celebrities including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Madonna and Elle Macpherson. In A Dream of AlUla, his muse is the rich history, natural beauty, and cultural significance of this northwestern Arabian destination.“I will not begin to describe, or even attempt to tell the story of my journey in AlUla,” said Gilles Bensimon.“I can only hope that my photographs might open the door to a new dream in your mind: the dream of meeting AlUla.”
ABOUT ALULA :
Located 1,000 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned. The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of 111 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement. Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after the Roman's conquered the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the captial of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Penninsula. And Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century, and Hijaz Railway and Hegra Fort, key sites in the story and conquests of Lawrence of Arabia.
ABOUT THE ROYAL COMMISSION OF ALULA :
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal decree in July 2017 to protect and safeguard AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in North-West Saudi Arabia. RCU is embarking on a long-term plan to develop and deliver a sensitive, sustainable transformation of the region, reaffirming it as one of the country's most important archaeological and cultural destinations and preparing it to welcome visitors from around the world. RCU's development work in AlUla encompasses a broad range of initiatives across archaeology, tourism, culture, education and the arts, reflecting the ambitious commitment to cultivate tourism and leisure in Saudi Arabia, outlined in Vision 2030.
ABOUT GILLES BENSIMON :
Gilles Bensimon is an American photographer and the former International Creative Director of Elle magazine. He is a celebrated fashion photographer, working with models and celebrities including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Madonna, and Elle Macpherson.
ABOUT RIZZOLI :
Rizzoli New York began its publishing operation in 1974 and has become a leader in the fashion, interior design, culinary, art, architecture, and photography fields. Rizzoli's Universe Publishing imprint was added in 1990, marking Rizzoli's entrée into the pop-culture worlds of humor, beauty, sports and performing arts, as well as a highly successful calendar program. In 2011, Rizzoli established Ex Libris, an imprint dedicated to publishing up-market literary fiction and nonfiction with a transatlantic character. Starting in January 2018, Rizzoli produces its museum and exhibitions publishing under the new imprint Rizzoli Electa, in collaboration with leading Italian book publisher and sister company Mondadori Electa.
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