Al Kuraymat – Madain Saleh

This area lies west of the Hejaz railway and has some of the best preserved tombs on the site. There are fifty three tombs in the Khraymat area, distributed at the foot of several sandstone hills. Their facades, of different types, present a great variety of architectural decoration. Tomb 100 is one of the most distinctive facades of any tomb in Madain Saleh. It is distinguished by a band beneath the upper cornice decorated with four columns with Nabatean capitals. The entrance of the tomb is decorated with two carvings of imaginary beasts with human heads standing on carved bases. Above the entrance is a foundation inscription which reads: “This tomb was built by Tarsu al-Qaid bin Taym for himself and his wife Aydah the daughter of Adb Adnan, and for And Rab El and Taym, his sons and for their children and descendants and those who inherit after thm from this day forever……in the month of Tabat in year 24 of the reign of Malik, king of the Nabateans”. The light is best in the morning for photographing and viewing this site.