AlUla Heritage Sites Reopen to Public End of October

Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
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AlUla Heritage Sites Reopen to Public End of October

Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has confirmed that the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, the ancient kingdom of Dadan and the canyons of Jabal Ikmah will be the first sites to re-open to the public, having been largely closed off to visitors in the past period.

The RCU announced that residents of AlUla will have the opportunity to access the sites exclusively on 30 October for free. However, major COVID-19 safety measures have been put in place that adhere to the Ministry of Health protocols, which align which the safe travels guidelines published by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Measures include mandatory pre-booking of tickets, temperature checks at the airport, distancing and limitations of visitors at heritage and other sites, increased sanitation measures and mandatory mask-wearing.

Phillip Jones, Chief Destination Management and Marketing Officer, highlighted the challenges that the teams faced while exerting their best efforts to deliver this important stage and to move to the next chapter of AlUla’s journey through time.

“We have a full team onsite to get the destination ready to welcome those first visitors and we’re excited to give the local community a chance to revisit their heritage sites before the rest of the world, while we continue to build on the experiences," Jones said.

Activations and immersive experiences at the heritage sites, as well as adventure experiences and events will be announced over the coming weeks and will be phased in over the winter months, with the full suite of experiences planned for the winter season to be expected by first quarter 2021.

AlUla Old Town too will be open as a visitor experience to the public for the first time from December 2020.

Flights are available with Saudia to AlUla from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. AlUla is just over three hours from Madinah and Tabuk Airport. It’s also only a 2.5 hour drive to the Red Sea which visitors can add on to their trip.



Alaskan Man Gifted New Motorcycle by Putin During Trump Summit

US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Alaskan Man Gifted New Motorcycle by Putin During Trump Summit

US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. (Reuters)

A local man in Anchorage was given a new motorcycle by Russian President Vladimir Putin during last week's summit with US President Donald Trump in the Alaskan city, according to a report published by Russian state television.

An employee of the Russian embassy in the United States handed the man, Mark Warren, the keys to his new Ural motorcycle in the parking lot of the Anchorage hotel where the Russian delegation was staying.

"I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation," Andrei Ledenev, the embassy employee, told Warren.

The white-haired, bespectacled Warren, who Reuters was unable to contact for comment, was shown hopping aboard his new bike, Ledenev behind him and another man in the sidecar, to take it for a spin.

"It's night and day," Warren said. "I like my old one, but this one is obviously much better."

"I'm speechless, it's amazing. Thank you very much."

The unexpected gift by the Russian leader came after reporters with Russian state television Channel 1 met Warren by chance on the streets of Anchorage ahead of the summit.

The reporters stopped to admire Warren's bike, which is manufactured by Ural, whose original factory was founded in 1941 in what was then Soviet Russia.

Warren told a reporter, Valentin Bogdanov, that he struggled to obtain spare parts for the bike, including a new starter, because the manufacturing plant is "located in Ukraine."

"So for you, if they resolve this conflict here in Alaska, I mean Putin and Trump, it will be good?" Bogdanov asks Warren.

"Yes, it will be good," the Alaskan replies.

Ural, which is headquartered in Washington State, says that all of its motorcycles are assembled in Kazakhstan. The company pulled all its production out of Russia after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Ural did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside working hours in the US.