The Nabataeans are a civilisation shrouded in mystery. The ancient inhabitants of northern Arabia and the southern Levant are best known for their monumental tombs that are carved out of rock cliffs. These ruins in Petra and AlUla are major tourist attractions, admired for how they combine Mesopotamian, Phoenician, Hellenistic and Arabian architectural elements.
But who were the Nabataeans, really? A new documentary series aims to tell the story of this ancient civilisation like never before, showing how they have more than a few lessons to impart to the modern age.
Lost Worlds with Bettany Hughes: The Nabataeans is a series comprised of three parts. The first episode marked its international premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival.
“I’ve been slightly obsessed with the Nabateans for 30 years,” English historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes says. “I knew Petra, but I also knew that to build Petra, there had to be this extraordinary network of cities, communications and a series of trade depots. I've long wanted to come to discover that.”
When Saudi Arabia began opening up the AlUla region in recent years, Hughes says she saw an opportunity to delve more into the history of this enigmatic civilisation. She already had a special folder in her London home dedicated to the Nabataeans, but their story was still fragmented and there was much more to discover and piece together.
“I heard that AlUla was welcoming visitors so pretty quickly, I tried to make contact with people to see if I could come as a researcher and historian,” she says. Hughes, who is behind several historical TV shows and books, first travelled to AlUla in 2022. Within a year, filming began, wrapping up in February this year.
“We were going out deep into the deserts while making this documentary, guided by Bedouin tribes,” she says. “We would go to rocks covered in camel inscriptions, and there were still ancient Bedouin encampments there. For thousands of years, travellers have been going through these areas.”
The monumental rocks are carved with inscriptions and rock art that have never been filmed before and offer sharp insights into the ancient traditions of the region. The inscriptions are much like a family ledger, Hughes explains, as travellers would inscribe their names as they followed in their forefathers’ trails.
“Some of the art is still being deciphered,” Hughes says. “A lot of it seems to be about humanity's relationship with the natural world.” The inscriptions also offer clues about the trade routes in the region.
Incense trade was how the Nabataeans flourished between northern Arabia and the southern Levant between the fourth and second centuries BC. “They're primarily a trade culture,” Hughes says. “I remember talking to an archaeologist who said the Nabataeans did not care about war or conquest. They cared about money. They want to keep relations as sweet as possible with as many people as possible because they want to do well.”
It is this acumen towards trade and diplomacy that helped nurture a cosmopolitan culture within the Nabataeans. It also explains why their architecture borrows elements from the other civilisations they did business with.
Their structures, Hughes says, are “a real synchronisation of influence from north, south, east and west". She adds: "You have columns that look like they come from a Greek temple. You have Roman elements. You have images of what looks like Greek goddesses. You have Assyrian capitals. You have Nabataean style elements.”
What’s even more fascinating is how well structures, such as the Hegra in AlUla, have been preserved for millennia. “Anybody who goes to AlUla will find it hard to believe that these are tombs and decorations that are 2000 years old because a lot of them look like they were made yesterday," she says.
Their robust construction and engineering are what helped the sites survive so immaculately, Hughes says. Yet, that’s not to say they still look like as they did in their heyday. “What we've lost is the colouring,” she says. “You look at that sandstone and people imagine that was the original colour, but actually they were brightly painted. The tombs had kind of whites and blues and reds on them.”
The first episode of Lost Worlds is dedicated entirely to AlUla. It incorporates graphics to recreate these sites with their original vibrancy. “It's one of those moments on the film where everybody gasps when they see what they looked like,” she says.
The second part of the documentary ventures towards Europe, following in the trail of the ancient incense routes and showing how the Nabataeans left their mark abroad.
“We actually travel to the Bay of Naples, so very close to Pompeii, and go diving in the water there,” she says. “There's a whole temple and altar to the Nabataean God underwater. The Nabataeans were bringing so much incense, because the Romans became obsessed with incense, that there was a whole Nabataean quarter there.”
The final episode, meanwhile, is set in Jordan. “We go to Petra, obviously, but we also go up in a helicopter because archaeologists have spotted what they’re calling playing card-shaped forts, which were done by the Romans when they were attacking the Nabataeans.”
Interestingly, the forts contain Nabataean pottery, and it may suggest that the ancient Arab people managed to take over the Roman camp. “Typically, it’s described as a brutal campaign, where the Nabataeans are taken over by the Romans, but it’s not the case at all,” she says. “They definitely carried on as a culture. They carried on still being in charge of those routes.”
In fact, Hughes suggests that the Nabataeans’ cultural influence sustained well into the seventh century, and gradually then “melted into other cultures".
"The Nabataeans are still absolutely with us,” she says. “I don't think there was a big collapse. People like history to be neat like that, and kind of rises and falls. But I think the Nabateans just carry on, and their influence can still be felt today.”
She hopes to highlight this in Lost Worlds, while ensuring that the ancient civilisation finally gets its due. “They should be right at the centre of history,” Hughes says. “Hopefully, one of the things that the series is doing is helping to put them back in at the centre rather than at the edges. They crop up from other sources, from Greek and Roman sources, but they're not given the respect and credence that they that they should be given.”
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
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Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
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Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
