Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Among Aaron Millar’s Seven Wonders of the World

Award-winning travel writer, Aaron Millar, has included the heritage city of AlUla in northern Saudi Arabia has been included on a list of Seven Wonders of the World for 2023. 

AlUla is located in the heart of Saudi Arabia’s northwestern desert, much of which is still unexplored. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of the site has been excavated. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Hegra (Al-Hijr) is famous for its elaborate monumental tombs carved into stark red sandstone cliffs.

When Al Ula was opened to visitors by the end of 2022, it unveiled a 200,000-year-old piece of Arabian history, according to Millar.

The Great Pyramids of Giza is the last original Seven Wonders of the World to still exists. Meanwhile, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus no longer exist. 

Millar’s Seven Wonders of the World for 2023 include Mont Saint-Michel, France; Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina; Tiger's Nest Monastery, Bhutan; Cappadocia, Turkey; The Lake District, Great Britain; and The Sardine Run, South Africa. 

Millar decided to list seven new wonders of the world every year, picking “the most awe-inspiring places on the planet for star-gazing, wildlife spotting and astonishing panoramas.”