Dadan and Jabal Ikmah: The Open Air Library

If Hegra is Petra, Dadan is even older.

Dadan

• The Lion Tombs: Famous square tombs cut into the red cliff face, guarded by lion sculptures (now weathered).
• The City: Excavations of a massive stone city that controlled the incense trade.

Jabal Ikmah

• The Library: A canyon with thousands of inscriptions in Aramaic, Dadanitic, and Thamudic.
• Significance: It shows the evolution of language leading to Arabic.
• Tour: Usually combined (Dadan + Ikmah) in one bus tour.