"Driving through cotton-candy-pink canyons one morning, past the spindly mountains that sit upright on AlUla's arid plains, I crossed through a sunbeam that hit me like a laser. It had bounced off Maraya, a remote concert hall in northwest Saudi and the world's largest mirrored building. These landscapes are astounding; now here it was duplicated, a big-screen mirage on this gargantuan what's-it-doing-here canvas."
"So called 'giga projects' like The Line, a horizontal city projected to stretch 105 miles, attract attention but can be a distraction; come, and you'll see there's much more happening. In the last decade, newly introduced liberties have redefined the way Saudis engage with their country. (Consider the 35-year nationwide ban on cinemas overturned in 2018, and imagine what that means for the nation's emerging film industry.)"
"The pace of change is so rapid, even locals struggle to keep up; some tourists remain largely oblivious. And while alcohol is still banned nationwide, the new Unstable nightclub in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarters now hosts late-night techno. Superyachts moored along the Corniche and a program of concerts, exhibitions and fashion launches reveal the regional wealth ready for a good time during Jeddah's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix."
AlUla's landscapes and the mirrored Maraya concert hall create dramatic, duplicated vistas that reveal a new tourism aesthetic. Vision 2030 drives economic diversification with high-profile 'giga projects' like The Line, while cultural reforms expand creative expression. The 2018 lifting of the 35-year cinema ban has catalyzed an emerging film industry. Rapid social changes are producing vibrant local music, art, design and nightlife scenes, even as some residents struggle to adapt and some tourists remain unaware. Alcohol remains banned nationwide, yet nightlife and luxury events such as the Jeddah Grand Prix attract regional wealth. Regional tensions and human rights scrutiny persist alongside record tourist numbers.
Read at Elite Traveler
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