Saudi Arabia’s ancient oasis destination takes its Rawis to the Smithsonian, using personal stories, heritage objects and dialogue to create a more intimate approach to cultural exchange.
AlUla is taking a different approach to sharing its heritage with the world: instead of simply telling visitors its history, it is inviting them into the conversation.
The Saudi Arabian destination recently brought its Rawis, or storytellers, to Washington, D.C., for a week-long residency at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The programme brought together museum visitors, families, academics and cultural professionals for a series of storytelling sessions, workshops and conversations inspired by AlUla’s history as a crossroads of civilisations.
From the Incense Road to Washington
AlUla has more than 200,000 years of human history and around 7,000 years of continuous civilisation. Its location in north-west Saudi Arabia also placed it at the heart of the ancient Incense Road, a network that connected Arabia with the Mediterranean, North Africa, Mesopotamia and the Indian Ocean.
At the Smithsonian, Rawis Atif Albalawi and Wedad Yaseen explored that history through a more personal lens.
Rather than relying solely on traditional museum interpretation, the pair used objects, oral traditions and conversation to explore universal themes including trade, family, migration and memory.
The programme attracted 159 museum visitors, academics, docents and cultural practitioners during the week.
Swapping stories, not simply telling them
One of the centrepieces was Qissa bi Qissa, meaning “Swap a Story” in Arabic. Developed with UNESCO and inspired by the Live Museum model, the experience uses everyday heritage objects, including traditional incense burners and coffee pots, as starting points for personal conversations.
Across three sessions, 38 participants exchanged their own stories and memories, creating a contemporary version of the cultural exchange that once characterised the Incense Road.
The format is deliberately interactive. Rather than positioning the storyteller as the sole holder of knowledge, it gives visitors space to contribute their own experiences and find connections between their lives and AlUla’s history.
Bringing younger audiences into the story
The residency also included a public lecture, AlUla and the Incense Road: An Ancient World in Dialogue, attended by 97 people, as well as Once Upon an Incense Road, a programme designed to introduce families and younger visitors to AlUla’s history.
For museum professionals, the Rawis led specialist workshops for 24 NMAA interns and docents, focusing on ways to turn traditional one-way interpretation into more engaging conversations with visitors.
The initiative reflects AlUla’s broader effort to position its heritage as something living and evolving, rather than simply something preserved in the past.
A new chapter for cultural tourism
The Washington residency follows the Rawis’ appearances at the UNESCO Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, UNESCO Headquarters in Paris and the Forbidden City in Beijing, extending AlUla’s international cultural programme.
According to the Royal Commission for AlUla, the approach also responds to changing expectations around travel. An RCU survey found that 71% of travellers are looking for authentic and immersive cultural experiences.
For AlUla, the Rawis are central to delivering that experience. They combine local knowledge, oral heritage and archaeological research with storytelling that encourages visitors to engage directly with the destination’s landscapes, communities and historic sites.
The programme is also part of an ongoing collaboration between the Royal Commission for AlUla and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, with previous visits and exchanges helping shape the residency and future work around museum interpretation and intercultural dialogue.
And the conversation will not stay in Washington.
Later this year, Qissa bi Qissa will return to AlUla as a bookable public experience, allowing visitors to take part in the storytelling format at some of the destination’s landmark heritage sites, including Hegra, Dadan, Jabal Ikmah and AlUla Old Town.
The result is a model of cultural tourism that places people, rather than technology or spectacle, at the centre of the experience.
