Saudi Arabia is now trying to woo tourists with its age-old antiquities site, which are ‘supposedly’ haunted by djinns! In an isolated region of Al Ula (a city in Saudi) lie remnants of a bygone civilisation and the government of Saudi is now working on turning it into an international tourism destination. The development of Al Uda is a step to encourage more non-Muslim tourists to visit the country, and also to preserve pre-Islamic heritage sites along with strengthening the identity of its nation.Billions of dollars have been invested in restoring the site (in a French cultural partnership) and the authorities now expect it to attract travellers from across the globe. While there is no doubt that the gigantic rocks tombs of Madain Saleh look magnificent, locals also believe that the entire region is haunted by djinns and is unsafe.Another prominent site here to visit is the 2,000-year-old city of Madain Saleh, also a UNESCO World Heritage site that was carved into desert rocks by the Nabateans. They were the pre-Islamic Arab people, who were also behind the building Petra in Jordan.The common superstition here is that the place is jinxed. The story goes back to a hadith (a collection of traditions containing Prophet Muhammad sayings) that says Prophet Muhammad once warned Muslims not to enter the site “unless you are crying ... lest you suffer the affliction”.People in the region ignored the passage and constructed a school here, which was soon shut down after a student claimed to see a djinn in the region.Locals do not speak about any djinn or such jinx. They are pretty tight-lipped when it comes to such stories as it might hamper tourism in the region. Surprisingly, they are now happy and planning to open restaurants, shops and hotels for the convenience of tourists. Because, of course, it is a major revenue opportunity for them.