New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- The desert sun blazes over a Martian-like expanse in north-west Saudi Arabia. Wind-sculpted sandstone and granite boulders-shaped over millions of years-stand like meditating yogis. I'm in Hegra, a Unesco World Heritage Site sprawled across a 1.6-hectare necropolis in AlUla. In the 1st century BCE, this was home to the Nabataeans, a civilisation from the southern Levant (modern-day Jordan) with Petra as its capital. Today, it's the new address of The Chedi Hegra, a luxury resort, which opened in September 2024.

Desert life and the ancient incense routes have long shaped food here. The Nabataeans ate grains, dates, figs, olives, nuts and dried meats, seasoned with regional herbs and spices. Many of these flavours end...