Jebel Iqmaa — Ikmah After Dark | Plan A Experience Design Studio

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The Show

Full Show — Ikmah After Dark

Official Trailer

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Overview

As the finale to the "Ikmah After Dark" experience at the Ancient Kingdoms Festival, Plan A transformed Jebel Iqmaa — one of humanity's most significant open-air inscription sites — into a living canvas. Over 27 high-powered projectors painted 33,600 square metres of ancient rock face with stories drawn from the very inscriptions carved there over 2,500 years ago.

Guests journeyed through a torchlit trail into the Ikmah gorge, participating in live carving workshops and guided heritage walks before gathering at the natural amphitheatre for the projection finale. The show brought ancient Dadanitic, Lihyanite, Aramaic, Thamudic and Minaic scripts back to life in light.

The Ikmah inscription field was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register in May 2023 — just months before Plan A's show illuminated those same walls at the Ancient Kingdoms Festival.

"A breathtaking fusion of technology and heritage — the ancient gorge of Ikmah transformed into a living canvas of light and history." — Arab News

"The mountain itself became the storyteller, its ancient inscriptions glowing back to life after 2,500 years of silence." — Royal Commission for AlUla

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The Scale

Projectors

27

× 50,000-lumen Panasonic laser

Canvas

33,600

m² of natural rock face

Throw Distance

285

metres

Ancient Inscriptions

500+

glyphs in 5 ancient scripts

Show Run

17

nights — Nov 16 to Dec 2, 2023

Audio Pathway

300

metres of L'Acoustics spatial sound

Lantern Fixtures

56

× Astera AX5 torchlit pathway

UNESCO Status

2023

Memory of the World — inscribed same year

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Gallery

The Ancient Scribe

Inscription Wall

The Golden Bull

The Gorge

Constellations

The Handprint

The Guardian

Ancient Scripts

The Oasis

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Scope of Work

01

Content Creation

Original animations and generative visuals based on the ancient inscriptions and petroglyphs of Ikmah, developed in collaboration with heritage scholars.

02

3D Projection Mapping

27 × 50,000-lumen Panasonic laser projectors mapped across 33,600 m² of natural rock face using Disguise d3 media servers.

03

Show Design

Full narrative arc from guests' torchlit arrival through carving workshops and guided heritage walk to the projection finale at the natural amphitheatre.

04

Heritage Storytelling

UNESCO-informed content strategy translating 2,500-year-old Dadanitic, Lihyanite, Aramaic, Thamudic, and Minaic inscriptions into immersive visuals.

05

Technical Direction

Full technical design including Disguise d3 servers, L'Acoustics spatial audio across the 300m pathway, and 56 × Astera AX5 lantern fixtures.

06

Event Production

Complete production management for a 17-night run as part of the Ancient Kingdoms Festival, November 16 to December 2, 2023.

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The Heritage

Inscription-covered rock face at Jebel Iqmaa

Ikmah — A UNESCO Legacy

UNESCO Memory of the World (2023)

Jebel Iqmaa's inscription field at Ikmah was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register in May 2023, recognising it as one of the most significant open-air epigraphic sites on Earth.

Five Ancient Scripts

The rock faces carry more than 500 inscriptions in Dadanitic, Lihyanite, Aramaic, Thamudic, and Minaic — recording trade routes, religious dedications, and daily life during the first millennium BCE.

Plan A's Approach

Rather than imposing modern aesthetics, Plan A worked with heritage scholars to translate actual glyphs from the site into the show — light becoming a continuation of the inscriptions, not an imposition over them.

Technical Specification

Projection	27 × Panasonic 50,000-lumen laser
Canvas	33,600 m² · 285m throw
Media Servers	Disguise d3
Audio	L'Acoustics · 300m pathway
Lighting	56 × Astera AX5 lanterns
Client	ImagineExperience / RCU

JebelIqmaa