Philipp Peterer

Switzerland - 19-Oct-24 -

5 of the 7 proposed components are close to the mountain town of Abha (2270m). we covered 2 of them on the way to Rijal Almaa and of course Zee Ain.

Qura Qaradah
A small village close to Abha. The historic core is right at the beginning of the village and consists of a few historic buildings, some dry walls and a watchtower. This is your best bet from Abha I would suggest.

Rabea Rufaida
We struggled with this one. There is a old core with some old buildings (most of them in very bad shape) and also plenty of dry walls. Most of the walls however are not ancient, as they keep building them to create agriculture zones. We did not find the watchtower mentioned on the Unesco site. From Rabea we went on to the Soudah Viewpoint with stunning view over the Sarawat Mountains, before decending the extremely steep road down to Rijal Almaa.

Zee Ain
The Zee Ain village is also part of this TWHS, even though it is also a separate TWHS. The village is close to the town of Al Bahah. It seems to be the highlight of the region, as it is well signposted. It is also fully prepared for inscription, with a parking lot and a visitor center. Unlike the other locations we visited, the village is only a museum. Nobody lives there anymore. It is also (over?) reconstructed, but for sure very photogenic. We enjoyed exploring it a lot.

Kherfi Beehives
We really wanted to visit the beehives, but did not find any information about a trailhead. If anyone has information on how to get there, please write a review! We finally did not try, as even getting near means a significant detour on the way to Taif.

I would bet on the Zee Ain village being inscribed as a separate site, before this nomination is pushed forward. But I see a lot of potential for this nomination.