On the white hill
Tightly packed stone houses.
Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · وكالة الأنباء السعودية — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saracen Count — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saracen Count — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad Umair Yaqub — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad Umair Yaqub — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saracen Count — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saracen Count — CC BY-SA 4.0
A historic village in the Tihamah lowlands of Al Baha, about 20 kilometres from Al Makhwah, built on top of a white rock hill above green orchards, so its tightly packed stone houses look like a single fortress. It was founded in the tenth century AH and is more than 400 years old. The village has 49 stone houses of one to four storeys, a small mosque and forts once used for watch and defence. Its walls are thick, between 70 and 90 centimetres. Its name, Dhee Ain, means «the one with the spring», after a spring that flows from the nearby mountains without ever stopping and waters the banana, lemon, pepper, basil and kadi plantations at the foot of the village. It is one of ten sites the Saudi government agreed in 2014 to put forward for UNESCO's World Heritage List. Visitors come from Al Baha on a mountain road that drops down to Tihamah. Summers are hot and winters mild, so winter is the best time, and the village is lit up at night. The stone paths are steep, so wear comfortable shoes, and check opening times and fees locally.
Tightly packed stone houses.
Watering banana groves.
The stone houses lit up.
Tihamah of Al Baha, about 20 km from Al Makhwah
Winter: the village is in the Tihamah lowlands, hot in summer and mild in winter. It looks best in the morning or when it is lit up in the evening.