Al Bahah (Arabic: الباحةAl Bāḥa) is a city in the south west of Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Al Bahah Province nestled between the resorts of Makkah and Abha, Al Baha is one of the Kingdom’s prime tourist attractions. It enjoys a pleasant climate and is surrounded by more than forty forests, including Raghdan, al Zaraeb and Baidan. Al Baha is the headquarters of the Governor, local councils and branches of governmental departments. Receiving the state's special attention, the city of Al Baha abounds in educational, tourist and health institutions.
The "Pearl of Resorts" is the name given to Al Baha by those acquainted with the city. The "Garden of Hijaz" (Arabic translation: حديقه الحجاز) was the name given to Al Baha by sharif Makkah.
Geography and location
Al Baha City (BC) lies in the south-west of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia between the holy Makkah and Aseer. It is the smallest of the Kingdom's provinces (11,000 square km). It is surrounded by a number of cites, including Taif on the north, Beesha on the east, Abha on the south and the Red Sea coast city of Al Qunfuda on the west. This tourist city is situated in an area characterized by natural tree cover and agricultural plateaus.
It consists of six towns, the most important of which are Beljarshy, Almandaq, and Almekhwah, in addition to the Baha city, the center of the province. The province comprises 31 administrative centers and has a population of 533,001.
The mountain road links Al-Baha to Tihama plain.
The Province is known for its beauty and has many tourist attractions such as forests, wild life areas, valleys & mountains that attract visitors from all parts of the kingdom and the Persian Gulf area. Some of these areas are the forests of Raghdan, Ghomsan, Fayk, and Aljabal, and many other historical and archeological sites. It contains more than 53 forests.
Al Baha is the home land of the Ghamid and Zahran tribes and is divided geographically into three distinct parts: Sarah which contains the high mountains characterized by temperate weather and rich plant cover due to relatively high annual rainfall, Tehama which is the lowland coastal area to the west of the Sarah characterized by very hot and humid weather and very little rainfall average, and the third part—the eastern hills characterized by altitude of 1550 to 1900 meter above sea level with cool winter and hot summer and sparse plant cover. The largest city in the province, both in population and area, is Baljurashi (it was the first capital for the province), the second one is Almandaq. In Tehama, there are two major cities: Qilwah and Al-Mikhwah. The number of tribes are 18, branching from the main ones, Ghamid and Zahran. The province has 13 settled tribes (working in trades and agriculture) and 5 nomadic tribes.
Climate
The climate in Al Baha is greatly affected by its varying geographic features. Generally speaking, the climate in Al-Baha is mild with temperatures ranging between 12-23 degrees Celsius. Due to its altitude, Al Baha's climate is moderate in summer and cold in winter. The area attracts visitors looking for a moderate climate and pristine, scenic views.
In the Tehama area of the province, which is down on the coast, the climate is hot in the summer and warm in the winter. Humidity ranges from 52% - 67%.
While in the mountainous region, which is known as As-Sarah, the weather is cooler in summer and winter. Rainfall is higher in the mountainous region with falls in the range of 229 – 581 mm. The average throughout the whole region is 100–250 mm annually.
The Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia was once ruled by the Turks for over five hundred years. post the first world war era, the village of El Zafir (قريه الظفير) had been the administrative centre of what was known then Belad Ghamid, but with the establishment of Saudi Arabian government Ghamid and Zahran have been administered as a unit in 1925, and the seat of local government transferred to Baljurashi ( بلجرشي ), a town situated fifteen miles south of el Zafir.
The tribes of Al Baha Ghamid and Zahran are the indigenous people of Al Baha . Tribes in the region trace their origin to the famous pre-Islamic state of Sheba (مملكه سبأ) whose rule extended to areas presently known as Syria and Lebanon. Historians also report that they established the famous state of Akoum, in Abyssinia. Prince Mishari bin Saud is the governor of the Province since August 28, 2010.
Districts
Al Baha Province has five main districts beside downtown of Al Baha (Al Balad) .
Al Baha Downtown (Arabic: البلد) is mountainous and is the centre of Al Baha province and the main site of governmental offices. also the current main site of commerce.
BalJurashi District ( Arabic : بلجرشي ) is an ancient trade and commercial centre of the province.
AlMandag District (Arabic : المندق ) a prime tourist site, located at 2400 feet above the sea level on Al Sarawat Mountains.
AlQura District (Arabic: القرى)
Al Mukhwa'a District ( Arabic : المخواه ) is the most populated plain district of Al Baha. hosts many ancient sites including the Dee Ain Village (The Marble Village) Arabic: قريه ذي عين
Alaqiq District ( Arabic : العقيق ) : the largest district of Al Baha, Hosts Al Baha University Campus and the community college of Umm Al Qura University of Mecca.
Qelwa District (Arabic : قلوة )
Historical attractions
old architecture in Al Bahazahwan fort in al-hokman city north of al-baha
Al Baha is also known for their traditional towers, called in Arabic a "qasaba". "Apparently unique to Asir architecture are the qasaba towers. Controversy surrounds their function- some argue that they were built as lookouts, and others that they were keeps, or even granaries. Perhaps it is a combination, although the right positon of a watchtower, on a hill top, is the wrong place for a keep or granary."[1]
Dhee Ayn Village (Arabic: قرية ذي عين) is situated at about 24 km. southwest of al-Baha across 'Aqabat al-Baha, also known as Aqbat King Fahad . The famous village of Dhi Ain is sometimes known as "marble village" as it is built on a small marble mountain. The grove of palm trees is lush due to a small stream nearby. The villagers say that the marble village glows at sunset. It also has a steep escarpment road, running into and out of tunnels on the way up and down. Dhi 'Ain was famous for its fruits and banana plantations which still grow there. The village dates back to about 400 years ago, and it had witnessed the battles between the Ottoman Turks and its inhabitants.
"Even the road that leads to the (Dhee Ayn) village is impressive, and several historical stone and slate towers dot the way. Al-Bahah Province is known as the region of 1001 towers, once built to protect villages, roads and plantations from rivalling tribes. Today, these towers are abandoned, and many of them are partially or completely in ruins."[2]
Transportation
Al-Baha Domestic Airport is located 45 km to the east of Al Baha City Center and was founded in the Year 1982
"Al-Baha National Airport receives flights from all cities of the Kingdom and is located in Aqiq Province 45km from Al-Baha city itself."[3]
Hospitals and medical care
* King Fahd Hospital (مستشفى الملك فهد) "Initially, the hospital has been operated by one of the International specialist companies in directing and operating hospitals, but since 1421 it was self operated under the supervision of MOH."[4]
The hospital is also a training hospital in the main health sciences, as stated in 2012: "King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha is already accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties as training center for postgraduate programs of Saudi Board / Arab Board in the 4 main departments, namely: Pediatrics, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Obstetrics & Gynecology. These programs are completely accredited in the hospital and no need for the candidate to move into any other hospital for complete his training requirements. The Urology department is processing accreditation process that may be finalized by the next academic year."[5]
As a training hospital, the Medical Library, established in 1982, in the King Fahd Hospital is one of the largest libraries in the Province: "Health Sciences Library and Information Center represents the core of the Academic Affairs services provided for all Health care workers in Al-Baha region. it is located in the ground floor of the main hospital building in front of human resources department and Employee Health Clinic. The library contains 1,250 hardcopies of recent medical textbooks in all medical fields with plenty of full color medical atlases, dictionaries, and other materials for learning English language with a section for Arabic books and publication of interest for administrative staff. Digital library includes 800 digital books with plenty of audiovisual materials for teaching medical examination, heart and breath sounds and also materials for teaching English language. This section includes digital version of video recording for all scientific events carried out in the hospital. Also, a digital archives are available for some of the most prestigious medical journals for the last few years."[6]
Qudran Private Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى غدران الخاص)
BalJurishi Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى بلجرشي)
Al-Mandag General Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى المندق العام)
The Community College belongs to Umm Al Qura University of Mecca.
DAR AL FAISAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Culture
Religion
All of the Saudi citizens of Al Baha are Sunni Muslim. whom in the past practiced Shafi`i, a school of fiqh that was dominant in Hejaz. The largest mosque in Al-Baha is King Fahad Mosque (Arabic: جامع الملك فهد ).
Cuisine
The city is known for its healthy and nutritious traditional meals brought by local farming such as Dagabees (Arabic: دغابيس), Aseeda (Arabic : عصيده), Areeka (Arabic عريكه) and the Southern wheat bread with Butter oil (Arabic خبز البر بالسمن ).
The Province is famous for its production of honey, in addition to its agricultural production of vegetables, grain, fruit, and dates. The region also grows grapes, grapefruits, lemons, oranges, pomegranates and dates.
Arabic dialect
It is claimed by some Arab authors that the dialect of Belad Ghamid and Zahran (Now known as Al Baha province in Saudi Arabia) is nearest to classical Arabic. Ahmed Abdul Ghafur Attar (Arabic : احمد عبدالغفور عطار ) has said in an article* that the language of the Hejaz (Arabic لهجات الحجاز), especially that which is spoken in Belad Ghamdi and Zahran is close to the Classical Language.
Faisal Ghori (Arabic فيصل غوري), a famous scholar of Arabic Literature wrote in his book Qabayil Al- Hejaz (Arabic قبائل الحجاز) The Quranic Arabic upon which our grammar is based on does not exist in any tribe. The only thing we can say is that there are some tribes whose language is much closer to classical language . The tribes of Belad Ghamid and Zahran are a good example of this .
Al Baha Literary Club
a similar to other literary clubs across the nation. al baha literary club concerned with intellectuals meetings, poems novels and books distribution. it hosts intellectuals from all regions of Saudi Arabia. founded in 2009. their website can be accessed via http://www.adbialbaha.com/index.php
Distances to other Saudi cities
Al Baha to Jeddah : 291.76 kilometres (181.29 mi)
Al Baha to Riyadh : 743.29 kilometres (461.86 mi)
Al Baha to Taif : 180.67 kilometres (112.26 mi)
Al Baha to the holy city of Mecca : 235.38 kilometres (146.26 mi)
Al Baha to the holy city of Madina : 657.12 kilometres (408.32 mi)
Al Baha to Khobar : 1,130.74 kilometres (702.61 mi)
Al Baha to Abha : 224 kilometres (139 mi)
Sports
Local clubs
There are four main local football clubs in the city, including
El Hejaz Football Club (Arabic: نادي الحجاز )
Al-ameed Football Club (Arabic :نادي العميد (زهران سابقا
ِAl-baha Football Club ( Arabic:نادي الباحه - السراه سابقا )
Al-Sarawat Football Club (Arabic : نادي السروات )
King Saud Sport City
King Saud Sport city complex (Arabic: مدينة الملك سعود الرياضية) provides sport and leisure facilities including swimming pools, football club, basketball, and other
Natural resources
Al-Baha region is rich in ancient mining sites. The sites of Khayal al Masna' (Arabic : خيال المنسا ) and al-Aqiq ( Arabic : العقيق ) were major gold mining areas; while the village of Kuna, where over one hundred building structures are located date back to South Arabian Civilization.
Al Baha Summer Tourism Festival
The festival takes place every summer and holds a number of activities and sports events, as well as a number of cultural, literary and religious programs.
Equestrian and Olympic marathon activities will be held as well as air shows.
A number of prizes will be given during this festival such as cars and flight tickets. In addition to daily draws and prizes of cash and gifts.
International Honey Festival
Al Baha province is well known for its production of high quality honey, Al Baha farmers have organized the third International Honey festival for 2010 . the festival hosted 10 Arab states production of honey in addition to local produced honey with high reception from citizens of Saudi Arabia and visitors.
Newspapers and public media
Al Baha is served by four major Arabic-language newspapers, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Watan, Okaz, and Al-Bilad, as well as two major English-language newspapers, the Saudi Gazette and Arab News. Okaz and Al-Watan are the primary newspapers of Al Baha and some other Saudi cities, with over a million readers; they focus mainly on issues that affect the city.
Al Baha Today (e-version Newspaper) is a daily electronic newspaper directed at locals, new residents, incoming visitors, tourists, and the developing tourism business sector. The magazine serves as a guide to the city's sights and attractions, restaurants, shopping and entertainment. can be accessed via http://albahatoday.cc, television stations serving the city area include Saudi TV1, Saudi TV2, Saudi TV Sports, Al Ekhbariya, the ART channels network and hundreds of cable, satellite and other specialty television providers.
Western travelers
John Philby (also known as Shaikh Abdullah By King Abdulaziz has documented his journey crossing from Riyadh to Jeddah by the "backdoor" route, writing on Al Baha district of Arabia in his famous book The Arabian Highlands ,. Later he was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Founders Gold Medal for his written journey.
References
^Mostyn, Trevor. 1983. Saudi Arabia- A MEED Practical Guide. London: Middle East Economic Digest. 2nd edition. Page 320.
Saudi Arabia
