Thee Ain

Arabic: ذي عين
The village from distance
Shown within Saudi Arabia
Location	Saudi Arabia
Region	Al Bahah Region
Coordinates	19°46′02.8″N 41°26′03.2″E / 19.767444°N 41.434222°E / 19.767444; 41.434222

The village of Thee Ain (Arabic: ذي عين), Dhi Ayn or Zee Ain village is in the Al-Mikhwat province of the Al-Baha Region, Saudi Arabia. The village is characterized by houses built from polished stones and dating back to the 8th century.^[1] It is located to the southwest of the city of Al Makhwah about 20 km from the village. The village includes more than 40 houses and a mosque adjacent to the river. Nearby forts protected them from raids.

Etymology

The village was named for the water that flows from the nearby mountains. The river has several branches, each with a different name. There is a local legend that a man lost his stick in one of the valleys, and to retrieve it he followed the river until he arrived in the village and gathered its people and extracted the stick after the excavation of the eye.

History

The village was established in the tenth century AH, and witnessed many invasions between the tribes before the unification of the Kingdom by King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. One of the most important invasions against the region was when they met the armies of Zahran and Ghamd tribes on the one hand with the army of Muhammad Ali Pasha. Ali Pasha and known tombs as "graves of the Turks".

Climate

The climate of the village is hot in summer and mild in winter because it is part of the Tihamah region, at about 1985 meters of elevation. The rain is heavy in the summer and medium in the winter.

Description

This village is famous for agricultural crops such as bananas, Kadi, basil, lemon and palm trees, stores, and scenic river.^{[citation needed]}

Osmani provided a history claiming the presence of large quantities of high quality marble and metals. The marble was used during the expansion of the Grand Mosque. (Incorrect: As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, there isn't specific information available about the use of high-quality marble and metals from Thee Ain in the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.)

The village consists of 49 houses, of which 9 are single, 19 in two, 11 in three, and 10 in four. The village was built on the Madamek wall system and the walls are approximately 70 to 90 centimeters wide. Sidr wood The large rooms are decorated with columns known as "zafer". Above the Sidr there is a type of stone known as "prayer" and the stones are covered with mud. The lower floors are used for reception, sitting and sleeping floors, and some buildings are still in existence since the beginning of the village and some of them are partially destroyed and some of them are completely destroyed.

Restoration

The Saudi Tourism Authority allocated 16 million riyals for the project of rehabilitating the village, which aims to restore and develop the village and turn it into a tourist site. The project was divided into three phases over a period of five years. The first phase included the rehabilitation of the main corridor of the village and the establishment of sessions along the corridor to the waterfall and the reopening of the mosque and rehabilitation of a number of buildings to make it a museum in addition to the establishment of a visitor center and restaurant and public toilets.