Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ago by members of the Khatani tribe who sought the most inaccessible location as a
means of protection from the Ottomans.
Despite seeming to cling to the precipice, the village was almost self-sufficient, sus-
tained by terraced farms where they grew coffee, fruit and vegetables as well as raising
sheep, chickens and goats. If you look carefully along the rim of the cliff above the village
you can still see the iron posts to which ropes were tied to lower people, goods and
frightened livestock to the village. Remarkably, it was inhabited until about 1980.
Sadly, little remains of the old village and some of the last villagers were forcibly re-
moved with the completion of the cable car. And in its place is a hideous, concrete tourist
complex whose only aim is to milk money during the high season.
A via ferrata (climbing route with the aid of fixed cables) has been established up the
rock face from Habalah.
WORTH A TRIP
NAJRAN
Although currently off-limits to foreign visitors due to instability close to the Yemeni border, the oasis at Najran
is one of Saudi Arabia's hidden treasures; we include it here in case the situation changes during the life of this
book. Najran is known for its traditional markets, towering mudbrick, fortress-like homes known as
qasr
strung
out along the wadi, the fine archaeological site of Al-Ukhdud, and an exceptional mudbrick fort.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Farasan Islands
07
The Farasan Islands form part of an archipelago about 40km off the coast of Jizan.
Farasan, the main island, makes a great break from the mainland for one big reason - fab-
ulous diving. The area is bursting with marine life and diving is superb in the shallow,
plankton-rich waters. The islands also have some of the few remaining coastal mangroves
and endangered dugongs in the Red Sea. Galloping around on land is a herd of 500 Arabi-
an gazelle and the recent success in attracting divers to the island has resulted in slightly
more environmental protection above water as well as below.
The town of
Farasan
has several traditional houses built from coral with intricately dec-
orated and carved doorways. These were the homes of former merchants and pearl deal-
ers. A small
Turkish fort
sits on the edge of town.
