The thirty-kilometer drive from Al Bahah to the Heritage Village of Thee Ain took us more than an hour this morning. The vertigo-inducing road has 25 tunnels, countless switchback turns, crosses 60 bridges and descends nearly 1500 meters from Al Bahah.
Thee Ain (or Zee Ain or Dhi Ayn or ذي عين) has been around since the 8th Century and is named for the continuously flowing spring, ‘ain,’ that supplies water to the oasis. After a tour of the brand new, multi-media museum we hiked up the narrow alleys, climbed steep stairways though two- and three-storey houses and past the marble slab that supplied the white stone decorations around the village. The current town is dates to Ottoman times but one inscribed lintel is thought to be 2000 years old. Several of the homes are being repaired using the original stone and building techniques including some very strange stairways. Some of the nicely decorated wooden doors and windows appear to be original, too, as does the tiny mosque with its two niches—the mihrab which faces Mecca and another for the imam to sit.
After an obligatory climb to the source of the spring, we were treated to an al fresco lunch along the stream overlooking the oasis. Yannis says this is the only place in the country where he has heard the sound of burbling water.
Back on the bus we followed our local guide’s Land Cruiser where we transferred to some waiting 4X4s for the cork-screwing climb up the narrow—sometimes paved, sometimes rock—nearly vertical road to the Caves Resort, 1700 meters high in Jabal Shada Nature Reserve. Stuck in the Toyota’s “way back” I had all I could do just to hang on tight.
Caves Resort is a bit of Bedrock without Fred and Barney. The en-suite rooms are either carved into the rock or natural caves—charming, but not my style. During the welcoming coffee—dark roasted local beans—and dates the old man playing the flute told us he was born in one of the caves.
Sometimes our short hike through the rocks felt like we were bouldering, other times like we were spelunkers and we constantly had to watch both our step and our heads. A few of the group said this was their favorite part of the whole trip. Afterwards our hosts fed us small portions of chicken and vegetable stew with a very tasty traditional homemade bread followed by a farewell cup of tea. We said our “Shkrans” and Asalamas” and took the 4X4s to the bus, then up the winding canyon road, over the bridges and through the tunnels to our hotel in Al Bahah. Another long day—but a good one.
