Al Bahah
Al Baha
ٱلْبَاحَة Al-Bāḥa | |
---|---|
Al Baha | |
UTC+3 (EAT) | |
Area code | +966-17 |
Al Baha (
The name "Pearl of Resorts" is the name given to Al-Baha by those acquainted with the city. The name "Garden of the Hejaz" (
Geography and location
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Al-Baha City lies in the south west of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between
The province is known for its beauty and has
Al-Baha is the homeland of the Ghamid and
Climate
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Al Bahah has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh). The climate is greatly affected by its varying geographic features. Generally speaking, the climate in Al-Baha is mild with temperatures ranging between 7 and 32.3 °C (44.6 and 90.1 °F). Due to its location at 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level, 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 in the mountainous region lies in the range of 229 to 581 millimetres (9 to 23 in). The average throughout the whole region is 100 to 250 millimetres (3.9 to 9.8 in) annually.
Climate data for Al Baha (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3) |
32.0 (89.6) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.0 (95.0) |
38.2 (100.8) |
39.0 (102.2) |
40.0 (104.0) |
39.0 (102.2) |
38.0 (100.4) |
35.0 (95.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
29.6 (85.3) |
39.0 (102.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) |
25.1 (77.2) |
27.1 (80.8) |
29.7 (85.5) |
33.0 (91.4) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
33.8 (92.8) |
29.7 (85.5) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.8 (74.8) |
29.8 (85.7) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
18.0 (64.4) |
20.3 (68.5) |
22.8 (73.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.1 (84.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
23.2 (73.8) |
19.2 (66.6) |
16.7 (62.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.1 (50.2) |
11.9 (53.4) |
14.2 (57.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.1 (73.6) |
21.5 (70.7) |
16.9 (62.4) |
13.1 (55.6) |
10.7 (51.3) |
17.0 (62.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
12.2 (54.0) |
12.0 (53.6) |
15.8 (60.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
8.5 (47.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
2.0 (35.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 9.3 (0.37) |
0.9 (0.04) |
10.4 (0.41) |
30.4 (1.20) |
25.6 (1.01) |
4.6 (0.18) |
8.5 (0.33) |
13.2 (0.52) |
1.5 (0.06) |
8.1 (0.32) |
8.1 (0.32) |
2.6 (0.10) |
123.1 (4.85) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 19.0 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
55 | 48 | 46 | 45 | 35 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 30 | 46 | 53 | 39 |
Source: World Meteorological Organization[2] Jeddah Regional Climate Center[3] |
History
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Post-World War 1, the village of El-Zafir (
Historic attractions
Al Baha is also known for their traditional towers, each of which is called a
Even the road that leads to the (Dhee Ayn) village is impressive, and several historical stone and slate towers dot the way. Al-Bahah Region 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.
Infrastructure
Souq
The
Transportation
Al-Baha Domestic Airport is located 45 km (28 mi) 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 45 km (28 mi) from Al-Baha city itself."[9]
Hospitals and medical care
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."[11]
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 on the ground floor of the main hospital building in front of the human resources department and Employee Health Clinic. The library contains 1,250 hard copies of recent medical textbooks in all medical fields with plenty of full colour medical atlases, dictionaries, and other materials for learning the English language with a section for Arabic books and publications of interest for administrative staff. The digital library includes 800 digital books with audiovisual materials for teaching medical examination, heart and breath sounds and also materials for teaching the English language. This section includes digital version of video recordings for all scientific events carried out in the hospital. Also, digital archives are available for some of the most prestigious medical journals for the last few years."[12]
- Qudran Private Hospital (Arabic: مُسْتَشْفَى غُدْرَان ٱلْخَاص, romanized: Mustashfā Ghudrān al-Khāṣ)
- Prince Mishari Bin Saud Hospital, Baljurashi (Arabic: مُسْتَشْفَى ٱلْاَمِيْر مِشَارِي بِن سُعُوْد بَلْجُرَشِي, romanized: Mustashfā Al-Amīr Mishārī bin Suʿūd Baljurashī)
- Al-Mandag General Hospital (Arabic: مُسْتَشْفَى ٱلْمَنْدَق ٱلْعَام, romanized: Mustashfā Al-Mandaq Al-ˁĀm)
- Shamekh Polyclinic (Arabic: مُسْتَوْصَف شَامِخ ٱلْأَهْلِي, romanized: Mustawṣaf Shāmikh Al-Ahlī)
Traditional tribal cemeteries
The southern tribal hinterland of Baha — home to especially the Ghamdi and Zahrani tribes — has been renowned for centuries for their tribal cemeteries that are now slowly vanishing, according to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. One old villager explained how tribal cemeteries came about: "People used to die in large numbers and very rapidly one after the other because of diseases. So the villagers would dig graves close by burying members of the same family in one area. That was how the family and tribal burial grounds came about," he said. The old man continued, "If the family ran out of space, they would open old graves where family members had been buried before and add more people to them. This process is known as khashf." During famines and outbreaks of epidemics, huge numbers of people would die and many tribes faced difficulties in digging new graves because of the difficult weather. Elderly people remember that in olden times, the winter used to stretch for more than six months and would be accompanied by much rain and fog, making movement difficult. But due to tribal rivalries, many families would guard their cemeteries, and put restrictions on who got buried in them. Across Al-Bahah, burial grounds are constructed in different ways. Some cemeteries consist of underground vaults or concrete burial chambers with the capacity of holding a large number of bodies at a time. Such vaults include windows for people to peer through and are usually decorated ornately with writings, drawings and patterns. Muhammad Saleh, a local resident, said, "One of the things that is so iconic about many of these graves is the fact that many of them are not directed toward the Kaaba. This tells us that some of these graves are from the pre-Islamic era. In Islam the face of a dead person should be toward the Kaaba.""[13]
Education
- Academic Affairs & Health Training, established in 2006
- Al-Baha University, established in 2006
- The Community College, which belongs to Umm Al Qura University of Makkah
- Dar Al-faisal International School
- Creativity Care
Literary club
Al Baha literary club is concerned with intellectual meetings, poems, novels and book distribution. It hosts intellectuals from all regions of Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 2009.[citation needed]
Local sports clubs
There are four main local football clubs in the city:
- Arabic: نَادِي ٱلْحِجَاز, romanized: Nādī Al-Ḥijāz).
- Arabic: نَادِي ٱلْعَيْن, romanized: Nādī Al-ʿAyn); previously known as "Zahran FC" and "Al Ameed".
- Al Baha Football Club (Arabic: نَادِي ٱلْبَاحَه, romanized: Nādī Al-Bāḥah); previously known as "Al Sarah FC".
- Al Sarawat Football Club (Arabic: نَادِي ٱلسَّرَوَات, romanized: Nādī As-Sarawāt).
King Saud Sport City
The stadium complex provides facilities for sports and leisure, including swimming pools, football and basketball.[14][15]
Culture
Religion
All of the Saudi citizens of Al Baha are
]Cuisine
The city is known for its healthy and nutritious traditional meals brought by local farming such as Daghābīs (دَغَابِيْس) and ʿAṣīdah (عَصِيْدَه).[16]
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.
— Al Baha City Profile[16]
Language
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. Aḥmed ʿAbdul-Ghafūr ʿAṭṭār (أَحْمَد عَبْدُ ٱلْغَفُوْر عَطَّار) had said in an article that the dialect of the Hejaz, especially that which is spoken in Belad Ghamdi and Zahran. is close to the Classical Dialect. Faiṣal Ghorī (فَيْصَل غوْرِي), a known scholar of Arabic literature, wrote in his book Qabaʾil Al-Ḥijāz (قَبَائِل ٱلْحِجَاز) "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."[citation needed]
Media
Al Baha is served by four major Arabic newspapers, . 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. It can be accessed via Albahatoday.[17] 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.
Distances to other Saudi cities
- Al Baha to Jeddah: 409 kilometres (254 mi)
- To Riyadh: 877.9 kilometres (545.5 mi)
- To Taif : 234.3 kilometres (145.6 mi)
- To the Islamic holy city of Mecca: 301.6 kilometres (187.4 mi)
- To the Medina: 707.2 kilometres (439.4 mi)
- To Khobar: 1,296.8 kilometres (805.8 mi)
- To Abha: 323 kilometres (201 mi)[citation needed]
Natural resources
The region is known for its ancient mining sites. Major
Wildlife
Visitors from inside the kingdom and nearby countries are particularly attracted to the area by its more than 53 forests, which include the Raghdan forest, which covers an area of 600,000 square metres (60 ha) just 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from the city. Iit has been provided with children's playgrounds and other amenities. The Amdan forest is 55 km (34 mi) to the north of Al Baha. It abounds in olive trees, Ara'r shrubs and other natural vegetation. The Wadi Feig forest is 8 km (5.0 mi) from Al Baha. It is encircled by a green valley littered with apricot, pomegranate and grape orchards. The forest of Wadi Al Ageeg is 40 km (25 mi) from Al Baha and abounds in various fruit trees and tall lotus trees. Al Baha airport is in Ageeg city. Al Kharrara waterfall is 30 kilometers to the south of Al Baha. Its scenic view attracts a large numbers of visitors.[16]
Shada Mountain (
Festivals
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. Prizes are given during this festival such as cars and flight tickets in addition to daily draws and cash and gifts.[citation needed]
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 in 2010 . The festival hosted 10 Arab states production of honey in addition to local produced honey.[citation needed]
Western travellers
St John Philby (also known as Sheikh Abdullah by King Abdulaziz) documented his journey crossing from Riyadh to Jeddah by the "backdoor" route, writing on Al Baha district of Arabia in his book The Arabian Highlands.[20] Later he was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Founders Gold Medal for his written desert journey.[citation needed]
Gallery
References
- ^ "Al Baha Region". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Climate Data for Saudi Arabia". Jeddah Regional Climate Center. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- sacred even after the collapse of the Sabean civilisation in the sixth century BC - caused by the rerouting of the spice trail. By that point the dam, now in a poor state of repair, was finally breached. The irrigation system was lost, the people abandoned the site within a year or so, and the temple fell into disrepair and was eventually covered by sand. Saba was known by the Hebrews as Sheba [Note that the collapse of the dam was actually in 575 C.E., as shown in the timeline in the same article in the History Files, and attested by MacCulloch (2009)].
- ISBN 978-0810855281.
- Middle East Economic Digest. p. 320.
- ^ a b "Thee Ain Ancient Village; Bidah Valley, Saudi Arabia; Village of slate houses, built on a white marble outcrop". Atlas Obscura.
- ISSN 0253-1097. Archived from the originalon 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ "Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia". Albahakfhaa.org. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ^ "King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha, KSA". Albahakfhaa.org. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ^ "KFH, Al-Baha Residency Training Programs". Albahakfhaa.org. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ^ "KFH, Al-Baha Medical library". Albahakfhaa.org. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ^ "Tradition of Family Cemeteries Disappearing From Tribal Areas". Arab News (Dhulka'edah 16, 1433 A.H.). 2 October 2012.
- Ministry of Sports. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
- ^ "مدينة الملك سعود الرياضية صرح رياضي متكامل يخدم أبناء المنطقة". Al-Riyadh (in Arabic). 24 July 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Al-Baha City Profile". The Saudi Network. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ "Al Baha Today". albahatoday.cc.
- ^ Judas, J.; Paillat, P.; Khoja, A.; Boug, A. (2006). "Status of the Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 11–19.
- ^ Spalton, J. A. & Al-Hikmani, H. M. (2006). "The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 4–8.
- ^ Arabian Highlands. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. 1952. pp. 584–599.
External links
- A travel through the province of Al Bahah, Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes
- "Marble Village of Dhee Ayn
- A travel guide to Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia