Rijal Alma flashbacks in our minds whenever we talk about traditional Arabian architectures. The village is not only famous for the magnificent views offered by its colorful houses but also for its historical significance. Located at a distance of about 50 km from Abha, capital of Asir Region, this ancient village was used to be a natural passage that linked between Yemen, Makkah, Madinah and Levant. After the birth of Islam, it became an important stop for Yemeni pilgrims on their way to Makkah for Hajj. Around sixty South Arabian traditional palaces built of stone, clay and wood talk about the wealth the village accumulated off passing caravans.
Upon reaching Rijal Alma a traveler finds there a place rich in history and tradition which is now turned to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Asir with the most stunning surprises hidden inside its walls. After passing through the sculpted doors, each dark stone building turns out to be the jewelry box containing of a treasure.
We visited Rijal Alma in mid 2018 during Eid holidays. Visitors can reach the village of Rijal via several roads, the most important of which is Aqabat Sama, linking Abha and Rijal Alma through the famous tourist Souda Center in Saudi Arabia. We selected this route because we were staying in Abha leaving the two other routes linking it to the province of Muhayil Asir and the Hobail leading to Ad-Darb province in the Jazan region.
You must be very careful while driving from Abha to Rijal Alma because the roads are to steep with many dangerous curves. I would recommend you drive in manual mode using lower gears and take at least a stop in the middle of the way to cool your car at any of the resting spot beside the road.
Weather in Rijal Alma is usually warm and more humid than in Abha so wear some light clothes and you might need car AC in the town but when you are going back to Abha don’t forget to switch off car AC otherwise car would be heated. This is what happened with me. We had to stop the car beside road to cool it down (thank God we kept our tent with us which was given to us by Zeeshan as a gift).
Tips: Since Rijal Alma is one of the top tourist attractions not only in Asir Region but also in Saudi Arabia you can find all the necessary things for traveling in the town. Rijal Alma museum has a ticket which was 20 SAR per person when I visited it. I would recommend a few things while traveling to Rijal Alma:
- Take very good care while driving down the steep mountain road from Abha. Drive on manual mode with lower gears and take care of dangerous curves.
- If going down take care of car’s breaks and tires. Stop the car if you smell burns due to applying excessive breaks.
- Keep plenty of water with you all the time. Weather in Abha is usually very pleasant but Rijal Alma would be warm and humid. You might feel excessive sweating specially while touring the fortresses. Water will keep you hydrated.
- Switch off your car AC when going back to Abha from Rijal Alma. Your car get dangerously heated on that road full with slops and dangerous curves. If you observe that the temperature is getting increased stop driving and let the car get cooled.
Disclaimer! Some of the literary information have been taken from Arab News, Saudi Arabia Tourism Guide and Aramco Expats pages
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