September 2017
The village of Thee Ainor Zee Ain is a heritage site in Saudi Arabia located in the Al-Mikhwat province of the Al-Baha Region. The remains of this civilization date back to the 16th century and have been characterized by the multi-storey houses that have been built with polished stones.
The village is famous for its agricultural crops such as bananas, lemon, basil, and palm trees, and has a scenic river too. The best part about this historical place is that there is no entry fee and visitors can roam around and go back in time while exploring the ancient streets. Visitors can wander into the abandoned houses and take pictures without any worries as the place is not crowded. The houses are proof of the stunning architecture that existed even hundreds of years ago.
I had seen a photo of Thy Ain online and talked to AQ about it. He did a little research and we (brothers AQ and I) planned a weekend trip to Al Baha, requiring an exciting drive along the escarpment edge. The outbound journey was amazing with many interesting stops along the way.
After arriving in Al Baha (a city on the edge of the escarpment like Abha), we had lunch and then dropped down through the mountains via yet another "aqaba" (winding road) to the Tihama (coastal plains) where we kept our eyes peeled for the ancient city. It wasn't hard to locate since it stood proudly off the road on a small hill-top surrounded by mountains. The setting was dramatic.
We parked and proceeded to explore. The site was as amazing to brothers AQ as it was to me. Although the building style was similar to their home region of Asir, the way the town was clustered entirely on a hilltop was unique. We roamed around the mostly empty site. A few of the houses were open but the rooms were empty. The views over the surrounding countryside were starkly beautiful. The water source and the greenery around the whole town were also amazing (there were bananas!). Even the stones used to build the complex were remarkable since they were multi-hued. If a place like this were elsewhere it would be mobbed with tourists - but this was in Saudi Arabia before the great relaxing of rules.
KSA had recently had an almost pogrom of ancient sites. Those deemed un-Islamic were demolished or closed off to the public for "safety" by the government. Some places were flat out "erased" akin to the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Thy Ain was spared and, in fact, renovated, and restored. Although it was empty and soulless, it was still magically beautiful. The three of us were in shock over this discovery of a lone citadel/city in the Hejaz Mountains that very few people had heard about.
Thy Ain remains the most striking old city I visited in Saudi Arabia even though we learned very little about it at the time. Even in the "new Saudi Arabia" very little information is available online. Thy Ain was yet another example to me of how very little the rest of the world (and even the Saudis themselves) knew about Saudi Arabia and its very unique history. Thy Ain still awaits the intrepid explorer - it is well worth the trip.