Monsoon Rains Bring Green Valleys to Desert Oil Kingdom : In One Corner of Saudi Arabia, Most Abundant Liquid Is Water

In a country of barren wastes and oases, people in this remote, mountainous corner of southwestern Saudi Arabia face a different problem: too much rain.

Spring and summer storms, fueled by the annual Indian Ocean monsoon 500 miles to the east, roll up the coastal plains along the Red Sea, crest the ridge line at 10,000 feet and dump torrents of rain and hail on settlements of Saudi Arabia’s Asir province.

Provincial officials say Asir can receive as much as 24 inches of rain a year, almost 10 times as much as falls on the big port of Jidda 400 miles north of here.

The rains transform this region of rugged stone hills and deep, fertile valleys into a blanket of green, with forests of juniper and acacia trees. Terraced farms rise up along the steep slopes.

“Many people are surprised to find such a place in Saudi Arabia,” said Ibrahim al Sayyed, director-general of Asir’s Office of Tourism Development.

Over the centuries, Asir’s climate has created a way of life unique in Saudi Arabia, where most national customs and dress reflect the demands of desert survival.

Because rainfall is normally brief but intense, farmers terrace their mountainside fields to keep their soil from washing away.

Instead of cloth headgear favored my most Saudis, farmers in the fields of Asir traditionally wear hats resembling Mexican sombreros while they cultivate crops of grains, vegetables, melons and pomegranates that make Asir one of Saudi Arabia’s key agricultural areas.

Since the coming of oil riches to Saudi Arabia in the 1970s, sturdy concrete houses have been built to replace Asir’s traditional mud dwellings, which were always vulnerable to the heavy rains.

“I remember one storm 30 years ago that washed away nearly every building in Abha,” Sayyed said. “Everyone had to move into tents until the rescuers could reach us. It was great for the kids. We had no school for weeks.”

The local government has built about 50 dams throughout the province over the last 15 years to prevent flooding and provide water between the rainy seasons.

Provincial officials are trying use the area’s climate to draw Saudis and other Persian Gulf Arabs to vacation here. Brochures entice would-be summer visitors with promises of crisp mountain air when the rest of the region is boiling in 100-degree temperatures.

Visitors can also tour the Asir National Park, established with aid from the U.S. National Park Service, where they can picnic in the cool mountains and watch baboons frolic on stone cliffs.

“You’ll notice you don’t need air-conditioning like in the rest of the kingdom,” said Prince Khaled al Faisal ibn Abdulaziz, Asir’s governor. “Industry doesn’t have much of a role here. . . . Among the most important things the government has done to promote tourism is building infrastructure, hotels, roads and telecommunications.”

Sayyed said that the region is already attracting visitors and that 13 hotels have been built, most around Abha, a city of 130,000 people 7,260 feet above sea level.

Heavy summer rains do not seem to discourage Saudi visitors, who rarely see more than a few light sprinkles every year.

“We love rain,” said Mohammed Hayat, an Information Ministry official from Jidda who visits the area. “When it rains, we go for a picnic.”