Asir

Currently reading a book - Undiscovered Asir by Thierry Mauger. One of those beautiful coffee-table ones with exquisite pictures. "His remarkable photographs and a vivid text tell of tribes and communities whose way of life has not changed for centuries. He opens our eyes to people and places scarcely known to the outside world".
Asir is Saudi Arabia's most rugged, remote and varied region. It contains in many ways the most distinctive and diverse of the Kingdom's people. Yet, as a result of its forbidding terrain, it remains one of the least-known parts of the world. Even today the people do not necessarily welcome intrusion, and it is still almost as unfamiliar to Saudis from other regions as it is to the outside world. Of course, the absence of a tourist industry in Saudi has helped shield Asir from outside eyes.
The province of Asir, with Abha as its capital, includes the entire highland area of south west Saudi Arabia between the Yemen border to the south and the Bahah province to the north. From the highlands, it flows all the way down to the lowland coastal plain which runs parallel to the Red Sea. And this is where I live - in the beautiful province of Asir, near the highest point in the Kingdom, Jabal Sawdah.
The challenge is to find the ways and means for a woman on her own to travel and to visit some of the places described in this book. Women may not travel on their own. They may not travel in the company of a man unless its a relative. I will not be reckless, but trust me, I will find a way. Another intrepid traveller will cross my path and I will bring back the evidence of an incredible journey.