Pics of Wadi Dam area

Keith and I took a little trip last weekend to find the Wadi Dam (here) to the east of Abu Arish which a couple friends had visited a week or so before.  We didn't get all the way to the actual dam - roads are sketchy around here and not on my gps.

In particular we were looking for the natural hot springs in the area.  We just missed those because we headed down by the lake and didn't think to go up behind the decrepit buildings that were apparently built at one time to exploit the natural spa area.  It's amazing how quickly things fall into disrepair around here as the buildings could not have been over 10-15 years old.  Of course the place is hard to find.  This seems to be about the only place with open water at least in the Jazan province.  It's a great place for bird watching.  Also, there were lots of critter tracks all over the place with some places that appeared to be dens of some sort or other.  

Here's a video of further upstream to give a sense of the scale of the area.  I don't know if the water was brackish or salty because I didn't dare taste it.  While there was one of the local water trucks sucking water out of the lake I was noticing that the water was so brown you couldn't see six inches into it and there was a foam along the 'beach' area.  The usual trash was all over the place.

We drove all over the area, attempting (and succeeding) to find different interesting places to see along the way.  We stumbled across a smallish, very interestingly designed, mosque near one compound and next to another compound which was under construction.  Just up the road about 150 yards was a stacked stone, one roomed building.  The roof was gone but there were a couple timbers within the building.  It looked like it was really old and obviously used the rocks that were all around the place.  I don't see how anyone could thrive here since there wasn't much arable land.  

In any event, whilst we were snapping away a couple young men from the compound came up towards us saying something in Arabic.  Needless to say, neither Keith nor I understood a word.  One of them went back down towards the compound and got a third young man who we found out was from Ethiopia and spoke passable English and could translate.  It turns out that the grandfather of the first one had built the mosque and invited us to take pictures of it outside and in and all around.  Quite the building, done with Yemeni stone and no metal used, all stone and mortar.

Well, it turned out that Thursday was when friends and relatives gathered at the compound for tea, etc.  We got invited in and I couldn't turn down the opportunity (surprise!)  Keith was a little out of his comfort zone but I twisted his arm.  We got to meet the grandfather, cousins, uncles, friends, etc.  They served us Arabic coffee, dates, etc. and we got to chat with them since some spoke English.  One of the men had me talk to his son on his cellphone to tell me about the place and the people in the room and to pass on my story to them.  The son was in Riyadh and his father was a contractor from the Abha region (if I remember correctly.)

O.K. we got invited to dinner (late lunch to many people I know) - Keith is rolling his eyes by now and can't believe what I've gotten him into.  (He'll learn I don't shy away from the interesting experiences if he goes on many other trips with me.)  OMG, I don't know if this was a usual repast or not but it was very impressive.  Aside from Keith and me there were about 12-15 other men and boys there.  We entered the room and for about 6 yards long and a yard wide there were dishes of food and drink (water and soda).  The main course was goat over rice on the usual big flat pans.  The goat was delicious (oddly enough, goat is the most consumed red meat.)  There was all sorts of other dishes, bread, pickled vegetables, hummus, baba ghanoush, etc.  It was really unbelievable.  There was really so much food and it was so good, these people are very generous.  I got a little more practice sitting on the floor and eating with my (right) hand.  I'm still not good at eating rice that way, maybe in another year or so.  

I am continually amazed at the hospitality shown by the Saudi people in this area.  Before we left I was glad to get a picture of the grandfather with us.  It was mid afternoon before we left.  Keith's head was still spinning...

The lake area at the Wadi Dam

Bird that had just landed on the rocks
in the previous pic

Another bird in same area.

Little finchy thing on shore

Everyone seems to want their picture
taken - didn't get names

Not sure if this is what dates look like

The tree from the last pic

Some sort of milkweed pod

They were all over this plant - about 10' tall

These look very similar to N.A. milkweed

Non-friendly shrub with flower

Saw this little mosque out in the middle
of nowhere.

Just up the hill was this no-mortar stone building

Looking in through the doorway...

From inside showing fireplace/pit w/ chimney 

Keith showing how large the door way is

Inside the little mosque

The man to the right of Keith was 83 y.o.
He's the one who built the mosque.