I was going to post this at the end of this series of images, but since I spilled the beans in the picture of our welcoming committee (below), may as well just post it now.

This is an article that appeared in the Saudi Gazette, and also in the Al-Riyadh daily in Arabic. That is Tim in the smaller picture with another woman on the tour!

Since there is no foreign tourism in Saudi Arabia (except for religious tourism for the Haj and Umrah), I guess when foreigners visit an area like this, they’re news. The article says that “100 foreign tourists” have visited the region this year – I suspect we were about 20 percent of that. Asir Province, however, is a huge attraction for Saudi and Gulf visitors due to its pleasant climate, especially in summer.