We took a tour to Asir province, in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, situated on the Red Sea and the Yemeni border. I don’t think I can begin to describe how marvelous it was, with towering mountains everywhere, green landscapes, fresh cool air, brilliant sunlight and blue sky, white clouds off the sea, baboons lounging every place you looked (what a surprise!), cultural monuments and very hospitable people.

The tour in itself was quite an adventure, which gives an indication of how things work here. We arrived at our hotel in Abha around 9:00 p.m., and it was nice enough, although the dinner we had been promised wasn't available for several hours, after 11:00 p.m. I think they finally called in food from some restaurant. Another surprise, there was no toilet paper in the rooms. Tim asked the manager, and he said this is the way it is here -- people use water, not toilet paper. Amazingly enough, several rolls were brought to our room about an hour later, obviously as a kind gesture to their foreign guests.

The next day was exciting, going up and down incredibly steep mountain roads, which were full of hairpin curves and what we calculated were between 35-50 percent grades. All our SUVs had to turn off the air conditioning to conserve power to be able to make it up these sheer slopes (and the brakes on our car were smoking after descending one such road). We were actually supposed to take a cable car ride up and down the mountain, but unexpectedly the cable car operator couldn’t or wasn't willing to accommodate us right before the high season (Saudis flock to Asir to escape the unrelenting heat elsewhere), so we drove instead. We saw amazing examples of Saudi heritage and had a fantastic evening of what I would call a true intercultural exchange in An Namas, a marvelous and unforgettable experience.

Our second night there we stayed at what was billed as a motel, which involved several bedrooms in units with a common sitting area with a TV. The shower had a toilet right in the middle of it, so one had to be prepared for water everywhere. I don’t think this place provided toilet paper, either, but some miraculously appeared all the same. After a hike that went a bit too long, we visited a spectacular Islamic museum and a local bazaar that was quite far away and down one of those very long, very treacherous mountain roads. After a short visit, we had to get back to the airport in Abha, which it turned out was on the other side of the mountains, over, of all things, a truck road. I can’t even describe how frightening that trip was, overtaking trucks in the dark on very steep grades and in tunnels. But we made it to the airport in one piece with a few minutes to spare (but not many). All in all, it was a fantastic tour and definitely the most beautiful and pleasant place I have seen thus far in Saudi Arabia.