Tanomah Mountains… a Natural Site that Combines Artistic Inscriptions and Ancient History

Abha, December 15, 2022, SPA -- The freshwater waterfalls flowing from the Tanomah Mountains' heights during the rainy seasons are no longer the only sight that attracts attention and triggers amazement. When people decide to climb the peaks of those towering mountains, they are taken by natural art paintings that adorn the slopes carved by monsoons and heavy rains thousands of years ago, which formed rare natural inscriptions and sculptures. "Tanomah" is located north of the Asir region, on the road connecting Taif and Abha, with a 150 km distance between the two cities. Dr. Saleh Abu Arad explains in his book "Tanomah.. Zahraa Al-Sarawat" published in 2020 by the Abha Literary Club, that "the geographical region of Tanomah extends from north to south with a width of about 25 kilometers, and from east to west with a length of about (80) kilometers, and this region is mostly covered by dense forests, especially in the north of the region, where juniper trees cover most of the elevations, as well as dill and acacia trees and some types of grasses. The historical depth and geographical diversity of the Tanomah Mountains contributed to its embrace of many archaeological sites and historical inscriptions, and the rocky cavities that characterized Tanomah. Specialists believe that they were formed by erosion factors over thousands of years. Several mountains stand out in Tanomah, known for the hardness of their rocks and the freshwater that infiltrates from their slopes to irrigate farms and livestock, especially during monsoon rains. In his words about those mountains, Dr. Abu Arad divides them into eastern mountain heights, consisting of the Jabal Mana’, Mount Akran, Jabal Al-Jarda, and Jabal Al-Farsh, and in the north of the region are Jabal Nabesh, Jabal Ghulamah, and then western heights, which consists of several mountains scattered in Attan, Manama, and Jabal Abdullah, Jalala, Al-Fatha, Al-Qadiyah, Al-Taweelah, Al-Hamam, Mount Isa, Al-Souda Mountains, and Mount Moamah in the northwestern side of Tanomah. The Tanomah Mountains, like other Sarawat mountains, embrace many natural treasures represented in precious metals, in addition to their commercial and heritage distinction for hundreds of years due to their location on what was known as the "Yemeni Hajj Route”, which contributed to its well-known economic activity in the past, where trade exchange took place with the pilgrims, especially in basic supplies such as grain, clothes, and coffee. --SPA