Wadi Bisha

Wadi Bisha is a wadi among the largest of the Arabian Peninsula. It is mentioned in a number of historical works, its length exceeds 450 kilometres, and the main courses of many wadis converge within it.[1] The wadi is linked to Bisha Governorate in the Asir Region, and villages and date-palm groves are spread along its banks.[1][7]

King Fahd Dam stands on its course southwest of Bisha city. It is one of the largest concrete dams in the Middle East in terms of size and storage capacity, and it was built to control floods and recharge the water-bearing layer.[1]

The length of Wadi Bisha exceeds 450 kilometres, and at the site of King Fahd Dam it exceeds 250 kilometres, while the dam's floodwater catchment area is about 7,600 square kilometres, and the dam lies on the wadi forty kilometres southwest of Bisha city.[1][2]

The storage capacity of King Fahd Dam is 325 million cubic metres of water, its height is 103 metres, and its reservoir lake extends for eighteen kilometres.[1]

The dam is equipped with six tunnels at different levels, with a total length of 3,281 metres, and its construction cost about SAR 246 million.[1]

In 1437 AH/2016, the height of the dam's spillway reached sixty metres, and the water level within it reached 38.65 metres, with a storage volume of 104 million cubic metres.[3] In 1443 AH/2021, the Asir Region branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (Bisha office) opened the dam's gates to discharge more than 50 million cubic metres of its stored water, in order to lower the reservoir level to receive additional floodwater, raise the water level in the groundwater wells surrounding the dam, and help meet farmers' water needs.[2]

A joint committee of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and the municipality of Bisha Governorate approved the development of King Fahd Dam at a value of SAR 10 million, within a unified tourism programme serving the rehabilitation and development of the dam site.[4] It was agreed to preserve the dam's protected zone, so that the planned projects are carried out outside its boundaries.[4]

Tubalah Centre lies west of Bisha Governorate as a link between the Sarawat Mountains and the plains of Bisha. A large wadi passes through it, and along its edges are villages and date-palm groves centred on the 'Al-Sifri' dates known throughout the Arabian Peninsula, while more than 8,000 people live in it and its dependent villages.[7]

The Wadi Tubalah dam in Bisha Governorate is 28 metres high, and the volume stored in it reached 40,800,000 cubic metres.[5]

The Wadi Bisha bridge, located at Al-Harf in Bisha Governorate, is one of the longest bridges in the governorate. Floodwaters coming from the wadis of Turaj and Bisha flow over it with great speed and volume, which called for raising the state of caution along the wadi strip and halting traffic over the bridge while the floods flow.[6]

Date-palm cultivation is carried on along the banks of Wadi Bisha, and the wadi and its surroundings are known for the 'Al-Sifri' dates famous across the Arabian Peninsula.[7] The Bisha dates market received more than 72% of the date production of the governorate, its villages and centres, and the governorates affiliated with it, in its various varieties.[8]

The total value of date sales at the Bisha Governorate market reached SAR 80 million over 25 days in the 1438 AH season.[8]

The number of drawings and inscriptions on the rocks and mountains of Bisha reached about 10,000 rock carvings and drawings. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage recorded more than 100 sites containing more than 10,000 rock carvings and drawings, and 2,000 written texts distributed across seven administrative centres affiliated with Bisha Governorate.[9]

The Al-Hama site in Al-Thunayyah Centre holds antiquities numbering more than 1,300 rock carvings and 50 written texts that have drawn the attention of researchers in the field of ancient heritage.[9]

In 1437 AH/2016, the municipalities of Al-Thunayyah and Tubalah in Bisha Governorate provided more than 200 concrete blocks to protect the archaeological and heritage sites, in partnership between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and more than 20 archaeological sites in the governorate were demarcated under the supervision of the commission's Antiquities and Museums sector.[10]

Bisha, Turaj, and the village of Tubalah are mentioned in the pilgrimage poem of the poet Al-Hamdani describing his route to Makkah, and a number of historians wrote about the route, among them Ibn Khurradadhbih, Qudamah ibn Ja'far, Al-Idrisi, and Ibn Hawqal.[11] This affirms the historical and cultural standing of Bisha across the Islamic eras.[11]

Q: Where is Wadi Bisha located and how long is it? A: It lies in Bisha Governorate in the Asir Region; its total length exceeds 450 kilometres, and at the site of King Fahd Dam it exceeds 250 kilometres.[1][2]

Q: What dam stands on Wadi Bisha and what is its storage capacity? A: King Fahd Dam, which lies forty kilometres southwest of Bisha city; its storage capacity is 325 million cubic metres and its height is 103 metres.[1]

Q: What is the floodwater catchment area of King Fahd Dam? A: About 7,600 square kilometres.[2]

Q: What are the most prominent archaeological sites in Bisha along the wadi? A: About 10,000 rock carvings and drawings at more than 100 sites, and 2,000 written texts, including the Al-Hama site in Al-Thunayyah Centre, which holds more than 1,300 rock carvings and 50 written texts.[9]

Q: What are the best-known dates of the region and what is the volume of their sales? A: The 'Al-Sifri' dates, and the total value of date sales at the Bisha market reached SAR 80 million over 25 days in the 1438 AH season.[8]

Wadi Bisha combines its standing as one of the largest wadis of the Arabian Peninsula, with a length exceeding 450 kilometres,[1] King Fahd Dam with a storage capacity of 325 million cubic metres,[1] date-palm cultivation and 'Al-Sifri' dates on its banks,[7][8] and rock carvings numbering more than 10,000.[9]

Related topics on the platform include Wadi Al-Rummah, Rock Art of Hail, the Hima Cultural Area, and Date Palm Cultivation in Saudi Arabia.