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Jazan: A Diversity of Terrains and Climates Reflects its Authenticity, Beauty

Mountain dwellers are skilled climbers who do not need tools or aids
Mountain dwellers are skilled climbers who do not need tools or aids
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Jazan: A Diversity of Terrains and Climates Reflects its Authenticity, Beauty

Mountain dwellers are skilled climbers who do not need tools or aids
Mountain dwellers are skilled climbers who do not need tools or aids

The Jazan area is distinguished from other Saudi areas by its cultural and geographic diversity.

Every city or governorate in it has a certain accent and way of life that is different from the other, where coastal cities, islands and mountains each have a different pattern of culture and tradition.

This difference can be observed and followed from the Jazan coast in southern Saudi Arabia to its mountains where they still maintain the authenticity of their culture, whether it’s clothing, rose tiaras on their heads, or the jasmine necklaces on their chests.

Many in Jazan refuse to let go of their traditional clothing such as the Izaar [a form of kilt] of which there are two types in the area: A coastal one that is white and a mountainous one that is black. The colors are different due to the difference in terrains and the temperatures in the summer, a resident of the area told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Temperatures are colder in the mountains compared to the coast and it is rainier, making it green. It gathers water across the mountain and stores them in the soil, then discharges the water from the mountain tops and rooftops of houses to water tanks so that they can be used for crops, especially during dry seasons.

This diversity in the climate and terrains reflects on their way of life, including their cuisines that differ between the mountains and coast. Some of the residents of the mountain told Asharq Al-Awsat that their favorite meal was “Eish Wadam”, a plate of rice and meat, whereas residents of the coast listed seafood as their favorite.

The Jazan mountains are characterized by their crops, including coffee beans, thyme, wild fig, mango and wild basil among others. Bees live in rocks on the mountain tops, which has made residents of the mountain excellent mountain climbers where they climb to the top without any helping tools.

Residents of the coast, on the other hand, sail and fish. Despite these differences, there are many common features between the coasts and mountains.

In the administrative Jazan area, which has a population of 1.5 million, multiple local accents differ from one area to another, all mountainous and differ in how they pronounce Arabic words.

The residents, however, can understand each other, whereas it would be difficult for someone from outside the area to easily comprehend the way they speak.

Among these accents are al-Raith, Fifa, Bani Ghazi, Horoub, Bani Malek and Sala, all of which are Khawlani accents that trace their origin to al-Hamiriyya.

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Horse Therapy Program in Namibia Brings Joy to Children with Learning Disabilities

Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
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Horse Therapy Program in Namibia Brings Joy to Children with Learning Disabilities

Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)

Susan de Meyer's horses have different effects on different children. Hyperactive kids learn to be a little quieter around them while nonverbal children are moved to communicate and to bond with them.

De Meyer runs a program in the southern African country of Namibia that harnesses the power but also the gentleness of horses to help children with learning disabilities and conditions like ADHD and autism.

Each weekday morning, de Meyer's dusty paddock just outside the capital, Windhoek, is enlivened by a group of eight to 10 children from one of the special schools she helps. The children ride the horses, groom them, stroke them and often, de Meyer says, talk to them.

De Meyer grew up on a farm surrounded by horses and they've always been part of her life. She said they have a quality that is invaluable: They don't judge the children, no matter how different they are.

"The horse is the hero in this whole situation because these kids don’t want to be around a lot of people," de Meyer said.

De Meyer's program, "Enabling Through the Horse," is supported by the Namibian Equestrian Federation and won an award last year from the International Equestrian Federation because it "underlines the wonderful characteristics of the horse in exuding sensitivity and intuition."

Horse therapy has been promoted by autism groups and those that work with children with learning disabilities as having a positive impact. And animal therapy in general has been found to be useful in many instances, like dogs that help military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and therapy cats that are taken to hospitals and nursing homes.

Some survivors of the devastating 2023 Hawaii wildfires found relief in horse therapy while grieving loved ones they had lost.

De Meyer jokes she has "two-and-a-half horses." These include two Arabians — a white mare named Faranah and a brown gelding, Lansha — while the "half" is a miniature horse called Bonzi, who is about head-high for a 5-year-old.

The Arabians are often the most useful for the children's therapy because of their size, de Meyer said.

"It gives them self-esteem. When they stroke the horse, the therapy starts because this is a very big animal compared to their height, and they are not scared to stroke the horse ... and then to ride it and tell the horse what they want," she said.

De Meyer works with children with a range of conditions or disabilities, including autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome, those who are nonverbal or touch sensitive, and some who were born with fetal alcohol syndrome and have developmental problems.

She has received interest from other countries in Africa and Asia to start similar programs there.

"The changes that I’ve seen with the learners are significant," said Chriszell Louw, a teacher at Dagbreek School, which says it is one of just two government schools in Namibia for children with intellectual disabilities. "We have a learner that likes to talk a lot. When we come here, she knows she has to keep quiet. She sits in her place."

"Some of them you see they are more open, they are happy. Some of them were very scared when they started with the horse riding but now they are very excited. When they hear we’re going to the horses they are very excited and just want to go by themselves," Louw said.

De Meyer said her program helps with fine-motor skills, gross-motor skills, muscle strengthening, coordination, balance and posture, all important for kids who struggle to sit at a desk at school and learn.

One simple exercise de Meyer has children do when they ride is to let go of the reins and stretch their arms out straight and to the sides, using only their torso and lower body to balance as a groom leads the horse around the paddock.

Some of the kids break out in smiles when they let go and look like they're soaring.

"We make the world different for these kids," de Meyer said.