Saudi Arabia: Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khatib on Saturday reviewed the “Sama Abha” project. He was briefed about the tourist and investment components of the project located north of Abha.

The project, which costs more than SR12 million, is part of the initiatives to improve the urban landscape of the Asir region.

With other government officials, the minister then visited the historical Shamsan Castle. It is a large rectangular building with three towers and a main entrance on the west side overlooking the city.

A 4-meter-wide door on the west wall opens to a central courtyard, which is surrounded by rooms and facilities. Most of the castle walls are still intact, despite their age.  Stones and clay were the primary construction materials of the time, and stone tools found at the site date back to the third millennium B.C. Fragments of ceramics made of red clay, from the first millennium B.C., have also been unearthed.