abha: dust, light, and the weird numbers on my camera
just landed in abha and my camera's already sweating bullets. i'm a freelance photographer, so my whole life is about chasing light and oddball stories. the airport was tiny, the taxi driver kept talking about the 'new metro' that hasn't opened yet, and the air smelled like diesel and desert dust. i just checked and it's a dry 24.1°C with humidity sitting at a ridiculous 3%-hope you like that kind of thing. that low humidity means my skin is already cracking, and my sensors are going to hate me. i can feel the static already.
the city sprawls under the *Asir Mountains like a confused geometry set. the light here is sharp, almost clinical, and at golden hour it turns everything into a copper dream. my nikon's hit 110690 shots, and this morning's first frame is stamped with 1682759151, which i later learned is april 29, 2023 at 5:45 PM local-exactly when the sun did that magic thing over the minaret of the old mosque. i nearly dropped my gear because i was so busy framing the souq below. i ducked into café abha (the one with the green awning) after seeing a Yelp review that claimed they have the best qahwa in town. someone told me it's a hotspot for digital nomads and freelance hacks. i ordered a milk tea sat at a corner table and tried not to look like a tourist with a giant lens. Yelp: Café Abha. checked into a budget guesthouse whose keycard number was something like 110690-no, wait, that's my shutter count, not the room (room 312). the owner, a retired teacher, warned me about the dust devils that form in the afternoon. he said, 'if you point your camera at them, you'll get a cool shot but your lens will be sandy for weeks.' the pressure is steady at 1012 hPa, and the ground level's 809 meters-still feels high after living at sea level. the dry air makes colors pop weirdly; the blues are deeper, the reds more rust. i keep messing with ISO because the light's so bright even at noon.
i set out to explore the old fort that i'd read about on TripAdvisor. the reviews said: 'crowded at sunset but the view is unbeatable.' i got there at 4 PM, set up my tripod, and waited. the city lights came on gradually, and the fort's stone walls glowed orange. TripAdvisor: Al-Qaryoun Fort. if you get bored, the Asir National Park is just a short drive up the winding road-trekking trails, wooded valleys, and monkeys that steal snacks. a local told me the park's waterfalls are best after the rare rain, but that's like once a year. alternatively, the Red Sea coast is a two-hour drive west; the beaches are empty and the water's turquoise, but the wind is insane.
I heard from a bartender at a hookah lounge that there's a underground art scene in the backstreets where street artists paint murals under the cover of night. he gave me a cryptic number-1682759151-and said it's the code to a vandal's hideout. i haven't dared check yet. there's also a thread on the abhaexpats forum about rooftop bars with insane views. Abha Expats: Rooftop Bars. my 35mm f/1.8 lens is perfect for the narrow alleys. the bokeh on the lanterns at night is insane. but i'm paranoid about sand; i wrap my camera in a plastic bag when the wind picks up. also, the battery life suffers in the heat, so i carry spares.
all in all, abha is a mystery wrapped in dry air and sunset shades. i've got about 200 shots that might make it to my portfolio. if you're a photographer looking for something off the beaten path, come here. just bring cleaning supplies and a sense of humor. the locals are chill, the food* is legit, and the light? it's worth the weird numbers on my camera.