Farasan (city)

Farasan city or Farasan town (Arabic: فرسان), main town of the Farasan Governorate and located in the Jizan Province of Saudi Arabia, is the largest settlement and administrative center of the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea. It is situated in the east of Greater Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Archipelago. The town has a population of 10,118 as of 2022.^[1] Fishing and pearl diving have long formed the backbone of the town's traditional economy. Tourism now plays a major role in the town's modern economic growth alongside government employment and marine fisheries.

The historic core of the town contains numerous coral-stone buildings, some with elaborated stucco decoration. Others, less elaborate and of similar construction, survive in the quarter in a state of dereliction. The architectural style of these buildings recalls buildings in Zabid in Yemen.^[2]

The finest survivals of these decorated buildings is Al-Rifai House, built in 1922 by the pearl merchant Ahmad Munawwir Al-Rifa'I. The house is distinguished by its beautiful design and intricate carvings, reflecting the wealth of Farasan during the heyday of the pearl trade.

The house is built of coral stone. Its inner and outer walls are covered with geometric plaster decorations executed in the form of cornices and bands. The windows have decorative arches and recessed vaults. Inside, the sitting room is adorned with stucco decorations covering all four walls. The ceiling is wooden, carved with colourful geometric patterns and Quranic verses in its wooden friese.

The pearl merchant designed his house influenced by patterns of ancient Indian architecture. This style is particularly evident in the stucco carvings on its exterior walls.^[3]

Al-Najdi Mosque, built in 1928 by a wealthy pearl merchant, is a coral stone construction covered in mortar. It has a minaret and 12 domes atop thick pillars. Above the main entrance, leading to the courtyard, there is plaster decoration in the form of a semi-circle. The mosque's architecture hints at the island's pearl trade links with India, from where the prayer hall's colourful wooden minbar and mihrab came from.^[3]