Sharjah24 – AFP: As Saudi Arabia swelters in sizzling desert temperatures, some are escaping to the "City of Fog" -- a mountainous oasis of cool where warm clothing is needed even in summer.
Sitting with friends on a picnic blanket, under light rain and a thick, swirling mist in Al-Namas, Abdullah Al-Enizi wears a body-warmer over his traditional white robes to guard against the chill.
The retreat, 2,800 metres (9,200 feet) above sea level in Saudi Arabia's rugged south, is in stark contrast to other parts of the vast, largely desert country where summer heat of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) is an annual challenge.
At Al-Namas, humid monsoon weather keeps temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), dropping as low as 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, as fog blocks out the sun over verdant hills.
"It's 46 degrees in Riyadh and only 20 here, it's 26 degrees lower," says Al-Enizi at the holiday destination, about 850 kilometres (530 miles) south-west of the Saudi capital.
Clusters of holidaymakers in raincoats and woolly hats sip Arabic coffee and crowd under umbrellas, while kites flutter in the wind.
Tourist authorities have built a "fog road" for hikers and cyclists traversing a high summit that overlooks the mist-shrouded mountains.
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