Built side by side
The Twin Fortresses, also called the Fortresses of the Two Brothers or the Al-Malad fortresses, stand in the village of Al-Malad, south of Al-Baha city on the road to Baljurashi. They were built about 400 years ago by two brothers, for military watch and as stores for food.
They rise on a hill ringed by old houses, about 100 m above the level of Wadi Al-Malad, and only 120 cm separates them. Identical in form, dimensions, height and interior design, they are known simply as Al-Janubi and Al-Shamali, the southern and the northern.
On the road to Asir
The fortresses watch over a historic trade route running south to Asir. Beside them stands a structure where tribal reconciliations were brokered and commercial deals were struck in times past. All their floors and ceilings are of clay supported by wood.
Both are woven into the village. The southern fortress stands within the courtyard of a house; its ground-floor door faces south and its upper entrance opens north onto an open courtyard. Part of the northern fortress lies inside another house's courtyard, and its towers dress its northern and western faces.