JEDDAH: The mountainous Asir region hides some absolute gems for the enquiring visitor. One of them is the unlikeliest museum you will come across in a long day, the Qas’r Al Maqar. It perches on the edge of a precipice in the Al-Namas district, a surreal building in a magnificent setting.

The museum is housed in a building that could have been parachuted in from a Disney fantasy, combining as it does Mogul towers and Asir and Tihama architecture in an exotic marriage of styles.

It is simply wonderful to behold, especially in the evening sun. The complexity of the building, constructed with the care and attention to detail that has obviously gone into it, contrasts wildly with the raw and rugged nature of the environment it stands in. Any closer to the 1500-meter vertiginous drop into the valley below and it would not be standing at all. Next to it is an accommodation block, equally joyous in its riotous mix of color and styles. They are even more perilously perched on the edge of the cliff than the museum and provide magnificent views over the Tihama far below.

A magnificently bearded and stone-silent custodian who was perfectly suited to his surroundings guarded the museum when I visited. Although severe in visage he was helpful in practice, willing to oblige by opening rooms but standing in proprietorial magnificence at the doorway just to be sure.

The interior was more private collection than museum. It houses an eccentric and eclectic mix of books, tools and memorabilia — some quite modern but some clearly antique and of great value.

The rooms, spread over four stories, are decorated with tiles patterned with traditional designs of magnificent color and complexity. Yet the cabinets were dusty, adding a sense of a private visit to a secret store. It seemed that the museum was rarely visited; that is both good and bad news. Good because it is such an unknown gem and if coach-loads of tourists turned up it would lose that appeal; bad because they don’t and it fails to get the recognition it deserves.

A true and unexpected gem of the Asir region, the Qas’r Al Maqar is a rewarding visit to both museum aficionado and anyone interested in the unusual. And the magnificent scenery comes free.