Al-Rifai House

Al-Rifai House is a historic residence in the town of Farasan on Greater Farasan Island, part of the Farasan archipelago that belongs to the Jazan Region in the southern Red Sea.

The house was built in the early twentieth century for one of the leading pearl merchants of Farasan, a member of the Al-Rifai family. This was the period when the island prospered from pearl diving and from trading pearls with Red Sea ports and India. The merchants' houses combined local building materials, namely coral stone and gypsum plaster, with decorative styles influenced by what their owners had seen on their travels.

The house is distinguished by its façade and entrance, which are decorated with fine carved plaster in geometric and plant patterns. Its reception room has walls covered with ornament and Quranic inscriptions, windows topped by openings with coloured glass, and a decorated wooden ceiling. The house is an architectural record of the pearl era in Farasan and one of the main sites for visitors interested in the island's history.