Yemen’s Old Houses: A Rare and Distinctive Architecture Resisting Extinction

2 years ago

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Through a unique architectural style that attracts any visitor, the houses of Yemen appear very powerful reflecting a long Yemeni civilization.

Mostly, the Yemeni architectural styles and geometric shapes, as much as they expressed a specific culture, came in response to the climatic and security needs of the population.

In the old city of Sana’a, which is a peaceful city, houses were built with many big windows.

However, in the central regions of Yemen and areas that have witnessed frequent conflicts, houses are built with small windows and thick bricks, to protect the people from shelling, and at the same time refer to the war culture of the Yemenis.

Also, for climatic reasons, some of these houses were built with deaf walls without windows, to prevent the infiltration of cold into the lobbies of the house in the winter.

Whereas, in the cold regions, houses are built of burnt bricks (yajour), and black basalt stones (Habash) that are resistant to erosion, as is the case in Old Sana’a, in hot regions, they are built of heat-insulating and moisture-absorbing mud bricks.

 

The Open Museum

The history of the old city of Sana’a dates back to the era of Sam bin Noah, this is why it is called the city of Sam, but the oldest existing building now in the old city dates back to the eleventh century AD, after the demolition of the oldest buildings, during the past historical periods, while the history of building the wall surrounding the old Sana'a dates back to the second century AD, and was built by order of the Shebaan king Sha'r Awtar, and it was classified in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

The old city of Sana’a contains about 14,000 houses, on an area of ​​3,700 square meters, and its stacked houses formed a unique artistic and historical landmark, which prompted historians to describe the ancient archaeological city as an "open museum".

When you wander in the alleys of Sanaa and in front of its stores, the first thing that attracts you is its architectural style, the models in which those houses were built, as well as the decorations, and the geometric shapes that top the windows in the form of domes called Qamaryat.

 

Design Genius

Most of the houses, especially in old Sana’a, were built in a way that ensures a moderate climate throughout the year, during the four seasons.

The bedrooms and reception rooms (divines) are built on the southern facade of the house (the Aden side, as the people of the country all it), because the southern side exposed to the sun during the day is in the winter, while the bathrooms and kitchens are built on the northern side, which is the side that is not exposed to the sun in winter, and the resident does not need to stay there for a long time.

In the summer, the northern side is exposed to the sun, while the northern sections of the house are far from the summer sun, and this ensures that the weather is moderate, in a genius division known by most Yemenis.

 

Threats and Dangers

Despite the historical value represented by the old city, it is exposed to threats and dangers due to several factors, including the neglect of the Houthi authorities controlling Sana’a to restore historical buildings.

The current rains have caused the demolition of several houses in the old neighborhoods of the old city.

In addition, a number of people in Old Sana’a are carrying out modern construction work on the ruins of old buildings, and others are demolishing their old houses to expand and build new houses, which poses a threat to the abolishment of historical houses.

Due to neglect and inaction in the restoration of these houses, UNESCO threatened in February 2018 to remove the old city of Sana’a from the World Heritage List and gave the authorities in charge of the city a period of two years to manage the situation.

In addition, the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi alliance was one of the threats to the old city of Sana’a, as coalition planes carried out raids on houses, because the Houthis were storing weapons in those houses, so they are considered a military target for the coalition.

Human Rights Watch had issued a statement condemning the Saudi-led coalition for targeting houses in residential neighborhoods in the old city of Sana’a with illegal raids.

 

'Manhattan Desert'

The architectural style in the northern cities differs from the architectural style in the southern and eastern cities, as the northern cities are cold regions, and therefore the climate has imposed a specific construction of homes to provide the moderate temperature.

As for the hot regions in the south and east, it has a different style. The historic city of Shibam, which is located in the city of Seiyun, about 1,000 kilometers from Sana’a, is a model for this kind of architecture.

It is most famous for its buildings, which are known to be the oldest skyscrapers in history and the first to build the upper floors vertically.

The history of these buildings, which reach about 500 skyscrapers, dates back to the fifteenth century AD, that is, more than 500 years ago. They were built from mud bricks and palm tree trunks and were built according to the weather conditions, where the summer temperature reaches about 45 degrees Celsius.

In the thirties of the last century, British traveler and orientalist Freya Madeleine Stark called it the "Manhattan Desert" because of its tall buildings, reaching 24 meters, at a time when the world did not know this number of floors 600 years ago; in 1982 UNESCO mentioned the old city of Sana’a in the World Heritage List.