Bid to polish Arab jewel

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 20

Bid to polish Arab jewel

By

DINA MATAR

of Reuters in Sanaa

Lack of funds and an exodus of inhabitants threaten plans to save North Yemen’s walled capital city of Sanaa, with its bustling souks, quiet alleys and richly decorated 1000-year-old buildings. Officials estimate that the plan, launched in 1984 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, will cost SUSIB and take until the end of the century to complete. Little progress has been made so far and there have been only symbolic financial contributions, mainly from Italy. The problem has been made worse by U.N.E.S.C.O.’s own cash crisis following the United States’ withdrawal from the group. The officials say that Gulf Arab States, which traditionally support the Red Sea country on the southern Arabian peninsula, have not yet acted on pledges to provide money for the project. Yet Sanaa’s old city, offering a vivid glimpse of a disappearing age, is a jewel in the Arab heritage. Stately residences tower up to eight storeys, their intricate upper brickwork picked out with whitewash. Inside, alabaster skylights and arched stained-glass windows diffuse glare. Top-floor sittingrooms look over roofs, minarets,

and gardens otherwise hidden behind high walls. Abdul-Rahman al-Haddad, director of the Board of Trustees for the Restoration and Preservation of Old Sanaa, said that many of the city’s 6500 houses, some 10 centuries old, would collapse if work did not start soon. Some mud-brick buildings have already collapsed because of lack of maintenance and decay. Mr Haddad said that the problem had been compounded by an exodus of more than 20 per cent of the old city’s 50,000 inhabitants for more modern areas. “This means little or no maintenance will be carried out by the owners,” he said. Preliminary results of a 1986 census published by the Central Planning Council indicate that of Sanaa’s 425,000 inhabitants only 30,000 to 35,000 now live in the old city. The city, founded according to legend by Shem, son of Noah, lies in a basin 2300 m above sea level, with the blue-grey peak of Jebel Nuqum standing sentinel nearby. Earliest references to Sanaa as a city date back nearly 2000 years. Many sections of the seven-gated city wall, once wide enough to take a donkey and cart, have crumbled. But the city centre, with its noisy market stalls set in a maze of winding

alleys, has changed little since North Yemen was opened to the outside world after the 1962 revolution ousted the monarchy." Mr Haddad said the departure of home and business owners from the old city had affected buildings because their successors were mainly from rural, areas and “cannot be expected to understand the importance of restoration and cleanliness.” Many Yemenis say the 1962 revolution has eroded the lifestyle of the old city. Most young people now want to leave family homes when they marry and move to newer houses outside its limits. Mr Haddad said the preservation plan envisaged improved integrated social and economic facilities which would keep the old city alive. “Conservation . . . and the maintenance of cultural heritage has to make economic sense,” he added. He said the entire plan would take until the end of the century to complete. North Yemen’s Government has pledged to raise a third of the cost, while Mr Haddad is optimistic that Yemenis and home owners will contribute another third. “There is a feeling among the people that this is important. They have responded positively to our campaign,” he said. “We feel it could soon be off the ground.”