Zabid

[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

Zabid in a few years will be reminiscence of the ancient Yemen
By Adnan al-Qaisy
Jan 7, 2007, 10:20



The minaret of the ancient al-Kamalia mosque overlooks modern buildings in Zabid.
Zabid, since 2000 is listed among endangered world heritages because of its poor conservation, said Dr. Abdullah Issa, head of the General Organization for the Preservation of Historic Cities (GOPHYC). Zabid dating back to the first century of the Islamic calendar has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites, which is overseen by UNESCO (United Nations Organization for Education, Culture and Sciences), along with the Old City of Sana'a and Shibam Hadramawt.

It was included for many reasons, the most important being its historical and architectural heritage. Zabid is a town in western Yemen. It is named after Wadi Zabid, the wadi south of the city, and was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century. The city played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because it was the center of Islamic scholarship.

Zabid boasts more than 86 mosques and Islamic schools, most dating back to the first decade of the first century of Hejra. It also includes hundreds of homes and a number of old castles and forts, displaying military Islamic architecture, as well as historical library containing thousands of rare manuscripts and copies of the Holy Quran, some of them over a thousand years in age. One of the main features is the Great Mosque, which occupies a magnificent plaza in the town. Visitors can visit the vestiges of the olden university and gaze on the elaborate designs formed the mud bricks.

Today, the city is in decline and in a very poor state of preservation. Experts have observed serious deterioration in the city’s historical heritage. Around 40 percent of the city's houses have been replaced by modern buildings and the ancient souks are in a grave stage of deterioration, said Abdullah al-Fouri, the security officer in the GOPHYC who is preparing a doctorate degree on the topic. The Ministry of Public Works and Roads and GOPHCY made a new blueprint for preserving the historic city of Zabid, said Engineer Muhammad Mukred, the head of the inspection department in Zabid City.

Issa said that the plan shows the old city borders and the protected areas where the constructions of the new buildings are prohibited. This procedure aims at preserving the features of the historic city. He said that the blueprint identified new areas delimited for expansion and construction for those who want to modern buildings in the future. The implementation of the blueprints needs however support from the government who can enforce the policies that will keep Zabid the historic jewel it is. He said that some houses in Zabid will undergo renovation work thanks to the contribution of the Yemen Social Fund in cooperation with the German government in order to improve the situation in the historic city.

And the renovation will include major works major such as foundations, ceilings, and walls. Moreover, as of now, the city streets have been paved and the sewers rehabilitated. The major threat to the architectural character of the historic city lies in the springing of modern constructions, and the use of modern building materials, cement and iron in the renovation of old buildings, Mukred said. The lack of supervision and control from a competent authority to protect the architectural and historical character of the city from the onslaught of urban housing expansions represents also a major hurdle in the conservation efforts, said Issa.


An old cotton factory left to slowly deteriorate and that may just collapse.
Yemen has succeeded in persuading the UNESCO to preserve the historic city of Zabid, a world heritage site. This comes after the organization threatened earlier to drop the city from its list. Indeed, UNESCO floated the idea because of the Yemeni government’s inability to protect the ancient city from haphazard construction, demolition, and other practices that jeopardize the unique architectural character of the city. Issa said that Yemen, represented by the Ministry of Culture, submitted to UNESCO a report detailing the actions that have been taken for the maintenance of Zabid in the World Heritage List. It also shows the commitment of the Yemeni government in terms of conservation and rehabilitation.

Despite these efforts, Zabid is still considered an endangered world heritage site by UNESCO which has sent clear messages that Zabid would be removed from the list if the Yemeni government did not act quickly in taking practical measures to maintain what can be saved from the historic landmarks in the city. The removal of Zabid from the World Heritage list would constitute a great loss to Yemen at all levels, cultural economic, and social.

The officials of GOPHCY find themselves now in a race against the clock, to accelerate efforts to maintain the city and ensure that it remains an important historical and architectural landmark. The renovation operations are slow because of a lack of funds and awareness on top of poor cooperation and coordination between the relevant authorities, said Issa. The delay of the executive returns to the overlapping of the responsibilities and the charge of more than one authority for one work, al-Fouri said.

The efforts to maintain Zabid also include operations of a different nature such as law enforcement to put an end to the looting of historical monuments and the smuggling of ancient manuscripts by organized gangs, which have drained the heritage of this city during the last ten years. “A decree was approved by the cabinet to remove all the irregularities in the old city. Any new instructions in the old city will have to comply with our standards and require a permit,” said Issa.
Copyright 2002 - 2006 Yemen Observer
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[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

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