BUILDING BLOCKS FROM THE SEA
Engineer SamiNawar, the director of the Historic Area Preservation Department, a personneextraordinaire who is not only very knowledgeable but alsovery much in lovewith his job and eager to share his knowledge with others.
The blocks contained sea shells andcoralbecause they had been quarried right from the reef just off the seashore.
Theblocks were then cemented together with a mortar made of clay found atthebottom of the al-Manqabah lagoon.
The reason for the insertion of thebeams (taglil)was to give better support to the construction and to permit the easyreplacement of a bad section of the walls with new coral blocks.
"It'sjustas easy as changing a tire," says Mr. Nawar.
The timber used for makingthebeams was brought by ship from Africa and Indonesia.
Considering the material the buildings are made of,they seemed to usrather frail and we suspected they might have a tendency to collapse,especiallybecause they're so tall.
When we asked Mr. Nawar about this, he clarifiedeverything.
First, headmitted that before the right technology was found, there werebuildings whichoccasionally collapsed, but once they found the right constructiontechnique,there were no more problems.
"As you see, the walls are thick andstrong.
Abuilding may collapse only if it is too old and nobody cares about andmaintainsit," he explained.
"But why are the buildings so tall," we asked. Inshort order,we discovered there were several good reasons for this. One of them wasthesummer heat:
relaxing atop a high roof, people could find extra comfortfrom thegusts of an evening breeze.
Another reason is the shade the buildingsproduce,which is much appreciated by the people walking on the streetsespecially, ofcourse, during the hot months of the year.
Thebalconies, too, had alot more to contribute to the buildings than their beauty.
Besideshelping toblock the sunshine, they were designed to catch the breeze which isthentransformed into air currents moving throughout the house, providinggoodventilation and comfort, again, a real necessity during the hottestpart of thesummer.
Moreover, the wood was carved in such a way that it was easy tolookoutside while remaining hidden from public view.
Some of the balconies, the rawashin (singular: roshan) had a veryparticular use because the part thatjuts out over the street was used as an extension of the room and wasfilledwith comfortable cushions where people could sit directly in the pathof theevening breeze.
The ones with beautiful designs were called mushrabiyahand the ones resembling simple, practical grills used as windows arecalled shish.
The latter were most commonly used on the sides of the houses.
These houses were constructed for the rich merchantsand some are as manyas three or four hundred years old, mostly worked on by artisans whohad come aspilgrims and for one reason or another, didn't go back to theirhomelands.
Inthose days, camel caravans were the only means of transporting goods byland.
Now, we might imagine that it was very romantic to be in a caravanslowlywinding its way among the dunes of the big deserts and then climbinghigh intothe hard, volcanic mountains.
In reality, however, it was extremelydifficultand dangerous.
If thirst and sandstorms didn't do you in, the bedouinraiderswere always near at hand, eager to gettheir hands on the precious merchandise which included spices,frankincense,plants for producing medicine, etc.
In the city of Jeddah itself, lifewasrather harsh too because of the absence of essential commodities suchasdrinkable water which had to be brought to the city by donkey or bycamel fromWadi Fatima which is 40 kilometers away.
A much less reliable source ofwaterwas that which could be collected in cisterns from the scarce rains.
Recently,an underground filtration gallery (qanat) wasdiscovered in the heart ofBalad.
This tunnel brought water to the city from the nearby mountainranges.
The qanat was used up until about 112 years ago andis about 500 yearsold.
It is said to have played a key role in withstanding thePortuguese siege of 1516.
The most recent source of water comes fromdesalination plants.
Engineer SamiNawar, the director of the Historic Area Preservation Department, a personneextraordinaire who is not only very knowledgeable but alsovery much in lovewith his job and eager to share his knowledge with others.
The blocks contained sea shells andcoralbecause they had been quarried right from the reef just off the seashore.
Theblocks were then cemented together with a mortar made of clay found atthebottom of the al-Manqabah lagoon.
The reason for the insertion of thebeams (taglil)was to give better support to the construction and to permit the easyreplacement of a bad section of the walls with new coral blocks.
"It'sjustas easy as changing a tire," says Mr. Nawar.
The timber used for makingthebeams was brought by ship from Africa and Indonesia.
Considering the material the buildings are made of,they seemed to usrather frail and we suspected they might have a tendency to collapse,especiallybecause they're so tall.
When we asked Mr. Nawar about this, he clarifiedeverything.
First, headmitted that before the right technology was found, there werebuildings whichoccasionally collapsed, but once they found the right constructiontechnique,there were no more problems.
"As you see, the walls are thick andstrong.
Abuilding may collapse only if it is too old and nobody cares about andmaintainsit," he explained.
"But why are the buildings so tall," we asked. Inshort order,we discovered there were several good reasons for this. One of them wasthesummer heat:
relaxing atop a high roof, people could find extra comfortfrom thegusts of an evening breeze.
Another reason is the shade the buildingsproduce,which is much appreciated by the people walking on the streetsespecially, ofcourse, during the hot months of the year.
Thebalconies, too, had alot more to contribute to the buildings than their beauty.
Besideshelping toblock the sunshine, they were designed to catch the breeze which isthentransformed into air currents moving throughout the house, providinggoodventilation and comfort, again, a real necessity during the hottestpart of thesummer.
Moreover, the wood was carved in such a way that it was easy tolookoutside while remaining hidden from public view.
Some of the balconies, the rawashin (singular: roshan) had a veryparticular use because the part thatjuts out over the street was used as an extension of the room and wasfilledwith comfortable cushions where people could sit directly in the pathof theevening breeze.
The ones with beautiful designs were called mushrabiyahand the ones resembling simple, practical grills used as windows arecalled shish.
The latter were most commonly used on the sides of the houses.
These houses were constructed for the rich merchantsand some are as manyas three or four hundred years old, mostly worked on by artisans whohad come aspilgrims and for one reason or another, didn't go back to theirhomelands.
Inthose days, camel caravans were the only means of transporting goods byland.
Now, we might imagine that it was very romantic to be in a caravanslowlywinding its way among the dunes of the big deserts and then climbinghigh intothe hard, volcanic mountains.
In reality, however, it was extremelydifficultand dangerous.
If thirst and sandstorms didn't do you in, the bedouinraiderswere always near at hand, eager to gettheir hands on the precious merchandise which included spices,frankincense,plants for producing medicine, etc.
In the city of Jeddah itself, lifewasrather harsh too because of the absence of essential commodities suchasdrinkable water which had to be brought to the city by donkey or bycamel fromWadi Fatima which is 40 kilometers away.
A much less reliable source ofwaterwas that which could be collected in cisterns from the scarce rains.
Recently,an underground filtration gallery (qanat) wasdiscovered in the heart ofBalad.
This tunnel brought water to the city from the nearby mountainranges.
The qanat was used up until about 112 years ago andis about 500 yearsold.
It is said to have played a key role in withstanding thePortuguese siege of 1516.
The most recent source of water comes fromdesalination plants.
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