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San'a Al-Qadeema: The Challenges of Modernization
| Article
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11059 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1986 |
5,900 Words |
| Author
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Fritz Piepenberg
Fritz Piepenberg is a journalist and author and is the Middle
East Times correspondent in Yemen. This article will appear in
the book. The Middle East City, edited by Abdulaziz Y. Saqqaf,
forthcoming this year from Paragon House. This article is
printed with the permission of the Professors World Peace
Academy, which sponsored the conference on the Middle East
city at which this article was first presented. |
Historical Voices On San'a
It was never easy to reach San'a, located as it is in the very heart of mountainous Yemen on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet those who took upon themselves the tiresome journey on donkey or camelback have felt both awed and inspired by the high-rising houses of the age-old capital. Arabs and foreigners alike have expressed their impressions in numerous pieces of literature. A few excepts are given below.
"La budda min San'a"--"San'a must be seen…" are famous words first attributed to Imam Muhammed Ibn Idris Al Shafi'I (768-820) who visited the ancient capital several times. even though his motivation for taking the long journey south may have been his ceaseless striving for more religious knowledge (San'a was famous for her Ulama), he could hardly have failed to appreciate the city's unique architecture and heritage. Many who followed the example of Al Shafi'i have been deeply impressed by the striking beauty of the tall stone and brick houses.
Ibn Rustah, the geographer of the early tenth century, is one of the early Arab travelers to describe the city. In his Book of Precious Records, he gives the following description: "It is the city of Yemen--there not being found in the highland or the Tihama or the Hijaz a city greater, more populous or more prosperous, of nobler origin or more delicious food than it. …San'a is a populous city with fine dwellings, some above others, but most of them are decorated with plaster, burned bricks, and dressed stones."
A contemporary of Ibn Rustah, the
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