Lamprakos...
Residents of Sana’a use the term to describe new buildings that incorporate elements of the local style — patterned brick
relief, plaster flourishes, and the now mass-produced colored glass windows (qamariyyas). Builders and craftsmen,
many of whom trained as apprentices under old-style master builders (ustas), use the term turath in revealing ways.
Some distinguish between “old heritage” (turath qadim) and “new heritage” (turath jadid). “Old heritage” indicates older
buildings, which should be conserved according to certain standards. “New heritage” indicates new buildings built for
clients in the “Sana’ani style.”
World Heritage listing has renewed the prestige of old-style building, leading some
ustas to specialize in restoration and additions. But they also build new buildings;
their prestige is such that even when architects design the building, clients still defer
to the ustas, allowing them to make changes as they see fit. These clients want houses
in the local style, but more comfortable than the traditional tower house — houses
of two or three floors, with a private garden and access to a car.For international agencies like UNESCO and ICOMOS,^1 the situation in Yemen is
both unique and disturbing. They are glad that “traditional” craftsmen survive, and
are able to apply their skills in restoration. But they do not want them to alter the old
buildings, which are historic artifacts. Nor should these craftsmen confuse the new
and the old, which represent two different “historical eras.” As Trevor Marchand has
noted, however, the ustas’ ability to adapt their art to new conditions and building
types is the basis for their expert status and social prestige. Marchand argues force-
fully that conservation laws, in effect, kill off traditional trades by arresting their evo-
lution. Why shouldn’t ustas be able to continue a tradition? In theory, I agree with Marchand. But in Yemen, the practice
of conservation often differs from the idea. And in new building, where the evolution of tradition is unfettered, most
agree that the result is unsatisfactory.
In the old city, the tenets of conservation as described in the major international charters — the rigorous preservation
of original fabric, the distinction between old and new — are loosely applied, and sometimes ignored altogether. Even
when local architects supervise conservation, portions of buildings may be rebuilt and reconfigured, but “disguised” as
old-style construction by the ustas.
New buildings draw inspiration from traditional architecture; in many ways, this new turath is like “revival” styles in
other parts of the world. Architects and conservators in Yemen, both local and foreign, see much of this work as evi-
dence that a once brilliant society of builders no longer knows how to build. Change, they say, is happening too quickly
— houses built only one generation apart present an unfavorable comparison. The architectural profession, which
- International Council on Monuments and Sites; UNESCO was ICOMOS’ parent organization. Most of the major
international conservation charters were written under the auspices of UNESCO or ICOMOS.
Figure 2: Al-Qasimi House, located
on one of the old city’s many urban
gardens.