Restoration of Al-Abbas mosque in Yemen

BIB00107

Note

Restoration of Al-Abbas mosque in Yemen

Collection title

Collection Bibliotheca Alexandrina

BIB00107

Source

Bibliotheca Alexandrina (EG)

First broadcast date

11/23/2004

Production year

2004

Abstract

Al-Abbas Mosque in Yemen is a testimony to the living traditions and architectural achievements of one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Built over 800 years ago, the mosque is situated on the remains of a pre-Islamic shrine or temple on a site considered sacred since ancient times. Its cubic form also has ancient precedents, including the Kaaba in Mecca. The local population continues to revere the mosque and the site today still holds special significance for them. Set in the highlands of Yemen, 40 kilometres from Sana’a, Al-Abbas Mosque dates from the last days of the Sulayhid Dynasty. An inscription in the interior dates the building to Dhu al-Hijjah 519 (December 1125-January 1126 in the Gregorian calendar) and names the founder as Sultan Musa bin Muhammed al-Fitti. Another inscription names the builder or architect as Muhammed ibn Abul-Fath ibn Arhab. But the mosque is in fact named after a little-known figure called ‘Abbas’, a holy man who is believed to be buried there. The lower parts of the mosque’s walls are made of stone, with mud bricks at the upper levels. Almost square in plan, the mosque has a flat roof, making it cubic in shape. Inside are six columns, four in stone dating from pre-Islamic times and two in brick. Three of the columns have antique capitals. The columns divide the interior into four rows, leading towards the mihrab wall. The mosque’s elaborate coffered ceiling is in complete contrast to the building’s modest exterior. Most of it has survived intact since its construction. The ceiling’s twenty-two caissons are covered with intricate decoration carved, gilded and painted in tempera on a wooden support. By the 1980s, the ceiling was suffering from rot and warping. In 1985, the Yemeni Government asked the French Centre for Yemeni Studies in Sana’a to help preserve it. The ceiling was dismantled with funding from UNESCO and removed to the National Museum at Sana’a. In 1987 the French Centre asked archaeologist and conservator Marylène Barret to carry out the restoration of the ceiling, which took three years. The cleaning and restoration was a slow, painstaking process, and the importance of preserving the history of the ceiling was respected. Major repairs were also required on the roof, and the decision was taken to restore the fabric of the building itself. Marylène Barret undertook this work with Yemeni architect Abdullah al-Hadrami, together with a team of French and Yemeni archaeologists and the best local craftsmen, who completed the restoration project in 1996. Traditional materials and techniques - many still in use today, such as qudad, a traditional mortar composed of lime and volcanic aggregate that is polished with a smooth stone and daubed with animal fat - were employed wherever possible. No speculative elements were inserted: all new elements can be traced back to original examples in both their form and their location. After the completion of the roof, one thousand separate pieces of ceiling were carefully assembled like a puzzle and numbered in the museum. They were then transported to the mosque, one row at a time, and fixed to an ingenious new supporting structure of U-shaped box beams that is entirely hidden now that the restored panels are in place. Since the restoration, the building’s original elegance and decoration have come alive, increasing the interest of the local residents, who are proud of their mosque and are especially happy to see the beautiful ceiling back in place. The restoration principles employed in Al-Abbas Mosque may well serve as a guide for further projects concerned with the preservation of cultural property, and the project may stimulate further research, particularly in relation to a number of ruins surrounding the mosque site.

Type

video

Production companies

Final cut production - Own production

Primary theme

Architecture

Secondary themes

Tourism and cultural sites / Tourist sites

Period of events

2004

Map locations

Egypt - Upper Egypt - Aswan

Original language

English

Media running time

0m52

Context

Restoration of Al-Abbas mosque in Yemen

Cyril Isnart

Al-Abbas Mosque, located near the Asnaf volcanic region (40 km southeast of Sana'a, Yemen), was the subject of a wide restoration project in 1996. The project aimed at safeguarding the building of the twelfth century and establishing a restoration procedure that respects local and traditional technical. This process became exemplary and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004.

The small building (only 100 m²), well dated (1125), is an example of the primitive cubic mosques, where its history and interior design are extremely rich. It is part of a larger religious ruined structure, encompassing two other mosques, an ablution pool and outbuildings. Its foundation seems to be related to the cult of a saint, Abbas, who is still revered by the local population. We can still find his tomb inside the mosque. The building was built over a period of contact between the Fatimid populations (exerting a strong influence in the Maghreb and the Middle East between the tenth and eleventh centuries) and Sulayhides’ (ruled Yemen between the tenth and eleventh century). The carved and painted ceiling witnessed Eastern and Maghrebian decorative and artistic influences, making of Al-Abbas a unique creation.

In 1994, the general condition of the mosque was worrying while the State called for the support and assistance of the French Centre of Yemeni studies (Sana) to form a Franco- Yemeni team led by Marylen Barret. During the restoration of the building, the coffered ceiling was preserved at the National Museum of Sana while local artisans strengthened and refurbish the walls, roofs and the mosque’s edges. In 1996, the entirely renovated ceiling was returned to the building and the population resumed its pilgrimage to the tomb of the saint.

If the architectural, artistic and historical value of Al-Abbas Mosque has been protected thanks to the restoration project, the construction process conducted in a spirit of respect for the original techniques and association of local craftsmen, has been recognized as an innovative experience of renovation incorporating the preservation of traditional construction and the transfer of technical skills. This equation is now a standard action to preserve, which revitalize the importance of the Western instances in the cultural heritage policies conducted in non-Western countries.

BARRET Marylen 2001, « Al-Abbas Mosque through its restauration », The Archeological documents, 263 : 78-81

Ory S. 1999 (ed.), From the Gold of the Sultan toward the Lights of Allah. Al-Abbas Mosque to Asnaf (Yemen), Damas, the Institute of Arab studies of Damas, Yemeni Research Center of Sana.

Aga Kan Award for Architecture, 2004, \http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?id=1831