urban and architectural features of traditional built environment of farasan islands saudi arabia...

Urban and architectural features of traditional built environment of Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia

Hisham MortadaDepartment of Architecture, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia

DOCUMENTATION OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS AND SITES OF FARASAN ISLANDS

Objective: To doucmnet the historic sites and buildings of Farasan Islands in order to draw attention of public agencies to the importance of preservation and rehabilitation of the urban and architureal heirtage of the Islands

Geographic location of Farasan Islands in the south west of Saudi Arabia

جزر فرسان

Farasan Island

HISTORY

Throughout history, its location between Africa and Asia has attracted traders and travelers from around the world. This is reflrected in its traditional archiecture which has African and Indian features.


• Urban Scale: Sayr and Qassar Villages• Architectureal Scale: houses, mosque, and castle


Urban scale: Sayr Village• Although most of the architectural heritage of Sayr is demolished or partially replaced by new residential

buildings, the remains could give an insight about the traditional architecture of the village. • Climatic and socio-cultural aspects have determined the configuration of the urban fabric of the village. • Compact urban form punctuated by winding narrow streets and pathways. • The houses are built with irregular sea stones and characterized by their elaborate geometric patterns formed

by the plaster layer on these stones. Stone arches and wooden beams on the top of the doors and windows. Inside the houses, alcoves within the walls divided by shelves can be noticed.


Urban scale: al-Qassar Village• An old deserted village located on Farasan Island. • Its historic is dated back to the Roman era. Stones with Hamyarite Monotheism and ancient Latin

calligraphic inscriptions have been found in the village.


Urban scale: al-Qassar Village• The village currently consists of around 400 houses built of sedimentary stone and leaves of palm trees. The

stones are mixed with snails, oysters and mud that harden over time.


Urban scale: al-Qassar Village


The layout of an urban cluster in al-Qassar


Architectural scale: Ahmed Munawar al-Rifai’s House

Floor plan of Ahmed M. al-Rifai’s House (S: shop,M: Majlis, A: alley, N: northern courtyard/al-

Gobal, and W:western courtyard/al-Igab)

• A typical Farasani house and one of the finest heritage landmarks of Farasan Island, built in 1922 by a famous pearl marchanet. • Consists of several stone buildings and various open spaces or yards.• Social customs (privacy and interaction) and climate (windows orientation, courtyard) are major design factors.

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Architectural scale: Ahmed Munawar al-Rifai’s House

• Extensive gypsum geometric decoration and frescoes on walls are most significant characteristic of the house. • Colored geometric ornaments are also engraved in the ceiling of the majlis, which is constructed from wood.


Architectural scale: Hussein Bin Yahiya al-Rifai’s House• This house is located in the center of the Island and built of stone in the form of courses.


Architectural scale: Hussein Bin Yahiya al-Rifai’s House• Its historic and architectural or artistic value is represented in its main gate, which is rich in decoration adorned

with frescoes cavernous entrance arc-shaped and topped with geometric patterns of decorative stones coated with stucco.


Architectural scale: Hussein Bin Yahiya al-Rifai’s House• Its majlis is rectangular (8.25 m x 4.35 m) and accessed through the main gate, which leads to a small corridor up

to the main yard. • The majlis is filled with stucco geometric decorations, especially in the upper half of it. And in the lower part of

the wall decorations in the form of section recessed shelves surrounded by decorative ribbons and topped with an arcade are found.

• The roof of the majlis is constructed from layers of palm tree leaves and imported wood.


Architectural scale: Hussein Bin Yahiya al-Rifai’s House


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi House

Floor plan of al-Najdi House (E: entrance, S: service, M: Majlis, C: corridor, N: northern courtyard/al-Gobal, W: western courtyard/al-Igab, T: terrace, R: room, St.: storage,and Sh.

• The house is built of regular-shaped stone courses. • Its architectural value is represented in its majlis, which is full of geometric

decoration and stucco ornaments. • The majlis is rectangular in shape, 6 meter high and surrounded by an arcade on

three sides. • The majlis is accessible through the main gate which leads to the western

courtyard that has a door open to the main courtyard.


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi House• The level of the arcade is higher than that of the courtyard. • The ceiling of both the arcade and the majlis is wooden panels and leaves of palm trees.• The arcade surrounding the majlis is built of stone with circular and square columns topped with a crown box graded

scale based upon decorated curved arches.


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi House


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi Mosque• This is one of many old mosques of Farasan Island. It was constructed

by a pearl merchant in 1929 AD. • The construction took 13 years.• The mosque is located in the center of Island, in the heart of an urban

cluster surrounded by houses on all sides and separated by roads and squares.

• It is rectangular in plan with a length of 29 m and a width of 19.40 m, and consists of a prayer hall attached to another prayer hall in the back. There is also a courtyard, an ablution space, toilets, storage and a well on the right side of the eastern entrance of the courtyard.

• It also includes an additional building south of the prayer hall and is used for special events or as a women’s praying area.

• In the southeastern corner there are a minaret and two rooms.• The prayer hall has two entrances from the courtyard and columns in

the center.


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi Mosque


Architectural scale: Al-Najdi Mosque• The four walls of the prayer hall are decorated with plaster-

recessed ribs opposite each similar decoration, and rise above the columns and arches opposite direction perpendicular to the wall bearing 12 dome ceiling.

• The wall that faces Mecca has 4 windows; each toped with geometric gypsum decorative arches.

• A wooden Mehrab, where the prayer leader or Imam stands and a Member, which is used for Friday prayer speech, are brought from India and full of colorful decoration ornaments.


Architectural scale: The Jarman House• This building or castel is in the Island of Qumah, southwest of Farasan Island, and approximately 6 km on the

coast.• It is known as Beit al-Jarman (or the German House or Castel). • Its construction started in 1901 to be used as a storage of coal that was utilized to fuel the German ships

roaming the Red Sea. It was not completed, maybe due to the end of the First World War in 1918.• The building is rectangular; 107 m long (50 m along the coast), 32 m wide, and 4 m high.


Architectural scale: The Jarman House• It has four entrances; three of them are in the northern side opposite the coast. • Inside, there are two rows of columns; in each row there are 20 columns of a square shape align with the pillars of

the top wall components. • It is constructed from stone courses with the mortar in between. Most of the columns of this building are eroded

and collapsed because of the salt of the sea. Yet, the building still appears complete from the outside except the eastern entrance, which vanished with time.


Architectural scale: The Ottoman Castle

Floor plan of the Ottoman Castle (Y: yard, St: storage, B: bench, W: water storage, R: room, and

S: solders’ residence)

• This castle is located about 400 meters north of the center of Farasan Island, on a hill of 10 meters above the sea level.

• The castle is dated back to the Turkish or Ottoman era (early 20th century) and was used as a military base for the Turks.

• It consists of a rectangular building along the southern side of the fence.

• The southern wall of the Castle is 17.70 m while the eastern is 12.85 m.


Architectural scale: The Ottoman Castle

• The spaces of the castle have holes offers those inside a clear vision for those outside as these holes widen inside and narrow outside.

• The walls (65 cm thick) of the castle, including the fence are built of coral or sea stone that is plastered with gypsum both inside and outside.

• The roof is constructed in the form of beams of railway tracks covered by leaves of palm trees.


SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS• The distinct urban fabric and architectural styles of Farasan Islands reflect a special beauty and accuracy of

creativity. • The study indicates the importance of preservation and rehabilitation of this heritage within the current

urban environment of Farasan Islands. • The most important recommendations to maintain the traditional built environment of Farasan are as

follows:

• Implementation of a policy of preservation of urban and architectural heritage of Farasan Islands alongside the development of the social and economic conditions of the population as a way for the success of urban improvement.

• Relying on a policy of utilization of historic sites and buildings in the process of reviving the urban and architectural heritage of Farasan Islands. The policy of re-use of historic or traditional buildings is considered one of the successful means of preservation, as it is not costly comparing with the construction of new buildings. This reuse will provide a financial base to spend on the bundlings’ maintenance and survival.


SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS• Setting up periodical maintenance programs to limit or prevent the physical deterioration of

the buildings. Such programs will prolong the lifespan of the buildings.• Encouraging construction of hotels and resorts of various types will provide opportunities for

tourists to visit Farasan Islands and enhance the local economy. This in turns will support any urban or architectural preservation activities.

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