Sanaa and Yemen
- June 24, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Sanaa and Yemen
Subject : International Relations
Section :Mapping
- Sanaa is the largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sana’a Governorate.
- At an elevation of 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), Sanaa is one of the highest capital cities in the world.
- The Old City of Sanaa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a distinctive architectural character, most notably expressed in its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns.
Architecture
- Sanaa’s Old City is renowned for its tower houses, which are typically built from stone and fired brick and can reach up to 8 stories in height.
- The doors and windows feature are decorated with plaster openings.
- The old fortified city has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and contains many intact architectural gems.
- The oldest, partially standing architectural structure in the Old City of Sanaʽa is Ghumdan Palace.
- The city was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1986.
- Efforts are underway to preserve some of the oldest buildings some of which, such as the Samsarh and the Great Mosque of Sanaʽa, is more than 1,400 years old.
- Surrounded by ancient clay walls that stand 9–14 metres (30–46 ft) high, the Old City contains more than 100 mosques, 12 hammams (baths), and 6,500 houses.
- Many of the houses resemble ancient skyscrapers, reaching several stories high and topped with flat roofs.
- They are decorated with elaborate friezes and intricately carved frames and stained-glass windows.