The visitor stands amazed in front of the craftsmanship and attractiveness of the old Sana'a, the historical city that is distinguished by its distinctive architectural style, and the beauty of its decorations. It is such a city that delights you and makes you feel so familiar so that you would like to hug everything around you. With its narrow streets and the specious hearts of its residents who welcome everyone, opening the doors of their homes to any visitor who might be interested or curious to explore what their ancient walls hide, allowing visitors to read the philosophy of the old San’ani man. A visitor would ask with admiration how ancient inhabitants managed their affairs, and to realize how the generations grew up inside these houses, with its small windows and distinctive external doors, which were too smartly designed to contain the large family members, children and grandchildren under one roof.
However, as a result of this year's rainy season, many families in old Sana'a lost their homes, which were partially or completely destroyed. Moreover, the natural disaster threatens the historical city and putting the lives of its residents at risk. In this article, we will try to go deeper into these wonderful Sana'ani building details through interviewing many inhabitants of the old city and we came up with the below description of the components of the Sana'a house from the inside.
The doors are always our exit and our refuge when we return, but the doors of old Sana’a are distinguished by simple details. As you can see in the picture, there are two iron tools hung on wooden doors that are used to knock on the door. Have you ever wondered why there are two tools and not just one?
If this question comes to your mind, then we will help you to reveal this secrete about the two old iron knocking tools: The large iron tool used by the male visitor to knock the gate when he goes to the house to meet a man in the house, so that if the sound of this larger tool is heard, only a men of the house would respond to you, while the small circular iron tool, is used by the female visitor so that only a female family member would answer and open the door for her.
Entrance:
When the door is opened to you, you will enter through a vast space with rooms that you may wonder if they really exist, as there are no furniture in them. Here you entered the first (ground) floor, which the people of Sanaa call “the vestibule”, and here you will find the “free” room, and this room is used to put the remains of iron, wood and things that the people of the house want to keep. Then you will find a room with two holes on the wall, with a stone curve at the bottom, and a small door to the side. Do not be surprised! This room is called the "sheep's house", and here the sheep are placed at night, and from the holes on the wall, they can breathe, and in the stone curve the food and water for the animal is placed.
The Grinder
When you go up the stairs, you will find a corner on which is the stony mil is placed same like all old Sana'a houses. The women of the house used to use it for grinding wheat and other grains every morning to prepare the bread or coffee that the family needed, and the woman who was grinding was responsible for the lunch, according to the schedule of organizing the housework. Where the women knead the grain flour to be ready at lunchtime, so they eat a soft and warm bread. There is a difference between the “mill” and “Marha.” The first is circular and is used for grain, and the second is rectangular in shape with similar function, but it is used to grind corn grains.
Ahqab (grain vault)
As you start by going up the stairs, you will find a room in front of you called 'Ahqab'. This room is one of the most important rooms in the house. It is the place to store grain for a long period that may last for dozens of years without spoiling. Do not be surprised! The people of old Sana’a in the past, were using a concrete substance called “Qathath” that they put to cement the floor and walls of this room, so it absorbs heat and moisture and helps keep the place cool enough to store crops. Thus, they could store grains even for a period ranging from 100 to 200 years, without changing the shape or smell of stored grain. This material was only used in the premises of the "Imam" (the ruler) and the homes of wealthy tribal sheikhs as Qathath material is one of the most expensive cementing materials that you can buy in the past and even now. However, the common people, they bury the grains underground - also in the "Ahqab" - but the grain may change and its smell as well if continues to be buried and stored for years.
So, what is the substance of " Qathath " and what is it made of?
The substance " Qathath " is made from a mix of fat extracted from the tails of sheep, along with the Lime mortar substance. When these two materials are mixed and heated to a high temperature, hardens on drying and resulted in the production of a strong substance " Qathath ", a solid element that remains cohesive for more than 700 years. This material is bulletproof and anti-ballistic as well, and it retains its strength, and therefore it was and still is one of the most expensive restoration materials.
Ascending up, we find a door from which we entered to the second floor. We will see a large area called "Al-Hejrah", surrounded by "the Dima" and two rooms (the middle room and the reception room), the "restroom" and a cupboard hanging in the wall.
“Al-Dima” is the now known as (the kitchen), and it was called “Al-Dima” in reference to the permanence of the situation and the grace within it, and its interior design is different from the regular kitchen; inside it, there is a small well. When you look at it, you will find that it is open to the sky, because it gets its water from rainwater. This well has a special name in Old Sana'a, which is "al-Minza'", which is derived from the verb "to pull up" where the women of the house pull the water from this well to use for cooking. Inside the "Dima" we also find an iron skewer hanging in the middle of the ceiling used to hang meat to dried after adding appropriate amounts of salt on it, and its validity can reach six months. And in “Al-Dima”, a place for the oven and firewood, and if we raise our heads, we will find that there are ventilation holes directly above the firewood stove, to reduce the heat while the women are making bread, and to drain smoke out.
There is also a small treasury called "Al-Magafarah", in reference to a word that the people of Sana'a circulate (ghafrah) meaning hide it. The meaning of the name appears through the design of this safe, although it has a small door which suggests that it is a small safe, but when you open it, you will find it very spacious that helps you hide a lot of things in it.
The Middle room:
The “middle setting room” in the San’ani house contains a Yemeni Diwan adorned with copper accessories and antiques. It was called the “middle Diwan” due to its proximity to “Al-Dima.” If the housewife receives visitors while she is busy by preparing food, she can move between the two places easily.
Reception Diwan:
This room is usually larger than the "middle diwan", it is the place where the owner of the house receives guests in the afternoon. You will notice that the reception room has two doors, not only for an aesthetic purpose, but for a future plan for which the father and mother have been preparing since they built the house; After their children grow up and marry and live with them in the house, they put what is called “al-Shajb”, which is a partial for dividing the reception diwan into two rooms by building a wall between them, so that the long setting room becomes two separated rooms and each room has a separate door.
The difference between "Arch" and "Qamaria"
We noticed the difference between the Qamariyat of the middle diwan and Arch of the reception diwan. Are Qamaria and Arch the same?
No, the Qamaria has a circular shape resembling the moon, and the history of their use dates back to about 750 years, and they were carved in the past from rock and alabaster. It allows light in the room, but it prevents vision from outside. It was reported that Al-Qamariyah is a Jewish invention.
As for the arches, they are what we find in most Yemeni homes today in a semi-circular shape, and are colored with different pieces of glass, which reflect the sunlight through the colorful glass to the middle of the diwans and rooms.
Restroom
The people of old Sana'a used to call the bathroom "the restroom", and inside it there was a heater made of "Qathath" as well, but it is the type that preserves heat and not cold. If the lady of the house or one of the women of the house wakes up in the morning, she puts embers inside the heater, so that the water remains hot all day long.
Hanging locker
The hanging cabinets are also noted which as a smart plan to exploit the spaces in the house, in order to store clothes, things, and the like of personal belongings of the residents of the house.
The Puller
Before you get out of the second floor, you will notice a rope attached to the wall, this rope is called "Majar", and it helps to open the door from any floor you are in the house, without the need to go down.
The stairs
Now you can exit the second floor; you will go out to the "stairs" again and as we go up we will find some details that the ancient Sana'ani man was smart in taking advantage of every small space in the house. For example, you will find the "chandelier", which is a square window with white glass, and the way it is placed is similar to that of Qamaria. The "chandelier" overlooks the second floor, and is placed here if there is a wedding for one of the young men of the house, the women of the neighborhood can recognize that there is a celebration so they ululate for the bride through this window.
As we continue to up, we found a giant bottle placed inside a large basket. Here, the raisins were fermented inside for a year. As for the basket, it was kept stable so that it would not move, because if it moved, the raisins would become wine.
And if we continue the way up, we will find windows (northern) to the direction of winds, in which jugs of steaming water are placed, so that if the visitor gets tired while going up the stairs, he/she can sip the water and continue the way up.
It is called "Madal Al-qathath", and it is also made of Al-qathath material for keeping the water cold
Before entering the third floor, you will be surprised that there is a small wooden staircase attached to the wall that can be pulled down to climb lift it up into the wall again, so it will be as if it does not exist, and if you raise your head a little up, you will notice a small door to which these wooden stairs lead, is this a hanging closet? No, this hanging room is called the "Dewidar room", and it is usually a spacious room in which the "Dewidar" can sleep and sit inside. Who is "Dewidar"?
He is the servant of the people of the house, and the origin of the word is Turkish, meaning the servant of the house. He has the authority to roam inside the house to carry out service work and meet the demands of the women of the house, but if he exceeds the age of 12, he stops serving, because he has become a young adult and is not allowed to see the women of the house or serve them. This room was present in the Imam’s homes only, and not in all the houses in Old Sana’a.
Now let's go to the third floor and get acquainted with its rooms and parts.
“The Dumb Room”, “the baby room”, “Library” and “restroom”.
The Dumb Room
This room is the delivery room. When a pregnant woman feels that she is about to give birth, she goes to this room without telling anyone but the midwife, so that the people of the house do not know when she will give birth, because of a belief that some still believe until now. Where it is said that if anyone knew the time of the birth of the baby, the delivery would be difficult, and this room was called "dumb" because it absorbs screaming, so no one hears the woman's voice during childbirth.
The baby's room
This room is specially arranged for the occasion of childbirth celebration, where you find the "martaba", which is a high place on which the "mother" sits, while the female visitors sit on the San'ani Majlis. This room is adorned with a “sajjaf”, a decorative piece of cloth placed on the walls, and in the middle of the place is a “mada’ah” (argileh) used for group smoking made of copper. The argileh is also placed inside a copper bowl, which is what is called in Sana’a “Al Muashrah”. Here we will also find the "Jamna", a huge jar made of copper in which the women prepare (seedless coffee) to be served to female guests, whereas the "baby mother" coffee is served in a special jar of pottery "Al Mudur".
In the middle of the ceiling of the "baby Place" you will see number of colored glass balls. These balls are called "Al-Dunia", where lanterns are hung next to them, reflecting beautiful colors that please those who are seated in the room.
The library
The library does not need an introduction, except that no one enters it in the San’ani house, except for the one who is going to read.
We will leave the third floor to the fourth floor, but as we go up we will come across cleverly exploited spaces. For example, there is a small room in the staircase called the “Kumma.” In the old days, if a man quarreled with his wife and the dispute between them intensified and anger and sadness reached their climax, the husband would go to the “Kumma” and stay there for three days. This behavior is followed by men according to the instructions of the Qur’anic verse: “Abandon them beautifully.” During these days of abandonment, the husband goes out to work, buy house needs and eat but, he does not talk to his wife or discuss anything until the couple calm down and return to normal life with each other again. It is reported that the wife gets angry and grieves greatly if her husband goes to sit on the bench.
We will also find a "sharba house", which is a window similar to a "Madal Al Qathath", but it is larger, and is used for cooling the evaporated water.
As soon as we go to the fourth floor, we find a large area to the right of it there is Diwan, and to the north of it is a "reception diwan" with two doors and a " rest room".
The Reception Diwan
The door of the Diwan that appears in the picture is the door of the reception hall, which was in the house of the imam (the ruler). This door is made of precious and rare wood and is embroidered with seashell. The history of these doors goes back 450 years, and these doors are a Jewish industry. When we examine the decoration of the door, we will find the Star of David (the six-pointed star), and the Diwan was used to receive senior guests and tribal sheikhs, to discuss agricultural matters.
As we leave the fourth floor to go up, we will come to the fifth floor, which is considered the last floor in the old Sana’a house. In this floor there are two opposite rooms for (the grandmother) and “Abi Sayed” (the grandfather), and next to them is a “restroom”, then you go out to the roof of the house.
My beloved mom's room
It is the grandmother’s room, and the name “my beloved mom” is taken from the Sana’a word “Ahnajak” meaning “I love you and cherish you.” The name “my beloved mom” refers only to the mother of the father, not the mother of the mother, because the newborn is born to the hand of his grandmother to his father.
We continue the way up to reach the most beautiful place of the San’ani House, the place where the rope of pulling to open stops and anything that causes disturbance stops, because we will ascend to the place of comfort and tranquility, to the “Mandhar” the top setting room.
“Al Mandhar”, “Al-Tirmana” or “Al-Mafraj” are all names for “the top setting room”, and this part of the house was named with these names, because it overlooks the entire city of Sana’a. “Al-Mafraj” is a name derived from the word “watching” in the Yemeni dialect, meaning to watch with contemplation. As for “Al-Tirmana,” name, it is a Turkish name for the place, and it means that this room has become close to birds' whereabouts.
As evidenced by the names of the " Mandhar ", it is the highest room in the San'ani House, and next to it is its own "bathroom". Thus, the city can be seen with its houses, its lanes, and its "brokers" (public cafes). “Al Mandhar” is the room for the “qat” chewing, but it is limited to a few people only. It is furnished in the “Sana’ani Majlis” and includes the “Muashara” made of copper, the “Mada’ah” (the hookah), and the “Awdah” (the incense of the oud). “Al-Mandhar” is where the “Sulaymaniyah Hour” comes as it does not come anywhere else (the time of the Sulaymaniyah hour is from four in the afternoon to before sunset), where the arches reflect all the colors to the inside of the “Manthar”, while you can see the old Sana’a beneath you.
No one wants to get out of the "Manthar", but if we go up to the roof, we will find a charming scene, clean air, and in front of us we will see hundreds of old houses of Sana'a, but this view will be different now. Now we know a lot of details about the Sana'a house and got acquainted with it, so we are now watching the houses and we know all about divisions, the life cycle inside it, and how its people live now and lived in the past.
*Source/ Eman Khairan - a tour guide at the Heritage House.
*Pictures of the article by: Ali Al-Sunaidar
