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Projects in Yemen |
A number of AIYS institutional members and fellows have long-term
or large-scale projects in Yemen. All such projects are facilitated by AIYS, and many of them
also benefit from financial support from AIYS' program grant from the State Department's
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. We present a selection of them
here. The list below gives links to individual project pages that contain brief descriptions,
and other project information such as AIYS-related funding and links to online resources featuring
the project.
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Architectural Reconstruction and Documentation
The Amiriya Project
The Amiriya Madrasa in Rada, one of Yemen's major medieval
architectural monuments, has been the focus of a major multi-country
reconstruction and conservation project first in the early 1980's and then from 1996 through its
completion in the spring of 2005; non-Yemeni government funding for the latter phase was administered
by AIYS in Sana'a. The work of that
project, and the training and conservation programs associated with it, are featured on this site. For
video documentary on the qudad building techniques used in the Amiriya restoration, see Video Projects,
below.
The Qubbat Hassan Mosque of Dhuran
This significant 17th century mosque was heavily damaged during the
1982 earthquake and subsequently abandoned. The purpose of this
project, sponsored by AIYS with cooperation from the French Center
for Yemeni Studies was to document the building and its surrounding
features.
The Tarim Project
The city of Tarim, in the Hadhramawt, is known for its
elaborate early twentieth-century mud-brick palaces. The
Tarim Palaces Documentation Project, based at Columbia University, has since 2001 been supported by
funds from AIYS' State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program budget.
see also "The Zabid Project" (Archaeological Fieldwork) and "The Architecture of Mud" (Video Projects).
Archaeological and Anthropological Fieldwork
Archaeological and environmental survey in the Dhamar region
A project of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, the
Dhamar area survey seeks to trace the history of settlement of the
region.
Archaeological Exploration of the Mahra Region
Building on earlier work on Oman, this project sponsored by the
Archaeology Fund, extends its explorations of the ancient frankincense
routes into Yemen.
Excavations at Jujah-Shibam, Wadi Hadhramaut
New York University's Institute of Fine Arts sponsored these
excavations, dated to the late 9th-7th centuries B.C.
Roots of Agriculture in Southern Arabia
A joint American-Yemeni team is conducting interdisciplinary archaeological-paleoecological
research on Holocene climate change and transitions to food production in southern
Yemen's Hadramawt highlands.
The Zabid Project
Zabid flourished as an international entrepôt in the mediaeval period
and survives today in reduced form. The Zabid project of the
Canadian Archaeological Mission of the Royal Ontario Museum covers
topics ranging from urban development and monumental and vernacular
architecture to sponsorship of the arts and industrial production.
Video Projects
The Architecture of Mud
A joint project of preservation expert Pamela Jerome (Graduate School
of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University) and
Caterina Borelli (independent filmmaker and senior producer RAI-TV
1), this projects documents the traditional methods of construction and
preservation of mudbrick masonry used in the spectacular vernacular
architecture of Yemen's Hadhramawt region. Two versions of the video, one in English and one in
Arabic, premiered in the fall of 1999. For ordering information click
here.
Murshidat: Female Primary Health
Care Workers Transforming Society in Yemen
Based on many years of research in Yemen, Dr. Delores Walters has
produced a collaborative documentary, training, and advocacy video
highlighting the work of female primary health care workers
(murshidat).
Qudad: Re-inventing a Tradition
Caterina Borelli (independent filmmaker
and senior producer RAI-TV 1), produced this documentary based
on AIYS Board Member Selma Al-Radi's restoration work at the Amiriya Madrasa,
Rada'. The video comes in two versions, one in English and one in
Arabic; the English version was shown at the 2003 Yemen Symposium as
well as at the 2004 MESA FilmFest. For ordering information click
here.
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