Sad news today that the Seiyun Palace in the Hadhramaut, Yemen, one of the largest mud-brick buildings in the world, is at risk of collapse. Heavy rains in August severely damaged the palace and a number of other buildings. The seven-storey palace, finished in the 1920s, was the seat of the Sultan of Kathiri, an ally of the British who controlled the protectorate of Aden at that time. It became a museum and tourist attraction in the 1980s and I was lucky enough to visit it on my tour of the Yemen in the late 1990s.
The mud-brick buildings, especially the wind-towers, are an incredible and beautiful feature of the Yemen, but I fear for their long-term survival. The ongoing conflict between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, Houti rebels supported by Iran and separatists in the south mean that aid agencies struggle to help the populace whilst the cultural heritage of the country suffers not only from lack of maintenance but also from looting and pillaging.
The mud-brick buildings, especially the wind-towers, are an incredible and beautiful feature of the Yemen, but I fear for their long-term survival. The ongoing conflict between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, Houti rebels supported by Iran and separatists in the south mean that aid agencies struggle to help the populace whilst the cultural heritage of the country suffers not only from lack of maintenance but also from looting and pillaging.
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