Rain and neglect are causing great damage to the old mosques of Sana'a
English - Monday 17 August 2020 الساعة 02:21 pm
Sanaa, Newsyemen, Exclusive:
Local sources in the old city of Sana'a revealed that about 20 mosques in the city that are listed on the World Heritage List have been damaged by heavy rains, negligence and lack of periodic maintenance about 5 years ago.
The sources indicated that rain water leaked from the roofs and walls of dozens of historical mosques, which are among the archaeological and Islamic monuments of the old city of Sana'a and Yemen in general.
The torrential rain came to reveal the extent of neglect of archaeological monuments and historical sites in Sana'a in light of the Houthi militia - the Iranian arm in Yemen - confiscating endowment revenues, taxes and customs, and imposing more taxes and royalties on the merchants of the old city of Sana'a.
In his interview with (NewsYemen) Abdullah Al-Kabsi, a resident of the city of Sanaa, asked about the fate of allocations for the maintenance and restoration of mosques from the Ministry of Endowments or the Local Council, philanthropists, or city merchants, and said: “We had to buy tarabels from our pockets and cover the roof of the mosque with our sailors to protect it from Surface water leakage. "
According to local sources and eyewitnesses, (the annexes of the Great Mosque in the old city of Sana'a, and the mosques of Al-Falaihi, Al-Kharraz, Alami, Al-Nahrain, Salah Al-Din, Al-Tawashi, Aqeel, Al-Zomor, Ghamdan, the school) have been damaged, while it is considered a preliminary outcome to count the mosques affected by rain and neglect in the city that It includes within its walls 46 mosques spread over its neighborhoods.
In a related context, the Meteorology Center in Sana'a expected "the continuation of rain of varying intensity, some of which will be heavy during the noon and evening," referring to thunderstorms "sometimes on separate parts of the western mountain range from Saada in the north to Lahj in the south, especially in the governorates of Dhamar, Ibb, Raymah, Taiz and Al-Dhalea
The Sana'a Observer pointed out that "the rain may extend eastward to parts of the inner hills of the governorates of Abyan, Shabwa and Hadramout, and parts of the western and southern coasts and the adjacent interior regions."
Earlier, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "UNESCO" expressed its deep sorrow for the loss of life and property in a number of historical centers in Yemen, including the World Heritage sites in Zabid, Shibam and Sana'a, especially in recent days in the wake of the harsh weather conditions. I swept the country.
On Friday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revealed that 35,000 Yemeni families were affected by the torrents that struck the country during the past two weeks.
