The Old City of Al Zubair. The emergence and physical reality (1571–1882 Iraq)
iras Sami Abdulaziz Alqatrani CDFPMRF
University of Basra, Department of Geography, College of Arts, P.O. Box 61004, Basra, Iraq; University of Szczecin, Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Mickiewicza18, 70-383 Szczecin, Poland; phone: +48 914 442 470; e-mail: f_alqatrani@yahoo.com; firas.alqatrany@gmail.com
How to cite: Alqatrani, F.S.A., 2015: The Old City of Al Zubair. The emergence and physical reality (1571–1882 Iraq). In: Szymańska, D. and Rogatka, K. editors, Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, No. 27, Toruń: Nicolaus Copernicus University, pp. 17–32. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/bog-2015-0002
Bulletin of Geography. Socio–economic Series No. 27 (2015): 17–32 :
Abstract
The natural advantages of the site of the city of Al Zubair contributed to its becoming a stable settlement for the tribes migrating from Najd and Hejaz during the last four centuries. These features gave the city a fundamental stability and constant growth, turning it, later, into one of the main cities in the region and an important commercial centre.
This research study aims to examine the historical dimensions of Al Zubair’s emergence, as well as the physical housing reality within the boundaries of the walled city (which represents the first phase of the city’s development), and to identify the role of people adapting the local conditions of the place in ways that made it a suitable environment for human habitation.
The morphological method has been used in this study of the physical reality of the city. This sequential historical method grants geography an important third dimension: time. Al Zubair is, in terms of its architecture, a history written in the form of buildings, streets, and various other facilities; it is an historic compound that cannot be comprehended without an understanding of and insight into its historical development.
Key words: physical reality, old city, traditional housing, Al Zubair, Iraq.
Contents:
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2. Appellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. Emergence of the city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . .. . . . . . 20
4. Physical and residential reality . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . 21
4.1. The Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... . . . . . . . 22
4.2. The Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 22
4.3. Mosques . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4. Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4.1. Architectural style of the housing units . . . . . . . . 23
4.4.2. The structural elements of the housing unit . .. . . 24
4.5. Street pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... . . . . 27
5. Conclusions ............. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . 30
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . 30
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... 31
5. Conclusions
The religious factor represented in the existence of the shrine of Al Zubair bin Awam is a key element in the emergence of the city of Al Zubair, along with the natural advantages enjoyed by the site and situation of the city, namely the accessibility of underground fresh water and arable soil, in addition to local building materials and multiple transportation routes.
The design elements of the traditional Arabian housing unit in the city of Al Zubair reflect the idea of physical unity that appears in the coherent arrangement of these units through compiling and connecting them in adense and cohesive fabric and special sequence ranked from the private (housing units), to semi-private (spaces among these units), to the public (public squares and streets). The architectural reality of the old city is also reflected in the interaction of the construction pattern and the environment in the process of forming the material structure to achieve spatial appropriateness for people through interaction with the climatic conditions and other considerations, and through dealing with the available local resources for construction.
The feature of organic cohesion between housing units that appeared in the traditional environment emphasized the social intimacy and closeness that characterized the social community in the city during the 1571–1882 time frame.
The constructor during this period was considerably interested in sunlight as a kind of energy that had to be harvested to ensure the comfort of people and to add an aesthetic element in the distribution of light and shade.
The architecture of this era managed to optimize the natural environment’s construction materials to a great extent. It also gave buildings an architectural form derived from the surrounding environment in material and colour, in addition to the high efficiency of thermal insulation.
6. Recommendations
There is a need to reconsider what the traditional architecture provided in support of sensory, aesthetic and social functions, taking advantage today of the many solutions it created to urban issues, along with considering the possibility of using, modifying or developing these solutions for current cities with the help of modern technology. In addition it is necessary to enrich the architectural curriculum in universities in order to establish a professional and scientific architectural movement that can create a national architectural personality interested in urban heritage and traditional architecture. Also there is a need to create a creative climate for innovative architectural work that combines steady traditions and trendy variables.Lastly it is necessary to watch over and maintain the heritage sites in the old city of Al Zubair.
Notes
(1) Basra Governorate is divided into seven administrative districts, namely Basra, Zubair, Faw, Abe Al Khasib, Shatt al-Arab, Al Medaina and Al Qurna. The city of Al Zubair represents the administrative centre for the Al Zubair district.
(2) Al Zubair bin Al ‘Awam bin Khuwailid bin Assad was born in the year 28 B. H. (before Hijra) and converted to Islam by the age of fifteen. He married Asmaa’ bint abi Bakir and was one of the first seven who entered Islam. His mother is Safiya bint Abdul Muttalib bin Abd Manaaf. His uncle is a Prophet of Islam and his aunt is Khadija—Mother of the Believers (the Prophet’s wife) (Habeeb, 1985: 9).
(3) At the turn of the eighth Hijri century, many of the old Basra City residents moved away to the current Basra because the former was ruined as a consequence of the following:
(a) Negligence of dams, be it those on the Euphrates River and Al Hammar marsh or dams situated at the coast. This led to them being ruined and the flood water submerged agricultural lands and destroyed the crops. When the water went away it left the land capped by mud which was covered with a saline layer that was not arable.
(b) Dryness of rivers and canals because they were not maintained. (c) The rise in the land level geologically and as a consequence the Euphrates river changed its course to the inner areas (Al Saani’ et al, 1985: 38).
(4) Al Shimal Neighbourhood was formerly called Al Aziziya Neighbourhood(Al-Bassam, 1971: 64).
(5) The total area of the city including the archeological area is 317,307 hectares and the total area of the residential quarters is 2,711.2 hectares.
(6) People recall that Al Kut Neighbourhood, the first nucleus of Al Zubair City, was surrounded by a wall that looked like a castle with low doors.
(7) It was named Al Najada Mosque because it was the first mosque designed by the Najdi people, who emigrated to Al Zubair from the Najd area in the Arab Peninsula at that period.
(8) This style goes back in history to the second century BC but it crystallized in the Abbasid Period. A minor change took place in its design and plan during the Ottoman Period. Furthermore, existing houses of that era remained tightly connected with the dominant pattern during the Abbasid Period (Al- Ghazaali, 2007: 50).
(9) Farshi bricks: These are bricks made of sundried clay that are distinguished by their firmness. They are yellow and square shaped. Their dimension varies from 20 by 20 cm to 30 by 30 cm, and this type of bricks contributed to a de-crease in the temperatures in the summer season (Abdul Razak, 2012: 93-111).
(10)Hibaab is the plural of a hib, which is a large pottery jar where water is kept.
(11)The early beginnings of this architectural element go back to the Egyptian and Iraqi Civilizations where the archeological studies indicate that wind-catchers were used by the old Egyptians in some of their buildings and this is what was discovered in the tombs of the old Egyptian state before 2100 BC. There is enough evidence for its existence in Old Iraq in Babylon and Nimrod found in the cavities of the Throne Hall that date back to 600 BC.(cf.Al Na’eem: 2002; Ali Thuwaini, 2008).
(12) It was named after the Al Mandeel family who owns it and it is three metres high.
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