Al-Alkhalaf: The urban history of a traditional settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

H A B I T A T INTL. Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 29-52, 1995 Copyright ~ 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0197-3975/95 $9.50 + 0.00

Pergamon

0197-3975(94)00052-2

A1-Alkhalaf: The Urban History of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia MOHAMMED ABDULLAH EBEN SALEH

King Saud University, P.O. Box 57448, Riyadh 11574, Saudi Arabia ABSTRACT This work examines the history of a traditional Saudi Arabian settlement through three developmental stages: the traditional, the transitional and the contemporary. Along with a review of early established institutions and their influence on the built environment, emphasis is placed on the evolution of a progressively distinctive AI-Alkhalaf planning system in the wider context of societal changes and its relationship to the local government in the absence of a central one. The study examines the effects of a shift to the planning policies of a centralised national government and the changes in the economic picture in Saudi society, both of which have had a dramatic influence on the community. It concludes that while contemporary changes are beneficial in many ways, it is not altogether wise to abandon the indigenous experience which made AI-Alkhalaf a distinctive and highly-regarded community in the Asir Region.

INTRODUCTION According to Zevi, architecture is the visual aspect of history.1 Buildings and spaces contain many clues about the evolution of urban and social environments. They are basic indicators of when development took place, its pace, and the nature and pace of activities in the area. They can also tell us about the original inhabitants, as well as the contemporary residents, what changes have taken place over time, and how vulnerable the area is to change in the future. However, a cursory examination of individual buildings does not suffice. We need to consider specific characteristics and groups of buildings to analyse their significance. The study of the history of the built form, its formulation, development and activities associated with it is known as urban history. The task of recording urban history involves descriptions of activity patterns, the documentation of planning principles, and analysis of regulations and social conventions; however, the activities themselves are not the focus of the urban historian, but the results of those activities manifest in the built environment. The knowledge of man about the history of the built environment in a particular society is expected to validate opinion and justify action in planning the social environment of human groups. As Kostof states, the history of the urban form can be used as a design quarry. 2 This paper examines the urban history of AI-Alkhalaf, a traditional settlement in the Asir Region of Southwestern Saudi Arabia. 29

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Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

There have always been six basic determinant forces affecting the urban development of society: physical, technological, economic, cultural, religious and political. Excluding the physical and religious determinants, these are constantly subject to gradual or drastic change, sometimes imperceptibly and usually at differing rates. Nevertheless, they are subject to change, and change within one of these determinants often affects the other five. In the case of AI-Alkhalaf, the most influential determinant of change was the political situation, which moved from an unstable tribal anarchy to a stable national government after the unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932. In the later half of this century, the economic boom experienced by Saudi Arabia has also swerved the urban development in a new direction, while also influencing the technological and cultural determinants. Change has been drastic, fast and simultaneous, perhaps a unique experience in the history of the settlement. For more than three centuries, the sense of settlement solidarity remained strong until travel to distant towns and urban centres was facilitated by improved road networks in the last three decades. This period has also witnessed new urbanisation, with the conversion of the original compact-settlement built form into a sprawled one, as well as a gradual disintegration of local traditional customs and institutions as a result of the dispersal of local residents and the control of centralised national government. The present research focuses on the traditional, formal identity of the settlement in contrast to the emerging urban system. Although traditional AI-Alkhalaf was an urban community within a rural agricultural context, it is concerned with the settlement as a semi-urban type rather than rural, since it had an established social structure as well as political and administrative systems. The estimated population of Al-Alkhalaf is 2,000 inhabitants. 3 Most of the settlements in Saudi Arabia lack documentation of their urban history; however, some have drawn the attention of scholars and researchers. Bokhari documented the urban history of the seaport of Jeddah from its inception in the pre-Islamic era. He addressed both aspects of the traditional and contemporary urban pattern of Jeddah and projected it into the future. 4 In the Central Region, two investigations were carried out by A1-Hathloul and AI-Mubarak, who studied the development stages of two agriculturallybased settlements, AI-Badaia c and Huraimla. AI-Mubarak probed into the socio-politicai and economic factors that accompanied the relatively sudden substitution of modern urban forms for those of the traditional society. 5 AI-Hathloul discussed the factors influencing the growth of the settlement, the social and economic aspects again playing a major role.6 They presented the main features of traditional 20th century agricultural societies which were established before the beginning of the century. AI-Said chronicled the urban history of D a m m a m , with fishing and pearling as the economic base. He introduced what he called the four stages of development: the primitive, transitional, consolidated and contemporary. 7 In 1986, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Saudi Arabia d o c u m e n t e d the developmental stages of more than 100 cities and towns through the urban boundary studies. 8 AI-Zolfah attempted to utilise the written agreements between neighbouring and disputing tribes in the Asir Region to derive the tribal conventions which mostly governed the political and ecological relationship between the settlements. 9 AI-Bishri, a geographer, studied the recent environmental changes in AI-Alkhalaf. He perceived the new development that takes place in the settlement as a pattern that discards the differentiation between city and village, lO This investigation seeks to describe and account for the achievements in AIAlkhalaf planning history over three periods of development: the traditional, the transitional and the contemporary. It views the planning practice as a continuous decision-making process resulting in a set of accumulated planning policies. The

AI-Alkhalaf) The Urban history o f a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

31

lessons from this experience can be used for other communities, especially in Saudi Arabia, where AI-Alkhalaf planning has earned a high reputation among the Asir settlements. Along with a review of early established institutions and their influence on the built environment, emphasis is placed on the evolution of a progressively distinctive AI-Alkhalaf planning system in the wider context of societal changes and the relationship of local government.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The bulk of the material contained in this study was gathered during the course of a three year architectural, anthropological and ethnographic field study made in the settlement and its surroundings between 1990 and 1993. The research was not without its challenges. The first-hand information for documenting the urban history was obtained from field documentation and oral history. The lack of a comprehensive source of documents and written history necessitated reliance on historical precedents and oral history, which at best covers the last 60 years. The traditional architecture as a whole can be considered the primary source of historical information. Undoubtedly, the continuity and development of traditional architecture affects the techniques of recording the urban history, as the urban form and the location of buildings were continually changing and, at any given stage, may represent only a short period. There is much speculation about the original form of traditional buildings still standing in A1-Alkhalaf today; however, the above review of literature greatly assisted in alleviating much of the speculation. The investigation proceeded as follows: First, the oral history of the settlement was obtained through extensive interviews with settlement elders. Second, a comprehensive visual survey of the existing physical development was conducted, supplemented with an extensive review of relevant literature. Third, the speculated developmental stages were shown on the early developed scheme of A1Alkhalaf. li By classifying and analysing the visual survey photographs and field observations of the settlement's basic components, and cross-referencing them with the documented oral history, the urban history of the settlement was revealed.

PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT Asir is divided into four geographical zones: the coastal Tihamah, the mountain Tihamah, the Sar'at Mountains running north-south and the mountainous transitional zone leading into the Central Arabian plateau. AI-Alkhalaf is located in the third zone of the Sar'at Mountains. The western limit of the Sar'at zone is formed by a rift running north-south and dividing the Sar'at sharply from the mountain Tihamah zone. AI-Alkhalaf is located about 3 km to the east of this rift at an altitude of 2,400 m above sea level (Fig. 1). Because of this location, A1-Alkhalaf enjoys a moderate climate and seasonal rain, promoting intensive agricultural activity depending mainly on rain for cultivation. 12 Traditionally, territory in Asir was organised on a tribal basis. Each tribe and settlement knew its borders for pasture, wood, quarries and other resources. These borders were not fixed, and their definitions were subject to treaties and agreements between tribes. 13 As a result of limited economic resources and political instability, as well

32

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

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Fig. 1. Map of Saudi Arabia shows the location of Al-Alkhalaf.

as the tribal tradition of revenge, habitual inter-tribal raiding was prevalent among the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula before 1932. As we shall see, this constant threat of attack significantly affected the structures and pattern of the AI-Alkhalaf built environment.

KHALAF EBEN yACALA AL-BISHRI: SETTLEMENT FOUNDER

The tribe of Bani Bisher mostly occupies a small area in the highlands of southern Asir. In the hope of better living through a sedentary life, Khalaf Eben yacala AI-Bishri began a search for a suitable place to settle. He was accompanied by his wife and two sons, Mattar and Mubarak. According to AI-Alkhalaf elders, the site of the settlement was granted to Khalaf Eben yacala AI-Bishri by his m o t h e r tribe sheikdom in the early 16th century. He selected the site of AI-Alkhalaf due to the security and economic opportunities which it afforded. The first settlement structure was his house, built on an elevated area where he could survey his property. In addition to the house, he constructed a qasabah (watch and defence tower). A mosque was constructed within comfortable walking distance and his farm developed west of the house. The extended family of Khalaf Eben yacala grew within two main branches: AI-Mattar and AI-Mubarak. The physical characteristics led him to instruct his two sons to establish their families north and south of his house, respectively. The settlement expanded by the construction of residential quarters for each kin group with its supporting facilities, such as AI-Qasabah. New residences

AI-Alkhalaf: The Urban history of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

33

were accompanied by the establishment of new agricultural areas and other spatial components such as Al-Madafin (underground silos) and mosques. The gradual development of A1-Alkhalaf was strictly in accordance to the needs of the extended family and grew in a definite genealogical pattern, constantly maintaining a balance between the built environment and the cultivated land. 14 The traditional built form of AI-Alkhalaf resulted from the representation of two moieties and 12 branches, each having a distinct share in the combination of buildings and organisational elements including residential buildings, qasabat, madafin, the treasury, mosques, cemeteries, public open spaces, congregational areas, the Friday market, routes of movement and the cultivated land. For example, each kin group had its own residential quarter, open space, madfan, and a qasabah and shared with the moiety the local mosque. The settlement congregational areas, cemeteries, the treasury, Friday mosque and Friday market were elements shared by the entire community.15

A L - A L K H A L A F TRADITIONAL ADMINISTRATION

In the pre-state era, AI-Alkhalaf's initial attempts to develop a planning commission with indigenous influence proved to be successful. It was found to be responsive to change and expectations in A1-Alkhalaf society. The community was originally administerd by Thamaniyat Al-Jama"ah. 16This group of eight men was the settlement council and could be considered as a kind of planning commission. They were elected to equally represent the two main moieties. The head of this commission was Al-Sheik, a man appointed by the malaf, or settlement assembly. They were assisted by another group of four, Al-Qubala, two in charge of water management and two in charge of the vernacular landscape. In addition to this, the treasury was managed by four men elected to equally represent the two main moieties, as well as a secretary appointed by the sheik. These 18 people were responsible for effective management of natural resources, development of the built environment (including public facilities and residential quarters), management of the settlement treasury, and establishing fines or punishments for any misconduct among the residents. Thus, an accepted vocabulary of planning activity and control was known among inhabitants, as well as surrounding tribes. The resulting plans were, therefore, an accumulation of group decisions which, over time, became planning policies.

THE TRADITIONAL AND TRANSITIONAL PERIODS

The evolution of the urban pattern involves the spatial and physical arrangement of the settlement components: routes of movement, residential quarters, the defence towers, the underground crop silos, the weekly market, the treasury, mosques, cemeteries, congregational areas, and the agricultural fields. These components were specifically developed to support population growth and security concerns and were implemented by the planning commission of the settlement who assessed and envisioned the new development not to conflict with the security matters and interests of the social groups. This proved to be enduring. The strength and longevity, characteristics of the built environment of A1-Alkhalaf, reflect the manner in which buildings and human activities were regulated under strong political control and a unified social structure under the prevailing Islamic principles. The physical development of AI-Alkhalaf followed three distinguishable stages, roughly coinciding with two distinct political influences. The first was

34

M o h a m m e d Abdullah Eben Saleh

the pre-state, or traditional period, where the community relied solely on the directives of a local government, independent in principle, but with an affiliation to the standing political force in Sabia, 300 km to the south. The second was the state period, which began in 1932 when AI-Alkhalaf became a part of the newly unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Between 1948 and 1960 AI-Alkhalaf was a part of the Al-Jawwah administrative centre. This was the transitional period

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AI-Alkhalaf The Urban history of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

35

whereby the issues of security and defence, which had played so prominent a role in settlement planning, became a part of history. The third stage is actually a continuation of the second, bearing the effects of the prosperous economic situation beginning in 1975. This contemporary period brought a close to both the traditional and the transitional periods. Since 1960, AI-AIkhalaf has been a part of the Sarat Abidah administrative centre (Fig. 2). The sites of the house and farm of Khalaf Eben Yacala and the associated qasabah and mosque in the northwestern sector of the settlement and the cemetery in the southern sector were the first planning decisions which clearly defined early development. Later there would, of course, be other thresholds. For example, the development of a subsistence economy dictated the emergence of planning imperatives in terms of the security and defence of such an economically-based settlement to support its growth and the pertinent factors of change. The formal layout of the settlement built form was constantly under control through this distinct definition of needs which began to diminish towards the end of the tribe regime. During the traditional period, the planning issues were raised piecemeal in response to the issues of security of the socio-economic base, political affiliation and population growth. AI-Qasabat, as monumental defence structures, and mosques, as ritual buildings, expressed a symbolism of both war and peace. Throughout the traditional period their presence was essential to the control of the subsistence economy as well as the commercial activities of the Friday market. Today, these two historical issues can be experienced only through the remaining traditional architecture. The indigenous institutions demonstrated the positive role of planning implementation in the shaping of AI-Alkhalaf built environment. The vigorous creation of its compact form is a key factor in creating the settlement, a community of individuality and distinction. The development of such indigenous institutions was a response to the deplorable unstable political situation. They focused on ameliorating the living environment as well as the tribal reputation. Wider social and environmental issues, such as the effective management of natural resources including arable land, water, wood and pasture land, also appeared to be a legitimate concern of local planning. They were subject to considerable public debate in the assembly. The settlement council promoted functional and security efficiency in the built environment and surrounding area by issuing policies such as not allowing the construction of any building except for defence and temporary crop storage, and strict regulations to preserve the local wood were put into effect. For a long time, these policies were accepted and enforced as legitimate concerns of the local government of AI-Alkhalaf. They proved to be significant in raising public awareness within AI-Alkhalaf pertaining specifically to the built and surrounding environment. After the unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the political focus on the settlement declined. Besides this significant development, A1-Bishri notes that with the death of Sheik Ali Eben Mehi in 1948, the sheikdom of Bani Bisher was transferred from AI-Alkhalaf to the Al-Thaqfan tribe in the settlement of AI-Ocsran, 30 km to the northwest. This significant political shift brought drastic changes in the management of the settlement. ~7 This phenomenon set a turning point in A1-Alkhalaf's development. The tribe regime had contributed to the concept of a settlement ideally organised into zones of defence, residence, and production girded by a complete system of control. While the traditional period reflected the interaction of local political trends with stagnant, strict indigenous values, the transitional stage reflected the interaction of socio-economics with changing values and principles in planning practices.

36

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

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Fig. 3. The matured traditional development site plan of Al-Alkhalaf showing the basic components of the settlement.

AI-Alkhalaf: The Urban history o f a Traditional Settlement in Sotahwestern Saudi Arabia

37

During this period, there was a transformation of implicit planning goals into planning policies to improve the socio-economic base, including agriculture and pasturalisation to support the newly unified state. We will now examine the evolution of the settlement's spatial and physical components during the traditional and transitional periods described above.

Routes of movement Access to the settlement site from the surrounding agricultural fields was provided by gateway-like entrances leading to tortuous alleyways and cul-desacs winding among its structures. A unique feature was the sabat, a covered, tunnel-like pathway. These narrow, winding pathways were deliberately planned as mazes in the circulation system to mislead those unfamiliar with the settlement in case of attack. The circulation routes made it easy for inhabitants to move from the residential areas to the agricultural fields, mosques and market, but it was much more difficult for strangers to find their way in the opposite direction. Other open spaces in the settlement were mostly irregular in shape. When observing Fig. 3, one could conclude that the arrangement of public open spaces, buildings and routes of movement served as a defence mechanism for the settlement.

The covered passageway (Al-Sabat) The sabat was constructed by bridging the alleyway between buildings to accommodate the air required for an adequate room or rooms on at least

Fig.

4. AI-Sabat is one o f the best indicators o f the direction o f development in the traditional settlement. as indicated by its traces'.

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38

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

one level. In order to defend the settlement in case of attack the early built environment was characterised by compactness, with limited open areas within the settlement fabric. This generally limited the horizontal expansion of houses, which was accomplished somewhat through construction of the sabat. A1-Sabat, as a built form element, reveals something of the social system with its emphasis on close family relationships. It also provides information about the history of the buildings that it connects. A trace that it makes on one edge clearly indicates that AI-Sabat was added to the building, and not built at the same time. If a trace appears on both sides it indicates that it was constructed after both the buildings that it bridges. In general, the sabat was placed high enough not to hinder riders and pedestrians passing underneath it, but in some cases it was intentionally lowered to surprise and slow attackers. Technologically, the width of A1-Sabat was limited by the width of the available wood trunks, which was within 2 m (Fig. 4).

Residential quarters Traditional A1-Alkhalaf contained 12 identified residential quarters (Figs 5,15). The grouping of the residential quarters of the settlement formulated the urban pattern as a whole. Early residential quarters were constructed east, north and south of the residence of Khalaf Eben yacala. Protection of valuable agricultural land that surrounds the settlement on the west, east and north stimulated further gradual settlement development in the south.

Fig. 5. The degree o f compactness of the residential quarters and character in Al-Alkhalaf might narrate historic development.

AI-Alkhalaf The Urban historv Of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

39

Fig. 6. The sprawled residential grouping and configuration of Al-Alkhalaf denotes the role of physical attd historical influences, topography and securttv.

The quarters themselves are composed of densely grouped structures around a c o m m o n open space or adjacent to an alleyway or covered passageway. Three to 16 residences are grouped together in one of four patterns: compact, parallel, linear, and individual (Figs 3,6). The compact pattern, the first development stage in the settlement, consists of five to 16 attached residential buildings tightly grouped around an irregular open space. This was followed by the parallel arrangement, consisting of alignments of two linear groups, which are not perfectly parallel and often produce a slightly inflected V-shaped configuration. The third development stage was the linear arrangement, consisting of a short alignment of three to five residential buildings oriented along either side of a central path. The last development stage was characterised by individual residential buildings with high contours constructed in the settlement periphery. Distances between buildings vary from one quarter to another and appear to be the result of a gradual break-up of densification, beginning with an initial compact grouping for early developed areas to distances of 3-10 m between buildings that comprise the later settlement extensions. This came as a result of the reduced need to consider defence when tribal raiding was abandoned with the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and a central government. The widespread custom of erecting solid stone walls at ground level was maintained in A1-Alkhalaf. Adobe walls were constructed above. Exterior walls were usually adorned with horizontal projecting stone slates known as ragaf on either side of the narrow alleyways. Gateways opened to a homestead yard or directly to the homestead itself. A single entrance was the only access to the house at the ground level. The height of the residential buildings varied from two to five storeys. Houses were expanded vertically as needed due to security reasons and the lack of control for horizontal expansion. Besides residential buildings, each residential quarter had at least one defence tower (qasabah) and multiple crop storage spaces (madafin).

40

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

The residential quarters were separated from one another by a narrow open space or passageway and composed a lively entity within the settlement. Chang notes that for all architectural arrangements, the common denominators of unity in space and harmony of forms are the two intangibles existing in the mind of every creator and every viewer. When each building contains these two factors, surrounding space and uniqueness, it will become a lively entity, because it physically radiates in space and psychologically its meaning grows in time through its functional affiliation, is AI-Alkhalaf residential quarters possessed a remarkable, compact urban pattern and elegant architectural character with surrounding pedestrian passageways and irregular open spaces. Such buildings and spaces are, in the first instance, representations of someone's social reality, and in this sense, they are themselves texts to be read.~9

The defence towers (AI-Qasabat) These watch, warning and defence structures were strategically integrated not only within the residential quarters, but also in the agricultural fields. They were indispensable to the development of the settlement, as its inhabitants lived under the constant threat of tribal raiding. A1-Qasabat provided a high level of public security simply by their existence as defence institutions, symbolising alertness, courage and power (Fig. 7). They were located and built to standard plans, together with the mosques and the weekly market, and became part of an efficient system of urban facilities. The establishment of these structures was subject to the influence of the AI-Alkhalaf politicians, who defined such things as the location and height of the new towers. AI-Qasabat provides the first example in the succession of breaks with the past, because of the dwindling importance of defence issues in terms of urban policy after the unification of Saudi Arabia. After 1932, AI-Qasabat architecture was considered a part of history, divorced from its earlier symbolic underpinnings.

Fig. 7. Al-Qasabah, as an architectural and urban landmark, was aborted in the newly developed quarters after the unification of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, it was replaced by the minaret of the newly-built mosques.

Al-Alkhala]~ The Urban history o f a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

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The great traditional institution of AI-Qasabat was discounted by the population and denounced among philanthropists as part of the new state emergence; however, for over 50 years, the structures were used for short-term crop storage, as they were affordable spaces providing excellent ventilation.

The agricultural crop silos (Al-Madafin) In the traditional A1-Alkhalaf subsistence economy, Al-Madafin, the long term and strategically-hidden crop stores represented a societal symbol of the household's nourishment and a guarantee of its continued existence. Grains were mixed with nace, a special sand found to keep AI-Madfan free of air and moisture. The grain could be stored for more than three decades but became sterilised for later use. Al-Madafin still retain their function today. Older residents do not trust the present, as they keenly remember the struggle for subsistence in the past. Most of the families in A1-Alkhalaf still actively use their madafin while preserving the secrecy of its location. This continuing practice is but a hint of the push and pull between the old and the new which pervades the Al-Alkhalaf environment today.

The weekly market (AI-Bastah) AI-Aikhalaf had been granted the prerogative of the Friday market by the Bani-Bisher mother tribe. As recently as 1983, residents of all the neighbouring settlements and tribe traders used to gather at the market every Friday to transact commercial activities, exchange information, and declare news of major concern to the tribe. The market site occupies a vast open space located in the eastern part of A1-Alkhalaf (Fig. 8). The site of the market gave consideration to the security of both the market and the settlement. The establishment of the market necessitated the construction of a daily mosque, the third built in A1-Alkhalaf.

Fig. 8. AI-Bastah, the weekly market site, is still an active congregational area after" the l~)'idav prayer, though the market was deactivated more than a decade ago.

42

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

According to the tribal agreements, any one had the right to enter the market and mosque, but not the settlement itself, so these were allocated at the eastern periphery, providing easy access to attendees without settlement trespassing. The market was subdivided into zones, each being allocated for certain goods and commercial activity, and administered by the head of a kin group. According to AI-Alkhalaf elders, the inhabitants of the settlement assumed responsibility for safe-guarding the attendees from early morning till sunset of Friday and two additional days to the marketers and their commodities, one day before the market and the other after it. Before 1932, designated community men, armed with rifles, used to stand guard in the near-by qasabat.

The exchequer (Al-Mi,shar) As the community expanded and the political leadership in Al-Alkhalaf took the lead of the Bani-Bisher tribe, the inception of a finance system was needed to help the community fulfil its responsibilities towards other tribes and those within the settlement itself. In the absence of a central government, the agricultural communities of Asir developed a settlement treasury based on the allocation of one tenth of the agricultural crops. The crops themselves or the proceeds of their sale were stored in the settlement micshar, or treasury. In A1-Alkhalaf, this was a one-storey building located in the southern part of the weekly market site (Fig. 9). It contained space to store the collected harvest as well as a safe for revenues. Domestic animals fed from the c o m m o n pasture land and tribal territory were also part of the allocation, the proceeds from their sale being stored in the treasury. Fines collected due to any social or political misconduct or misuse of natural resources, as well as the money paid to Al-Alkhalaf from other tribes or the Al-Idrisi government in Sabia were also a part of AI-Micshar and spent according to established procedures set forth by the planning commission. Usually, the micshar had four keepers appointed by the sheik and the heads of the kin groups. The building door and the safe could only be opened by using

Fig. 9. The collapse o f the AI-Mi'shar building is" really a picture coinciding with the collapse o f the indigenous financing system in AI-Alkhalaf though the treasurv is a continuous function in the Moslem society.

Al-AIkhala~) lTte Urban histo O' of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

43

five different keys. The two primary moieties were represented by two of their members possessing a key. The safe had a secretary in possession of its key. The opening of these facilities required the presence of these five people. The keepers had definite and equal responsibilities with respect to the exchequer assets, but the sheik was the final authority in spending decisions. The mosques The site of the mosque is the first to be allocated in any Muslim settlement. The mosque is its most important institutional building. AI-Alkhalaf had three traditional mosques. The multiplicity of mosques was a result of the horizontal expansion of the settlement, constructed to accommodate the daily prayers within a reasonable walking distance and time. Two of them were residentialquarter mosques and the third was located at the market site; they were all within reasonable distance of residential quarters and agricultural fields. The first mosque was constructed in the northern sector. It served as the mosque for the special Friday congregational prayer until 1983 when the government demolished the traditional mosque at the market site and replaced it with a new one (Fig. 10). The orientation of the northern mosque towards the Holy City of Mecca influenced the directionality of alleyways and passageways, as they went parallel or perpendicular to it. Most of the residential buildings were oriented toward Mecca. Due to the expansion of the settlement in the south, it became necessary to establish a mosque in this sector. For religious reasons the settlement mosques must be accessible for any Muslim. The three traditional mosques were all located on the periphery of the settlement. This planning decision was no doubt again a result of security precautions, providing easy access for residents and welcoming nonresidents. The mosques are symbols of permanence in Al-Alkhalaf. Though other institutions have disintegrated and structures have bccn changed or abandoned, the traditional mosques remain central activity centres in the contemporary environment.

l~Tg. 10. The newly-built Friday mosque was one o f the firgt signs Of Al-. tlkhalaf easterly expansion.

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Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

The cemeteries The cemetery is a fenced open space for c o m m o n burial in A1-Alkhalaf. Any Muslim who dies there has the right to be buried in the cemetery. The graves are dug into the earth about 1.5 m, parallel to Mecca. The graves are arranged in sequence with no assigned places for any kin-group. Once a cemetery is filled, another area is allocated by the settlement planning commission. AI-Alkhalaf currently has two cemeteries.

The settlement assembly (Al- Talkah) Until 1948, A1-Talkah was a place designated for the male residents of the settlement to assemble (Fig. 11). Any m e m b e r of the community was welcome to speak about an important issue, and input was sought concerning the m a n a g e m e n t of community affairs. In the early days of AI-Alkhalaf, people would gather in the yard behind the mosque, but as the population steadily increased, a larger open space, located south of the traditional Friday mosque, was designated as a place of assembly after the Friday prayer. The importance of fair consultation and cooperative decision-making in both tribal and Islamic tradition made the settlement assembly a key community institution and the designated area an important element of the physical environment.

The women's congregational area (AI-Hadrah) Just as important was the congregational area designated for women. This was traditionally an open space located in the outskirts of the northern sector of A1-Alkhalaf. It was established by the women themselves as a rest area on their long walks to and from the water wells. It then became a gathering place

Fig. 11. The site of Al-Talkah tree was the traditional open air assembly space. A1-Alkhalaf witnessed numerous public debates underneath it about issues which influenced the past history and development of the settlement.

45

Al-AIkhalaf: The Urban history of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

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46

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

for them to socialise on special occasions, such as the two religious feasts and marriages.

Agricultural land (AI-ModhF) The first farm was developed by Khalaf Eben yacala to support himself and his family in their insular surroundings. Later, farms were originated and operated according the expansion of the extended family. The form and character of AI-Alkhalaf settlement is intricately interwoven with the agricultural fields, like a ship floating over a green sea. The semi-arid climate, the distinctive physical context, mountain landscape, and the descendants of Khalaf Eben Yacala contributed to the creation of a unique fabric. A1-Alkhalaf inhabitants are keenly aware of the warmth and ingenuity in the design and arrangement of these fields integrated with the settlement built form components (Fig. 12). A1-Modhi c, in AI-Alkhalaf agricultural context, means all farmland irrigated mainly from underground wells. Al-Muskarah, the main water stream coming from the underground water well, is shared by the kin groups. The underground water wells were also the main potable water sources of the settlement. These wells are still the main water source for irrigation and household use today; however, the residential water supply is now regulated by the governmental water agency, which is responsible for distributing water to every household by use of tankers. The ownership of a field is permanent. The transfer of ownership usually goes with the inheritance rights or as gifts between relatives. If land is sold, it is usually sold only to members of the kin group.

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD: DEVELOPMENT IN AL-ALKHALAF

The latter half of the 20th century brought exploitation of the Kingdom's valuable reserves, rapidly and dramatically changing the economic picture of Saudi society. The contemporary period reflects the interaction of multiple factors with dynamically changing values and new planning practices. The last two developmental stages brought new forms of social and economic behaviour and increased the pace of environmental change. These processes were aided and accompanied by the establishment and growth of a political and administrative bureaucracy within the confines of a nation state. The nation state as a basic unit of human and social organisation has sought to exercise an important role in managing the settlements as a replacement of local administration. The contemporary period is characterised by the emergence of governmental planning considerations which have become an accepted part of the controlled planning system, replacing the traditional experience. The urbanisation of A1-Alkhalaf became much more pronounced within this third stage of development, whereby the economy experienced diversification in association with the improvement of agriculture. Although the local economy is no longer dependent on agriculture and pasture, it still plays a major role. The physical urban expansion continued to occur in an incremental fashion but with the absence of serious consideration to its functional layout and provision of infrastructure. It was relatively easier to respond to changes and expectations during the traditional and transitional periods in contrast to the contemporary era. The established institutions are now being seen as activities of environmental management in the wider sense of the term. The planning function in local government has been restricted primarily to land-use regulation in the context of A1-Alkhalaf. Moreover, during the transitional stage, the central government

Al-Alkhalaf" The Urban history of a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

47

remained equivocal with regard to its commitment to the local planning process. During the contemporary era, the central government, via government orders and municipal regulations, has overridden the local planning process, which has consequently declined and to some extent has been aborted altogether. The land use and the community social structure were an outcome of the interaction of three factors over the whole period of AI-Alkhalaf urban history: the geography of the area, the temporal orders which dictated the settling process and the specific historical events that occurred there. Thus, the traditional settlement social structure, with its emphasis on kinship and solidarity, disintegrated when the third factor changed drastically. National government programmes started the ball rolling. One such programme was a new focus on education. In 1960, the boys' primary school was opened. After a decade, the girls' primary and boys' preparatory schools were also established. In 1989, the Ministry of Education re-activated a primary school for teaching the Qur'an. These initiatives brought two aspects of change: one was the abandonment of traditional education, which was mainly dependent on the mosques; the other was a diminished work force in A1-Alkhalaf, as pupils pursued higher education and better opportunities elsewhere. This in turn contributed to a break-up of

Fig. 13. The road that borders" AI-Alkhalaf from the eastern side influenced the early development of the contemporary period.

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Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

the kin groups and the long-established social structure. Such a pattern is usually associated with increasing urbanisation; however, the social tradition is not completely destroyed yet. It has, in fact, proved remarkably capable of absorbing population growth and settlement expansion without noticeable rupture. In 1983 the Ministry of Transportation executed an intricate road network connecting the lowlands and highlands to the national road system (Fig. 13). This negatively impacted commercial activities such as the Al-Alkhalaf Friday market, which eventually transferred to A1-Farshah, 80 km southeast on the way to AI-Jawwah. New roads also directed settlement growth. The paved road on the east side brought new developments and the location of new government facilities to this area. A review of the settlement layout after 1983 reflects many innovations, including a paved road east of old A1-Alkhalaf. It directed the development east of the agricultural fields. In place of the traditional model of strictly controlled growth developed according to the defence measures of qasabat, tower-like houses and tortuous alleyways, a new model appeared of controlled growth of new forms of economic investment. But what is essential is the emergence of a completely novel urban ideal, perfectly capable of integrating with the traditional physical organisation. This will offer fewer obstacles to control and will be a dynamic means of development. It will offer controllable management and the possibility of recording urban history, since it is based on pre-planned schemes. Basic architectural changes are also occurring. In A1-Alkhalaf, as in other traditional settlements, they are due to a shift of architectural creation from handicrafts to industry. The past depended on local production based on skills of the local people and the use of local material. The present brings both imported materials and labour. This shifted architecture to an exotic type which lacks the continuity of the indigenous designs as well as any link to traditional practice. New AI-Alkhalaf is now seen as a college of playful architecture of eclectic nature. It does not offer the traditional living environments that once exhibited a more harmonious homogeneity with the repeated use of adobe, stone, and ragaf. It in fact lives as Doxiadis expected, a contrast between the traditional with contemporary, the traditional architecture being bound to locality whilst the contemporary is mainly influenced by economic trends. 2° It is appropriate to discuss the way in which AI-Alkhalaf society responded to the new trends of residential architecture. Residents view new architecture as a significant result of man's quest to better his life. In the traditional residential units, the first two levels were allocated for agricultural storage purposes and shelter for domesticated animals, while the remainder of the structure was used for living accommodation and reception. The first two levels of the traditional residential unit have been eliminated in the new designs. But the bond between many of the inhabitants and their traditional houses has not been broken. Most people still use them as places for domesticated animals, agricultural tools and crop storage. The new architecture, therefore, is not necessarily a better architecture. Of course, building materials and house design are no longer indigenous, and many of the new buildings have already begun to deteriorate visually. This is in contrast to the inherited architecture belonging to periods of a struggle for existence, much of which is still remarkably intact. Unfortunately, more and more traditional buildings are being abandoned and may in time be destroyed. The arrangement and appearance of agricultural fields were continuously changing with time, which reflects the positive attitudes toward change through the generations. The advancement in agricultural agronomics worldwide invaded the traditional techniques of AI-Alkhalaf. The size and terracing of the farmland

Al-Alkhalal) 17ze Urban histo 0' o f a Traditiomd Settlement irt Sotahw(,st('rH Saudi Arabia

49

Fig. 14. The ox is still active in ploughing the agricuhural fields, dumgh extcnsil'e attempt,s have heen made to introduce new machim'rv.

were the opponents of change, not the man who brought new machinery and then kept it aside. The oxen and the plow are still active and a symbol of the struggle of the past (Fig. 14)

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Recently, Grabar wrote of history not as tradition but consisting of choices made by man and society at many moments of growth and development. He considered tradition as a body of prevailing habits, beliefs, and behaviour, but in a sense, independent of development. 21 Both tradition and choice played a role in AI-Alkhalaf urban development. The attainment of a viable form was in fact the primary objective of the settlement's urban history with its strong political identity, subsistence economy, commercial activities and cultural focus. In the past, A1-Alkhalaf was dominated by indigenous inhabitants who developed adequate residential quarters, institutional buildings, and an agricultural economy in stages coinciding with demographic growth and who also developed a genealogical tree of community inhabitants and provided effective means for protecting the community (Fig. 15). 22 During its course of development, Al-Alkhalaf's matured culture emerged subject to a constant state of flux. The changes in the indigenous architectural pattern were simply a physical expression of the continually changing cultural attitude, social expectations, economic status, and technological means. The dichotomy of architecture and planning of AI-Alkhalaf is usually analyscd as a pure and simple model. It was a legitimatc reflection of thc unstable political situation in the past, which dictated defensive architecture such as the compact built form, communal residential quarters, warning and defencc towers,

50

Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

./ /

/

( STAGES

t

,°,,

®

OF DEVELOPMENT

E 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Fig. 15. AI-Alkhalaf speculated development stages. The seven stages coincided with the demographic growth o f A I-A Ikhalaf inhabitants.

Al-Alkhala[? The Urban history o f a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arahia

51

secret grain-storage spaces, distinctive locations of public facilities such as the mosques and the market site, and which also necessitated the establishment of such institutions as the settlement treasury. This was a stable, yet stagnant period in the history of the settlement. The next model was a reflection of the stable political situation, producing the pre-professional aspect of designing and building detached structures and eliminating such as the qasabat. But the later professional model brought design and building from an exotic point of view, arising in a dynamic period of the settlement history and resulting in the appearance of new urban archetypes drastically different from the traditional ones. This was the beginning of an astonishingly modern process, characterised by the erasure of the traditional identity through incorporating major new facilities such as paved roads, new residential units, the health centre, new mosques, and schools. This study emphasises the development of A1-Alkhalaf as a function of independent local government. Since the traditional stage, there has been an increasing recognition that A1-Alkhalaf planning is more appropriately undertaken within the political context of the local government. Therefore, an objective of this investigation is to lobby for enactment of new planning rules referring to the indigenous experience, not only for A1-Alkhalaf but for other Saudi communities as well. The principle of traditional planning can be adopted in the new development, preventing the anachronism of the design concept of the newly adopted planning model (Fig. 16). In traditional society, change is balanced between the determining forccs, an historical phenomenon of which one is unaware while it is occurring. The matter is different for the transitional society in the contemporary situatiun which experiences drastic change as the rate of change increases. Therefore, for the past 30 years, it has become increasingly difficult to rationally sustain a view of traditional AI-Alkhalaf settlement. Nowadays change is the only reality.

a

Fig. 16. AI-Alkhalaf experiences an anachronism in architectural designs and planning which may in time dominate and deplete the indigenous depiction.

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Mohammed Abdullah Eben Saleh

The wheel of change is moving so rapidly and so widely, and the acceleration is so great that no one can find an imaginative leap into the future, and it is difficult to predict specific changes in the built form which may occur tomorrow. One need only to examine the population, knowledge, and economic explosions to predict the possibility for future change. Truly, the results of such explosions will touch every aspect of A1-Alkhalaf settlement society, including many notions which have been considered timeless. The best qualities of historic AI-Alkhalaf can be perpetuated within the future growth of the settlement by helping its inhabitants to maintain and renovate the private and public buildings through national programmes so as to encourage local tourism for such a distinct place.

NOTES 1. B. Zevi, Architecture as Space: How to Look at Architecture, M. Gendel (trans.) (Horizon Press, New York, 1957), p. 165. 2. S. Kostof, The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History (Thames & Hudson, London, 1991). 3. T.M. Abu-Ghazzeh, "Place and Adaptation: the Social System, Material Culture and the Spatial Pattern of Arable Land in AI-Alkhalaf, Saudi Arabia", Third World Planning Review 17, 1 (1995). 4. A.Y. Bokhari, Jeddah: A Study in Urban Formation, unpublished PhD dissertation, The University of Pennsylvania (1978). 5. F.A. AI-Mubarak, Urbanization, Urban Policy and City Form: Urban Development in Saudi Arabia, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Washington (1992). 6. S.A. AI-Hathloul, "'The Development of Settlements in Najd Region during the 14th C. A. H.: AI-Badaia c in Gassim, A Case Study", in A.S. Abdo (ed), Saudi Cities: Distribution and Morphology (King Saud University, Riyadh, 1987). 7. F.A.M. AI-Said, Territorial Behavior and the Built Environment: The Case o f Arab-Muslim Towns, Saudi Arabia, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Glasgow (1992). 8. Deputy Ministry for Town Planning, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Saudi Arabia, Atlas o f Saudi Cities: The Existing Condition (1987). 9. M.A.AI-Zolfah, Studies in Asir Modern History (AI-Shareaf Printing, Riyadh, 1991) (in Arabic). 10. N.S.AI-Bishri, Environmental Changes in AI-Alkhalaf Settlement. Unpublished Bachelor's thesis, King Saud University, Abha Branch (1993). 11. M.A. Eben Saleh, "The Impact of Individual Self-provisioning in Agriculture Practices on the Development of AI-Alkhalaf: A Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia", unpublished paper (1995). 12. W. Dostal, Ethnographic Atlas o f A s i r (R. Spies, Vienna, 1983). 13. AI-Zolfah, op. cit., note 9. 14. M.A. Eben Saleh, "Tribalism, Genealogy and the Development of AI-Alkhalaf: a Traditional Settlement in Southwestern Saudi Arabia", Habitat International (forthcoming). 15. Ibid. 16. M.A. Eben Saleh, "AI-Alkhalaf Vernacular Landscape: The Planning and Management of Land in an Insular context, Ask Region, Southwestern Saudi Arabia", unpublished paper (1995). 17. AI-Bashri, op. cit. note 10. 18. I.A.T. Chang, The Tao o f Architecture (Princeton University Press, Princeton 1981), p. 68. 19. A. King, "The Politics of Position: Inventing the Past, Constructing the Present, Imagining the Future", TDSR 4, i1 (Spring 1993), pp. 9-17. 20. C. Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition (Oxford University Press, New York, 1963). 21. O. Grabar, "Why History: the Meanings and Uses of Tradition", TDSR 4, 11 (Spring 1993), pp. 19-28. 22. Eben Saleh, op. cit., note 14.