When you arrive in the historical area of Yanbu, you will be impressed with the traditional scenes. What you first notice is elderly men sitting and talking, perhaps about the past when they went to sea.
The sea was of course very important in the past but today its importance has been ceded to the port. The port prevents people from seeing the sea and so they can only talk about it. About how long they spent fishing and how their trips were. Fishing was indeed their livelihood and their only source of income.
Fishing, along with its tools and techniques, is not the only thing that sets the area apart. There are others that would impress the visitor, for instance the old traditional houses. Many of them have fallen down and others are about to.
Abdul Aziz Alam, who was brought up in this area, talked about the families living there and also about the houses and how they were built and decorated. He also talked about the houses and how they were built and decorated.
Alam said that people, in the past, built their houses of mud, adding that all were plain except for those of the wealthy who used various colors — red, blue and yellow — to decorate their residences. Ordinary people, he said, were too busy making a living from the sea to pay much attention to decorating their houses.
According to history books, the first wall built around Yanbu was constructed in 915 Hijra.
It was called ‘Sur’ which means a wall surrounding a particular area. A district in Yanbu was named after the wall, which was repaired in 1126H.
In 1303H, another wall was built which had two gates — one for people and one for vehicular traffic. Another small gate was also located in the western part of the town.
The head of the heritage committee in Yanbu said that the committee made every effort to repair what they could but, as they lack financial support, much is left undone. And buildings fall down as a result. Citizens noted that government support is lacking though it was acknowledged that a team came from the committee in charge of ancient monuments within the Ministry of Education, and repaired two houses. But since then, nothing has been done to save the town’s architectural heritage.
Ahmad Baghdadi is one who came to the area to reclaim and repair his family’s house. Many other residents have the desire to repair their houses but it is a daunting task. The houses have not been maintained for years and the repairing is frequently a matter of rebuilding and that is often prohibitively expensive for individuals.
Another important place in the historical area is the old public market. Those who saw the market in its heydays cannot forget what a center of bustling commerce it was. People came from all around — even from as far away as Madinah — to exchange and sell every imaginable item.
The shops were built in a circle and from the market, there was a road leading to a nearby well, which everyone drank from. Unfortunately, much of the old market now lies buried beneath the sand.
While looking around, we met Awda Awad who asked us in surprise what we were doing. “What are you looking for? There is no one here except me. Everyone else is dead and I am just waiting my turn,” said the 75-year-old. He said that he rented a house since he did not own one. “I used to rent it for SR4 but now the rent is SR20,000,” he observed.
He said that the market was known as “Souk Al-Bedu” or the Bedouin Market. He remembered when women, young men and girls came to the market to enjoy themselves and buy whatever items they needed. He also noted that in the past he and his friends used to shear the hair of camels to sell to people who made carpets from it.
“Nothing is left of those great days,” he lamented as he went sadly on his way.
We saw a house, which the Ministry of Education is now repairing. The decision was made to decorate the house with colors that were not used in old Yanbu. The colors are sadly incompatible with the town’s heritage and tradition. The Governor of Madinah Region Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majid ibn Abdul Aziz has shown great interest in preserving tradition and protecting places of historical interest.
He has visited Yanbu and expressed support for developing and protecting historical sites along the Red Sea Coast. The plan is to rehabilitate four coastal cities and turn them into tourist attractions.
