Saʿda
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صعدة Saʿda |
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| Coordinates | 16 ° 56 ' N , 43 ° 46' E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Yemen | ||
| Sa'da | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | YE-SD | ||
| Residents | 51,870 (2004 census) | ||
Saʿda ( Arabic صعدة, DMG Ṣaʿda ), also Şa'dah, Sadah, Saada, is the capital of the Sa'da Governorate in northwestern Yemen . Sa'da is at an altitude of around 1870 meters.
history
At the time of the Zaidite rule , Saada had been the capital since 860, but in 1918 the residence was moved to Sanaa , where Ottoman governors had resided repeatedly since the 17th century.
Sa'da has a long tradition as a center and transhipment point in northern Yemen and for exporting goods to Saudi Arabia . The caravan routes of the Weihrauchstrasse led through the village. Around the medieval town built from rammed earth, a bustling new town grows with streets of garage-like workshops and shops that are typical for Arab standards.
Between the 17th century and the emigration of most Yemeni Jews to Israel in the 20th century, a special Jewish influence can be anchored on Yemen and, to the same extent, on Sa'da. As merchants and craftsmen, the Saadian Jews gave the city a lasting boost to the economy (especially in the silversmith's trade). Today the local tribes determine the fate of the city.
Riots have taken place in Sa'da since 2004.
According to UNESCO, the old town of Sa'da , which is listed in Yemen's World Heritage Tentative List, was damaged during the military intervention in Yemen in 2015 . In May 2015, air strikes by a Saudi- led military alliance supported by the United States and Great Britain seriously damaged the 1200-year-old Imam-al-Hadi mosque, known as the oldest seat for Shiite education on the Arabian Peninsula and also the third oldest mosque in Yemen.
Cityscape
The old city wall from the 16th century is very interesting. 5 km long, up to 10 m high and 3 m wide, it encloses the historic old town. City gates (the Bab Najran is particularly noteworthy here ) and occasional watchtowers interrupt the bulwark.
The old town houses have buildings up to four storeys high and standing close together. For structural reasons, the clay construction required the houses to taper towards the top. Stone construction is unknown in the city.
Other sights are the Hadi Mosque and an old Zayidi cemetery. At the highest point of the city which lies Qasr al Imam, where the iron ore to produce the famous curved daggers (Dschanbiya) is obtained.
The weekly market takes place on Sundays. From carpets to silver handicrafts to electronic equipment there are many merchandise.
Sa'dah is one of five cities in Yemen on the preliminary World Heritage - Tentative .
Surroundings
Not far from the city, within easy walking distance, there are rock engravings from prehistoric times at Araqiya . Similar finds are made about 15 km away in Al Khazain . There are also rock graves there .
About 25 km to the north are the sandstone erosion canyons of Umm Lailah (Mother of the Night) . Landscape fascination awaits in this almost deserted spot.
Aerial photos of the city still show the dark cinder and heaps of medieval iron ore smelting in Saada.
traffic
Sa'da has an airport, the Sadah Airport, IATA airport code SYE, ICAO code OYSH.
sons and daughters of the town
- Yisrael Yeshayahu-Sharabi (1908–1979), Israeli politician
literature
- Johann Heiss: Historical and Social Aspects of Ṣaʿdah, a Yemeni Town. In: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 17, (Proceedings of the Twentieth Seminar for Arabian Studies held at London on 1st-4th July 1986) 1987, pp. 63-80
Web links
- Sa'da. In: Encyclopedia Britannica.
- From regional uprising to national questioning.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Census December 16, 2004
- ↑ Gerhard Heck, Manfred Wöbcke: Arabian Peninsula.
- ↑ Christopher Boucek, Marina Ottaway: Yemen on the Brink.
- ↑ UNESCO Director-General calls on all parties to protect Yemen's cultural heritage ( Memento from May 21, 2015 on WebCite ) (English). UNESCO World Heritage Convention, May 12, 2015.
- ↑ Saudi-led naval blockade leaves 20m Yemenis facing humanitarian disaster ( Memento from June 5, 2015 on WebCite ) (English). The Guardian, June 5, 2015, by Julian Borger.
- ↑ History a casualty in Yemen's war as bombs smash ancient sites ( Memento from May 15, 2015 on WebCite ) (English). reuters.com, May 13, 2015, by Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari.
- ↑ Conflict taking toll on Yemen's 'priceless' heritage ( Memento from May 21, 2015 on WebCite ) (English). France 24 , May 13, 2015; with reference to: العدوان السعودي يقصف مسجد الامام الهادي ومناطق في صعده (Arabic), YouTube, published by the YouTube channel كرار المؤيد on May 9, 2015.
- ^ The Historic City of Saada
- ↑ Jürgen Schmidt: Old South Arabian cult buildings. In: Werner Daum: Yemen. Umschau-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-7016-2251-5 .
- ↑ Sadah Airport, Sadah, Yemen