Proposal to save traditional homes in Bahrain

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Traditional homes in Bahrain’s largest governorate could be preserved if a proposal for a massive restoration project is given the go-ahead.

It could open the door for citizens to seek government support to remodel, repair and refurbish their derelict properties in Northern Governorate, which includes areas such as A’ali, Saar, Janabiya, Malkiya, Hamad Town, Abu Quwah, Salmabad and Karzakan.

The proposal presented by Northern Municipal Council vice-chairwoman Zaina Jassim was unanimously approved during the council’s meeting at its headquarters in Budaiya yesterday.

It has been referred to Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak, who will forward it to Information Affairs Minister Dr Ramzan Al Nuaimi, who is politically responsible for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, for review.

Ms Jassim said heritage homes rich in history were a ‘gateway to Bahrain’s heart’ and needed to be preserved.

Ms Jassim

“Such houses are not just significant for Bahrain, but the entire Gulf and the region,” she said at the meeting.

“Their architecture, designs, layouts and construction are so unique and today’s artisans or new machinery cannot match it in perfection, creativity and passion.

“Tourists are not just interested in shopping malls, they want to see something that no other country in the world can offer, and traditional homes in Bahrain are full of that richness.

“The pilot heritage project could start from the Northern Governorate and be expanded to include other areas across the country.”

Ms Jassim added that the homes could be turned into attractive museums as well, with more care and attention.

“It is not necessary that each home should represent a handicraft, profession or theme within a specific area,” she said.

“A group of traditional homes in a neighbourhood is enough to represent a heritage village. The dwellings should be occupied by its people, and to ensure that, the government should shoulder the cost for repairing and remodelling the properties while promoting the homes within its maps.”

She asserted that Bahrain’s heritage homes were ‘gems’ that must be proudly showcased to the world.

“Northern or any other governorate, there has to be quick work to protect those homes under a national preservation scheme,” she added.

Meanwhile, a special committee for abandoned homes in the Southern Governorate met yesterday to debate action.

Southern Municipal Council vice-chairman Abdulla Bubshait revealed that 151 properties have been found abandoned with residents fearing that criminals and lawbreakers were using them for illegal activities.

Mr Bubshait

In 2020, a call went out to preserve two old homes, built between 1966 and 1970 in the Gulf’s oldest social housing project, Isa Town.

Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Minister Ghanim Al Buainain had said that only one of the two would be selected as a national heritage monument.

In November 2020, four former MPs submitted a proposal to keep the earliest-built homes untouched and preserved as attractions, especially those that hosted traditional restaurants and cafés. The proposal aimed to ensure that the properties, described as ‘witness to history’, do not get bulldozed to pave the way for new developments.

The Southern Municipality had bulldozed six abandoned homes in Isa Town and East Riffa in November 2020 that were at risk of collapsing any moment.

The GDN reported in November last year that a blueprint for protected properties in Bahrain’s old capital, stretching from Ras Ruman to Naim, was being drawn up as the government pushes ahead with plans to have Manama registered as a world heritage site.

Housing and Urban Planning Minister Amna Al Romaihi had issued four new classifications as part of the Manama preservation process, which will be determined based on the properties’ condition, their historic value and building materials. Old Town Manama, one of the most important trade hubs in the region in the last 150 years, was featured on a tentative list for Unesco nomination alongside two other sites – Hawar Islands and the Awali Oil Settlement – in 2019.

Baca national heritage director Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa earlier said a plan would be put in place to renovate parts of residential and commercial properties in Manama that were witness to Bahrain’s history.

He, however, asserted that permissions would not be granted for iconic buildings or houses to be completely demolished or reconstructed.