In perfect harmony with the environment and the rich earth that provides both food and habitation, Bellrai Village stands picture perfect. (AN photos by Roger Harrison)

JEDDAH: The dilemma of whether to preserve a traditional way of life for the education of current generations and therefore condemn those who live such a lifestyle to remain isolated from the developing world has what seems to be a practical resolution in the Asir province.

The region’s solution is simply to incorporate the past with the present either by incorporating it in modern urban developments or restoring it within village boundaries and letting the residents choose how to live.

To support the SCTA’s current focus on preserving Saudi heritage and giving it a cultural value to the Kingdom’s youth, there can be few simpler ways to create a link between the past and present than a few days exploring the smaller villages in the southern Asir province. Often slightly off the main highways, they present a variety of architectural styles all with a common theme; they work in the environment they occupy.

Bellrai Village is but one example. Located in a fertile flat area with a soil that turns to mud in the yearly rains, traditional houses are made largely of mud. Yet they have stood for a couple of centuries or more. The question to the enquiring mind is: How?

Two elements combine, the materials and the structure. While mud is the main material, when mixed with straw and dried in the sun, the mud becomes in effect a geological fiberglass, the straw fibers giving strength to the mud, the equivalent in this structure of resin. This on its own would still decay in rain, so the answer is to keep the rain off it.

The second local material is the rock that has an important property: Very strong cleavage lines. It splits easily and neatly into thin plates and is totally waterproof.

When the mud walls are studded with horizontal rows of slates that protrude half a meter or so and are angled slightly toward the ground, they shed the falling rain away from the walls and safely away from the building. The effect of rain on the mud walls is minimized and the building lasts for decades.

Architecture is driven by the peculiarities of the climate, the available materials and the needs and ingenuity of the people. The reason the dwellings look so perfectly harmonious with the environment is that they are literally made from it.

read more on ARABNEWShttp://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article559335.ece