Al-Amiriya () is a 16th-century

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

(educational institution) located in

Rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. It is under consideration for inscription as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

.The Madrasa Amiriya of Rada - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Retrieved 2009-03-25. It was built in 1504 and is an example of the architecture of

Tahirids The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in Ab ...

, Yemen. The monument was in poor condition until 1978 when Iraqi-born archaeologist

Selma Al-Radi Selma Al-Radi () (July 23, 1939 – October 7, 2010) was an Iraqi archaeologist who began and led the over twenty-year restoration of the Amiriya Madrasa, which is under consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site."Selma Al-Radi, Restored Histo ...

saw it and enlisted financial help from foreign missions to restore it in a more than twenty-year effort which she led.

Significance

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Tentative List on July 8, 2002, in the Cultural category. The restoration process revived the art of

qadad ''Qadad'' ( ''qaḍāḍ'') or ''qudad'' is a waterproof plaster surface, made of a lime plaster treated with slaked lime and oils and fats. The technique is over a thousand years old, with the remains of this early plaster still seen on the st ...

, a form of waterproof interior and exterior plastering. In 2004 a documentary film,
Qudad, Re-inventing a Tradition
', was made on the subject by the filmmaker Caterina Borelli
preview
. Jennifer Bryson in Yemen

The restoration of the Amiriya Complex was awarded the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fields ...

in 2007.Aga Khan Award website
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Al-Radi, S.; Barnes, R.; Al-Nasiri, Y.; Porter, V.; Hillenbrand, R. (1997). ''The 'Amiriya in Rada' : the history and restoration of a sixteenth-century madrasa in the Yemen''. Title of Series: Oxford studies in Islamic art; 13. Oxford: Oxford University Press, for the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. {{Tourist attractions in Yemen Buildings and structures completed in 1504 Madrasas in Yemen Educational institutions established in the 1500s

Significance

See also

References

Bibliography