In the old days, the Kingdom's traditional houses were constucted by hand with stones and mud. The slight graduation from one layer to another gave these houses the appearance of truncated pyramids. The houses, usually with stone foundations, were built in shelf-like, overlapping, vertical rows that directed the rain away from the structure and kept it from saturating the walls and washing them away. Barkatallah Atiq Al-Shareef, aged 94, who has spent his life building traditional houses, said, “These buildings remind me of the good old days, the beautiful days of my youth. I wish I could turn back the clock to the time when my family and I were living in such a house. I have more love for these traditional houses than I do for today's structures made of concrete. These modern buildings, have no heart; they stifle and suffocate me and make me feel as if I were living in a jail.” The traditional houses were environmental friendly in the sense that they needed neither air conditioning nor heating systems which cause climate change. “In the olden days, we didn't need air conditioners or heaters because our traditional houses were cool in summer and warm in winter,” Al-Shareef explained. “In my youth I worked for a long time as a mason,” he said, “and thus I had a lot of experience in building these houses. In those days, there were two types of houses. The first type was the ordinary house which was made of mud with a roof of hay, and the second type was built of mud but had a roof made of doum palm. However this type was only found in coastal towns.” Al-Shareef said the builders in villages were highly respected by the residents because the common impression was that the builders were richer than other people with their houses being distinguished for being the largest and most colorful in the village. “At first glance, any inhabitant or visitor could easily distinguish a builder's house which was usually decorated and painted blue and yellow.” Al-Shareef continued, “At that time, any house built of stone from the foundation to the roof was easily recognizable as belonging to an important person, because only the big shots in villages and towns could afford such expensive structures. These houses could withstand all climate changes and the effects of the weather, such as, erosion, although they could collapse if they were not properly maintained.” “The owners of these houses had nothing to worry about during the rainy season because the roofs never leaked. The mud and stone houses had at least two rooms and a wall surrounding the house made of mud and stone. The number of rooms a house had and its design announced to everyone the financial status of its owner,” he explained. Al-Shareef said a builder and two assistants used to take between 15-30 days to build a traditional house, adding “The area of the house and the materials used in its construction determined how long it would take to build it. Usually house owners would plant one or two palm trees in the courtyard and put a big clay water pot under them.” This reminded Al-Shareef of an interesting incident involving a man in his village who forcibly annexed a plot of land that belonged to a widow and her children and started building on the land without listening to the advice of the village elders. When the construction work was completed, the man climbed up to inspect the building, but suddenly lost his balance, fell, and broke his neck. “After his death, his family refused to move into the house. They pleaded with the widow and her children to forgive their father and eventually the man's family relinquished the house to them,” Al-Shareef said. Our youth are dependent Awaid Mabrouk Al-Mouled, who is 89 years old, said, “In those days, a mud house cost SR70 because most of the building materials were indigenous, such as, the stems of the palm trees which we could get from the local area. The cost increased to SR300 if the house consisted of more than two rooms and was built of stone.” He said that traditional houses were durable which explains why they could withstand the weather for so many years, adding “Despite the small area of the two-room houses, they often accommodated more than two families.” He said that in the past all members of the extended family used to live under one roof which explains why there were often more than four houses joined together, adding “It never happened that you could find a son or a daughter living outside the family's house.” “All the members of the families met in the evening and dined together in the courtyard under the shining moon. The old generation led an independent life. The sons of a family built their houses with their own money without depending on their parents or expecting any help from them as is the case with today's young people. In those days, people earned their living by their own sweat,” Al-Mouled explained. Recalling an incident he said, “A merchant from Makkah decided to build a three-story house and was advised by the mason to buy a special type of timber known as “sandal” which was expensive but distinguished for its strength and durability. The man rejected the builder's advice because he did not want to spend the money. Luckily, the man and his family only used this house as a summer home, because one year just a few days before they arrived to spend the summer season, the house collapsed and would have fallen on their heads had they been living in it.” Thus the man learned a lesson and agreed to buy the timber recommended by the builder. Hard but sweet Muhammed Abdullah Al-Masawdi from Al-Madeq village near Makakh, while visiting some traditional houses, said: “These houses stand as a witness to our heritage. I come to visit these houses to be inspired by the history and glory of our forefathers. They lived a hard life but it was sweet. They led a simple life unlike today's generation which is suffering from the complexities and stress of modern life.”
