Architectural Heritage in Saudi Arabia

Implementation
Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool
for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by
Ghazy Abdullah S. Al-Baqawy
The Compassionate, the Merciful,
and Peace and Prayers be upon
His Final Prophet and Messenger
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1.4 The Importance of Studying Laws, Organizational Structures and
Implementations in the Urban Heritage Sites: ........................................................ 8
1.4.1 Rationale of studying laws on cultural heritage ..................................... 8
1.4.2 Rationale of studying organizational structures in cultural heritage .... 13
1.4.3 Rationale of studying the implementations in cultural heritage........... 19
1.5 Research Method .............................................................................................. 23
1.7 Contribution to knowledge .............................................................................. 31
1.8 Research Organization and Layout ................................................................ 31
1.9 Background ....................................................................................................... 35
1.9.1 Area, location and population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ......... 35
1.9.2 Economy and revenue .......................................................................... 37
1.9.3 Agriculture ........................................................................................... 37
1.10 Evolution of Saudi Settlement ......................................................................... 40
1.11 The Theme of Cultural Heritage Studies at the National and Local
Levels ......................................................................................................................... 41
Chapter 2: Tangible, Intangible and Perception of the Past ‘Memory’ ............. 45
2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 47
2.2.1 Islamic Architecture and Societies ....................................................... 54
2.3 Heritage Definitions ......................................................................................... 59
2.3.1 Heritage Concept .................................................................................. 64
2.3.2 Transporting Heritage .......................................................................... 65
2.4 Intangible Cultural Heritage Definition......................................................... 67
2.6 Perception of the Past ‘Memory’ .................................................................... 75
2.6.1 Place of The Past .................................................................................. 78
2.6.2 Old and New Look ............................................................................... 79
2.6.3 The Conflict of Views and Values ....................................................... 80
2.6.4 Knowledge of the Past ......................................................................... 81
2.6.5 The Consciousness ............................................................................... 82
2.6.8 Narrative Power ................................................................................... 87
3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 96
3.2 The Evolution of Saudi Definition of Heritage .............................................. 97
3.2.1 Historical Background of the Saudi Law, Origin and Theme .............. 98
3.2.2 The Impacts of Generalization and Specification on Terminology and
Definitions ........................................................................................................ 100
3.3 The Development of the Definition of Heritage in Jordan ......................... 108
3.3.1 The Ancient Antiquity Law of 1966 .................................................. 109
3.3.2 The Ancient Antiquity Law of 1976 .................................................. 111
3.3.3 The Ancient Antiquity Law of 1988 .................................................. 112
3.3.4 The Urban and Architectural Heritage Preservation Law of 2005 .... 113
3.4 The International Definition of Heritage ..................................................... 115
3.4.1 The Athens Charter (Monuments) of 1931 ........................................ 117
3.4.2 The UNESCO Convention (The Hague) of 1954 .............................. 118
3.4.3 The UNESCO, Recommendation Concerning the Safeguarding of the
Beauty and Charter of Landscapes and Sites (Landscapes), of 1962 .............. 120
3.4.4 The Venice Charter of 1964 ............................................................... 120
3.4.5 The UNESCO Recommendation (National Level) of 1972 .............. 121
3.5 Development of the Definition of Heritage at a National Level ................. 126
3.6 Other Issues in Saudi Heritage ..................................................................... 129
3.6.1 Development Plans............................................................................. 129
3.6.2 The Oil Revolution ............................................................................. 132
3.6.3 The Antiquities, Museums and Architectural Heritage Law of 2014 134
3.7 Summary and Immediate Inferences ........................................................... 136
Chapter 4: Organizational Structures ................................................................. 140
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 142
4.2 Organizational Structure in Saudi Arabia between 1972 and 2015 ............ 144
4.3 The Placement of Heritage .............................................................................. 145
4.3.1 Area of heritage under the MOE and SCTA ........................................... 145
4.3.2 Heritage within tourism framework ........................................................ 148
4.3.3 Heritage within Saudi development ........................................................ 150
4.4 Main players ..................................................................................................... 152
4.4.2 Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affaires (MOMRA) ........................... 158
4.4.3 Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) ......................................... 164
4.4.4 Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) ......... 168
4.5 Lessons Learned from Relevant Experiences ................................................ 173
4.5.1 Historic Cairo .......................................................................................... 174
4.6 Organizations’ Capacity .................................................................................. 183
4.6.1 Knowledge capacity ................................................................................ 184
4.6.2 Knowledge resources .............................................................................. 191
VII
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 197
5.2 Listing - Between Protection and Action ..................................................... 201
5.2.1 The Criteria for Classification and Selection of Heritage Sites in Saudi
Arabia 202
Criterion 2: The Historical Importance (Historical Event) ............................. 205
Criterion 3: The Rarity .................................................................................... 207
Criterion 4: The Status (Demolition Percentage) ............................................ 209
Criterion 5: The Urban Heritage Style ............................................................ 211
Criterion 6: The Architectural Design and Details ......................................... 212
Criterion 7: The Possibility of Investment ....................................................... 214
The Additional Criteria .................................................................................... 216
5.3 The Limitation and the Impacts of the Criteria .......................................... 219
5.3.1 The Integration Between Criteria ....................................................... 220
5.3.2 Distribution of Weights ...................................................................... 221
The distribution across the criteria .................................................................. 222
The Distribution within the Criterion Itself ..................................................... 223
5.3.3 The Terminology Used ...................................................................... 224
5.3.4 Additional Limitation ......................................................................... 225
The Values Ensuing from the Criteria ............................................................. 227
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5.4 Case Study: Barzan District Area in Ha’il City Centre ............................. 229
5.4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 229
5.4.3 Barzan District Area ........................................................................... 235
5.5 Criteria Underlying the Classification and Selection of Barzan Heritage
Area For the purpose of Conservation and Development .................................. 240
5.6 Examples of Exclusion of Some Cultural Heritage Values in Barzan District
.......................................................................................................................... 242
Chapter 6: Epilogue ............................................................................................... 247
6.2.1 The Experiences at National Level .................................................... 251
6.2.2 The Experiences at Regional Level.................................................... 256
6.2.3 International Level ............................................................................ 258
6.3.1 The autonomy..................................................................................... 260
Integration and competition approaches ......................................................... 263
Power imbalance .............................................................................................. 267
Duplicate process ............................................................................................. 267
6.4.1 The implementations toward cultural heritage values ....................... 271
Sharing the cultural heritage site resource ...................................................... 272
Heritage sites management .............................................................................. 276
6.4.2 Tourism management in the urban cultural heritage sites ................. 280
Information and interpretation ........................................................................ 280
Managing urban use ........................................................................................ 292
Pedestrians and leisure .................................................................................... 301
6.4.4 Summary ............................................................................................ 306
References ............................................................................................................... 310
Appendix ................................................................................................................. 341
By Ghazy Abdullah Al-Baqawy
Abstract
Saudi Arabia has significant cultural heritage that faces challenges, at both local and
national levels, to be acceptable as a valuable cultural resource. The country, in
general, and the Ha’il region specifically, has important architectural, archaeological
and urban heritage assets that has not been adequately researched, particularly with
regard to how national heritage laws and organizational structures and local
approaches to heritage management implementation impact on these resources.
The government has begun encouraging cultural tourism through many initiatives, and
much effort is being directed towards its development. The framework of this doctoral
research has been shaped by the aim to identify the nature of the gap in Saudi Arabia
in understanding the value of cultural heritage as the prime tourism resource, both
tangible and intangible, at national and local levels. The research makes an important
contribution to Saudi studies by addressing this gap through the investigation of, a)
the laws, policies and regulations that direct and guide heritage development, b) the
organizational structures that enforce these regulations, and c) the implementation
processes that translate the laws into actions towards heritage sites development and
user engagement. This is accomplished through an interdisciplinary approach to the
survey, documentation, analysis and interpretation of the available laws, structures and
resources nationally and locally, keeping the wider regional and international contexts
of operation in mind.
The gap in understanding the value of cultural heritage between national and local
levels via laws, policies and regulations is confirmed by a disparate level of awareness
of the different values of cultural heritage within its context. Analysis of the Saudi
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heritage laws within a broader and more dynamic regional and international context
has identified flaws of the present law and its inadequate evolution over the past four
decades. It has also highlighted how cultural heritage at national and local levels
should be practiced by both communities and the administration towards identifying
the best ways to decrease this gap.
Heritage management and tourism organizational structures at national and local
levels have affected the appropriate development of cultural heritage resources. The
current structure highlights significant organizational gaps in effective cultural
heritage management, as illustrated by the remits of the Ministry of Municipal and
Rural Affairs (MOMRA), which own heritage properties at a local level, and the Saudi
Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), which expects to provide
the technical expertise. The High Commission for Development of a province (HCD)
plays a significant role towards establishing ways of enhancing the organisational
structure for the architectural/urban heritage and tourism sectors, particularly in
combining power and knowledge as a main tool for the resolution of the conflicts that
shape and affect the relationship between main players such as education,
municipalities and tourism. Addressing the laws and organizational structures has led
to the identification of ways for encouraging effective administrative stakeholder
involvement by taking a holistic view of the heritage values and aiming towards public
awareness.
Extending from the laws and organizational structural issues, and taking Barzan
District of the Ha’il region as a case study, the research finally explores how heritage
management and tourism policies are actually implemented within a local context, and
where the impediments lie. This is done keeping the wider developmental imperative
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in mind, i.e., how the significance of Ha’il’s architectural heritage could contribute
towards its economic and cultural development.
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Acknowledgment
First and foremost, praise be to Almighty Allah, who with all his blessings and the
prayers of my family the completion of this work would not have been achieved.
Great deep prays go to whom was my role model and source of wisdom in life, my
father, who left before seeing his harvest, I ask Almighty Allah to bless his soul.
Throughout my PhD journey, many great colleagues, institutions, friends, relatives
and others too numerous to mention provided their valuable help and advice. Without
their invaluable assistance, support and encouragement this work would never come
to reality. Here, I wish to extend my deep appreciation and acknowledgment to all of
them.
Firstly, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my Director of Studies and supervisor,
Professor Soumyen Bandyopadhyay who believed in my ability and enthusiasm to do
the research, and for his meticulous and thorough supervision of the research and
writing. Special thanks go to my second supervisor Dr.Giamila Quattrone and
Dr.Martin Goffriller who contributed in developing my research skills and for their
support and encouragement.
Support from Saudi Arabia came from many Saudi officials from various ministries
and government organisations. Directors and staff of Saudi Commission for Tourism
and National Heritage (SCTNH) who kindly provided all the necessary information
and data.
Finally, I dedicate this work to my beloved family especially my wife and my children:
Norah, Abdullah and Maryah.
List of Tables
Table 1. 1: Tourism GDP in Saudi Arabia between 2002 and 2010 (Saudi Commission
for Tourism & Antiquities [SCTA], Tourism information and research Centre [MAS],
2011) ............................................................................................................................ 3
Table 1. 2: The oil revenues in Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabian
Monetary Agency, Annual Report No. 48, 2013) ...................................................... 37
Table 3. 1: The values included in the 2014 law...................................................... 135
Table 4. 1 The advantages, disadvantages and challenges of the options................ 187
Table 5. 1 Distribution of the weights in the historical importance criterion .......... 224
Table 5. 2 Cultural heritage values extracted from the criteria ................................ 228
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Any figure without source is mainly by the author.
Figure 1. 1: Examples of architectural styles and materials in some regions in Saudi
Arabia (SCTA, 2013) ................................................................................................... 4
Figure 1. 2: Examples of architectural styles in the Ha'il region (SCTA, 2013) ......... 5
Figure 1. 3: Research methodology structure. ........................................................... 24
Figure 1. 4: Research themes and data collection method ......................................... 26
Figure 1. 5: Levels and directions of the data collection in the research ................... 30
Figure 1. 6: General location of Saudi Arabia and regions of the kingdom
(Population and Housing Atlas, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Central
Department of Statistics and Information, 2010) ....................................................... 36
Figure 1. 7: The result of heritage management if viewed solely as a question of
custodianship and guardianship (UNESCO, 2013: 14).............................................. 40
Figure 1. 8: Examples of old and new issues in heritage management (UNESCO,
2013: 15) .................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 2. 1 The evolution in the definition of Cultural Heritage in the UNESCO 68
Figure 3. 1: Examples from Ha’il city centre show whether keeping the buildings to
grow in value or investing them immediately by constructing a new building. ...... 105
Figure 3. 2: Examples from Ha’il city center illustrate the conservation practices
from the owners........................................................................................................ 106
Figure 3. 3 The development of the meaning and understanding of heritage at
international, regional and national levels ............................................................... 125
Figure 4. 1 The five main stages of heritage in Saudi Arabia. ................................. 146
Figure 4. 2: The participation from organizations in heritage development in Saudi
Arabia. ...................................................................................................................... 146
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Figure 4. 3 Typical structure for the GDE at the local level in each province
(moe.gov.sa, 2018) ................................................................................................... 157
Figure 4. 4 MOMRA structure illustrates the main players (MOMRA, 2018)........ 160
Figure 4. 5 The Ha’il municipality structure (first, second and third levels), as a
typical example of the local municipalities, illustrates the main departments at the
local level (MOMRA, 2018) .................................................................................... 162
Figure 4. 6: Some examples of the current state of neglect in which some heritage
sites lie because of the misconceptions which surround them across MOMRA staff
as well as the public (Barzan District area in Ha’il, 2016). ..................................... 163
Figure 4. 7 SCTNH structure highlighting the main players (SCTNH, 2018). ....... 172
Figure 4. 8 Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (1st, 2nd and 3rd levels)
.................................................................................................................................. 180
Figure 4. 9 Position of a government body to fill the gap between ‘power’
(MOMRA) and knowledge (SCTNH) toward cultural heritage management and
development at the local level. ................................................................................. 188
Figure 4. 10 The link between main players in the SCTNH, MOMRA and HCD
structures. ................................................................................................................. 190
Figure 5. 1: Conventional approach to planning (UNESCO, 2013) ........................ 200
Figure 5. 2: The values-led approach to planning (UNESCO, 2013) ...................... 200
Figure 5. 3 Madaen Saleh in Al-Ula (left) and a house in Barzan (right) are as
examples of the age criterion. .................................................................................. 204
Figure 5. 4 An example of architectural heritage buildings in Barzan district area as a
case to illustrate the status (2016). ........................................................................... 210
Figure 5. 5 Examples of the architectural design and details from Barzan area in
Ha’il (2016). ............................................................................................................. 213
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Figure 5. 6 The weights and percentages of the whole criteria ................................ 222
Figure 5. 7 The criteria weights and percentages compared with each criterion ..... 223
Figure 5. 8 Eid breakfast with neighbours at the beginning of festivities in Ha’il is a
chance to re-call cultural heritage activities and within context (2016). ................. 226
Figure 5. 9 Ha’il province location with cities within province boundary (SCT,
2003). ....................................................................................................................... 230
Figure 5. 10 The diversity in architectural heritage within Ha’il province boundary
(a. Ha’il City, b. Jubbah, c. Baqaa, d. Moqeq, e. Faid, f. Samira and g. Alslimi)
shows the differences in architectural style and building materials, which helps in
shaping the identity of the community as a result of cultural heritage values. Also,
this adds to its significance and uniqueness at local level (Al-Hawaas, 2002: 117,
133, 137, 139, 140, 148 and 153) ............................................................................. 234
Figure 5. 11 Satellite image of Ha’il City, (KACST, 2016) .................................... 235
Figure 5. 12 Satellite image of Ha’il city centre, showing some cultural heritage sites
(KACST, 2016) ........................................................................................................ 235
Figure 5. 13 Urban tissue in Ha’il city centre showing the coherence and uniformity
in the urban structure which reflects the cultural activities (Ha’il Municipality, 1978)
.................................................................................................................................. 237
Figure 5. 14 The change in urban tissue in Ha’il city centre, which affects not just the
built environment but also the cultural activities (KACST, 2016) .......................... 237
Figure 5. 15 The changes in Barzan area as a result of modernization, which
impacted the development on an urban and building scale. On the right, one of
Barzan’s towers being isolated................................................................................. 238
Figure 5. 16 Cultural heritage sites in Ha’il city centre showing the status of some
architectural heritage buildings compared with preserved buildings (2016). .......... 239
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Figure 5. 17: Architectural design and details from Barzan District showing
resources of different values (2016) ......................................................................... 244
Figure 6. 1 The development of heritage laws in Saudi Arabia ............................... 252
Figure 6. 2 Satellite image of the Barzan Tower in the Ha’il Province (KACST, 2016)
.................................................................................................................................. 254
Figure 6. 3 Zoomed-in image from the satellite image of the Barzan Tower in the Ha’il
Province (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, 2016)....................... 255
Figure 6. 4: The Barzan Tower in the Ha’il Province, 2016. ................................... 255
Figure 6. 5 The development of heritage laws in Jordan between 1934 and 2005. . 256
Figure 6. 6 SCTNH structure illustrates the new unit that can play important roles in
managing cultural heritage both internally and externally. ...................................... 265
Figure 6. 7 Hypothetical evolution of a tourist area (Butler, 1980, adapted by Butler,
2006: 5, Vol.1) ......................................................................................................... 273
Figure 6. 8 The visitors in Al-Qeshlah palace during seasonal events such as ‘National
Day in 2016’ (left). For normal days most of the year, the palace seems to be almost
empty (right); rectification of this situation is possible by planning and management,
(2016). ...................................................................................................................... 274
Figure 6. 9: The Ha’il city centre with distances between the Barzan market,
Alqeshlah, Airf and other sites. (Modified, KACST, 2016) .................................... 278
Figure 6. 10 The information and interpretation methods used in Al-Qeshlah Palace
through only signboards surrounding the palace and brochures at the main entrance.
(2016) ....................................................................................................................... 281
Figure 6. 11 The information and interpretation methods used in A’Airf castle are
signboards surrounding the fort and brochures at the main entrance. (2016) .......... 282
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Figure 6. 12 The signboard location and materials as information and interpretation
tools, which over time became illegible because of the metal corrosion, causing a
negative impression for visitors and the site, Al-Qeshlah palace (2016) ................. 283
Figure 6. 13 Different sizes, materials and colours of the signboards in the Kerak
Castle in Jordan. (2010) ........................................................................................... 284
Figure 6. 14 The visitors centre in A’Airf castle in Ha’il city, it is a new construction
with the style and manner of local vernacular architecture and is located inside the
castle site to serve visitors. (2016) ........................................................................... 285
Figure 6. 15 The Al-Salt heritage trail plan in Jordan shows the development plan for
the heritage components rather than a single heritage building by implementing the
concept of heritage trails. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, 2010) ................. 288
Figure 6. 16 Tourist heritage trail signage at the Al-Salt heritage site in Jordan, shows
the theme of these signs and the direction of the sites as a tool to manage information
and users within the urban heritage site (2010). ...................................................... 289
Figure 6. 17 Some impacts on the signage boards in Al-Salt heritage trail due to using
unsuatable materials such as metal. These signs are not legible and are also not
maintained, which might cause nigative impressions and loss of objectives (2010).
.................................................................................................................................. 290
Figure 6. 18 Information and interpretation tools used in the Liverpool city centre
(2017) ....................................................................................................................... 290
Figure 6. 19 Examples from the Al-Salt project in Jordan shows the expanding works
toward local shops by designing shops plates (2010). ............................................. 291
Figure 6. 20 Different techniques, materials, sizes, coulours and messages for using
signboards in the same country (Jordan) but in a different sites such as Dana Village
(2010). ...................................................................................................................... 292
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Figure 6. 21: Ha’il city centre existing land use (modified, SCT, 2005) ................. 294
Figure 6. 22 A private museum close to A’Airf castle in the Ha’il city centre shows
richness in collectibles that deserved to participate in enhancing the cultural
experience (2016). .................................................................................................... 297
Figure 6. 23 Some examples from cultural heritage sites in the Ha’il city centre and
the implementations of pavements for visitors (2016). ............................................ 299
Figure 6. 24 Some examples from Albert Dock in Liverpool illustrates different
methods and techniques to manage traffic by using different materials, shapes and
colours (2017). ......................................................................................................... 301
Figure 6. 25 Different colours, materials, shapes and elements in the urban area will
participate in creating an enjoyable environment, as seen in Liverpool (2017). ..... 302
Figure 6. 26 The main materials in the cultural heritage sites in the Ha’il city centre…