Local Architecture |
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TWO MAIN HOUSE FEATURES
Nowadays, a modern air conditioning system is present in every house in the UAE. However, in the past centuries, the houses in Ras Al Khaimah were built in a way that would guarantee cooling, crucial in order to survive in this hot and arid climate. Wooden doors and window shutters kept the indoors cool and did not allow direct sunlight to reach the rooms. Even the beautiful decorations in the traditional Arabic house had a practical function. Small ventilations in the walls, often attractively shaped in Islamic patterns, let the air flow through the house. Wind towers, a unique architectural feature in traditional houses, were introduced from Iran and were an equivalent of modern air conditioning. Those towers caught any passing breeze, channelled the air down one side of the tower and forced it up again through another, creating air circulation within a room.
Design of a house was influenced and continues to be by one additional factor - a need for privacy. This need is strongly related to Islamic faith. To ensure privacy of neighbours and residents, the layout of houses is divided into private and public areas. Big and solid walls often surround the houses. Most of the Arabian houses have a majlis, a special room devoted only to guest gatherings. Usually, the majlis is located close to the outside entrance, sometimes it can even be a separate building, which ensures privacy in the main house. During gatherings outside the family circles, women and men do not mix; to that extent, that there are often two separate guest rooms for both genders in the same house. The floor of the typical majlis is covered with a carpet on which guests can sit. It can have pillows against the walls to rest your back, but usually there is no other furniture. Most of the rooms are opened to a courtyard, an area restricted to family use only.
GEOGRAPHICAL HOUSE TYPES
In the past, different types of houses were constructed depending on the geographical locations and the building materials available to the people.
People of the mountains built their hamlets of irregular shaped blocks laid without mortar, while the inside walls were often plastered with mud. They were mostly square or rectangular in shape, although round huts can also be seen. The roofs were made flat of palm fronds or other local wood, on which a layer of earth was laid. Roofs were also occasionally made of mountain bushes and pitched to create a triangular shape. A few houses were often located next to each other composing one unit named bulaidah, usually used by one extended family.
The inhabitants of oases chose to construct their houses out of palm frond, these houses were called arish. The palm fronds were usually attached to the wooden frame made out of mangrove poles or other wood, and their shape included square, rectangular or tent like structures. Since these houses were rather short-lived, they had to be constantly reconstructed. Additionally, some of the oases had a watchtower to protect valuable date groves. These towers were mostly made of mud brick and raised high to serve their purpose.
In the coastal towns, arish dwellings were highly popular, but the towns also had buildings that were more elaborate. These were built out of corals or mud bricks, with wooden beams used as roofing. A number of the families that profited from the extensive fishing and pearling could afford to erect sophisticated houses with several dwellings structured around a large courtyard. Some homes were two storey constructions with beautiful wind catchers in the upper parts of the walls. They often had a large stones in the lower parts of the walls to make the house construction strong. The most amazing feature of the coastal houses included wind towers.
In the desert areas, shelter was provided by tents, which allowed moving freely around. It was usually a long, low black tent made of goat and camel hair cloth, woven by the women, and supported by poles.
SEASONAL HOUSE TYPES
In all of the areas, two main house types can be distinguished by the seasons. The summer house called masayf and the winter house named mashait. Many families had, therefore, two houses and their construction was influenced by the seasonal winds. In the summer the winds would be diverted into the houses through wall openings, while the winter houses would have firm walls to keep the cold winds out.
FORTS AND WATCH TOWERS
Ras Al Khaimah has a few forts and watchtowers that played an important part in the local history. They were primarily built for defence purposes, but their role was also to act as seats of local government. The forts were mostly larger stone constructions supported by a group of watchtowers. The towers were built in a relatively short distance from each other. This system guaranteed an efficient way of communication, thus alarmed the settlements if necessary.
MOSQUES
While the forts hosted ruling officials, mosques congregated public for prayer. Mosques are undeniably important buildings of the Emirates and are an important part of architectural traditions. There are still a few examples of the old traditional mosques to be found around Ras Al Khaimah, although the majority now are large, modern structures. The typical mosque from the past would be rectangular with a clearly defined mihrab (praying niche), and often had shaded courtyard used as an open air venue. It had a squat minaret or a small platform to call for prayer. The tall tower-like-minarets were unusual in the region until recently.
MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Contemporary architecture is a result of the economic prosperity and growing demands in housing and development of other public institutions. Modern designs and technologies are used nowadays to create the architectural landscape of Ras Al Khaimah. New blocks of buildings are being erected to offer comfortable dwellings and a high standard of living. Huge villas that stand on the outskirts of the town and in the villages are usually constructed for Emiratis with the financial support from the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program.
Often the buildings borrow different styles and represent the cosmopolitan nature of present-day Ras Al Khaimah. Nevertheless, local culture and traditional elements of architecture are incorporated into the new designs. Especially the latest types of constructions, such as hotels, offices and shopping centres, include Arabic features. Arabesque (the Islamic theme of geometric and floral patterns) can be seen on modern buildings and bring a breeze of tradition into the fast growing country.
Moreover, the wedding halls spread around Ras Al Khaimah's towns and villages are no doubt distinctive elements of the Emirate’s architectural landscape. These buildings host lavish, extremely extravagant and costly wedding parties. Usually, they are divided into two parts, with two separate entrances; one for male and the other for female guests.
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