Cisterns of Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
or, If You Pray for Rain - Harvest It
By Brad Lancaster, www.HarvestingRainwater.com, ©2010
Number 2 in a series of Drops in a Bucket blog entries on Brad Lancaster’s and David Eisenberg’s U.S. State Department-sponsored adventures and gleanings in the Middle East
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 2009
Most of the water people now drink in Saudi Arabia is desalinated seawater. And there are great costs, among them air pollution from the power plants which burn oil to run the desalination plants. We read articles daily on the many people falling ill from the pollution.
The new Saudi Arabia is very dependent on this oil, not only for water, but the mechanical heating and cooling of the new modern buildings of imported concrete, steel, and glass.
But the traditional dynamic Saudi culture was borne from surviving and thriving in this hot, dry climate — without oil, imported building materials, and appliances. We wanted to see the old practices of harvesting water, building with local materials, and passive cooling and heating. So, we headed for old Jeddah.
Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is a gem, and as our guide Sami promised, it is replete with a rich tradition of harvesting rainwater, life, and vernacular architecture. Sami Nawwar was our lively host. He is caretaker of the grand Nasseif House/Al Balad at the core of old Jeddah. Sami is hugely excited about old Jeddah and has been fighting to save it for over 40 years.
To join Brad, David, and Sami on the rest of their tour of old Jeddah, click here.
