Yellow sandstone city bids for place on World Heritage list

(4 Jul 2017) LEADIN:
One of the oldest cities in Jordan is bidding for a place on the UN's World Heritage list for its historic buildings.
The city of Salt wants UNESCO to grant World Heritage status to 22 yellow sandstone buildings constructed during the Ottoman era.
STORYLINE:
Daily life unfolds in the historic city of Salt, nestled in the hills not far from the Jordan River.
Walking the streets here, one feature stands out above all others: most of the buildings are yellow.
The city is hoping that 22 of its historic sandstone buildings will be added to UNESCO's World Heritage list this week.
The nominated buildings include museums, two churches, a mosque, along with others that are lived in as private homes.
One of them, the Roman Catholic Church of St Mary, features a recently renovated shrine to the Palestinian Catholic Saint Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, who was canonized in 2015, 88 years after her death.
Architect Bayan Faouri helped put the UNESCO bid together.
She says the local yellow sandstone is what makes the architecture in Salt unique.
"The most important thing distinguishing the buildings of Salt are the yellow stones. These yellow stones were locally mined local materials that are present even today in about four sites they were taken from the mountain. They were able to quarry these stones and use them because they are distinguished by their softness. It is easy to shape them in more than one way and the stone itself breathes and is able to absorb the air. Because of these qualities the builders here in Salt used these stones," she says.
Faouri says getting World Heritage Status would help restore and protect the buildings by generating income through tourism.
She says the buildings are important because they demonstrate many layers of the city's history.
"You can see in one building the shift of architecture from a cave to a very decorative gateways to facades. So this is what makes it very unique and especially with the yellow sandstone, the workability of stone makes it very easier for craftsmen to shape it the way they want," she says.
Faouri works for Salt municipality, which has plans to restore more of the dilapidated buildings for use, including this one, Jaghbeer House.
Here, there is a lower, older floor known as a "peasant house", which is topped with grander rooms that were added later on when the city became more prosperous.
This eclectic approach is still seen in the city today, where Faouri says the old continually mixes with the new.
"Salt is not separated about its origins, so we have very much harmony between the old and the new, so we have the buildings all merged with the people. People are still using it, people are still living in them, they still have shops in them. So it's living. The city is breathing. And the people still have their dignity, their tradition, their hospitality."
Faouri traces the city's distinctive architecture to a historical moment when Salt attracted craftsmen from across the Middle East.
Rapid industrialisation during the Ottoman era saw craftsmen from Syria, Turkey and Palestine arrive in the city looking for work.
Their skills and ideas mingled and took form in the city's buildings, crafted from yellow sandstones from the local hillsides.
A retired soldier who lives in the city, Abdulmajid al-Kharabsheh, describes what happened.
Proponents of the UNESCO bid say the yellow sandstone edifices are an eclectic language that's unique to the city.
Many buildings are yet to be restored, waiting for renewed interest and investment.
But many built more than a century ago are still cared for and lived in.
The 41st Session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee takes place in Krakow, Poland from 2 to 12 July 2017.


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