Heritage conservation in Saudi Arabia

In 2001 the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCTA) in Saudi Arabia commissioned a team of more than 60 consultants to assist in the preparation of the first national tourism strategy for the Kingdom. I was fortunate enough to be part of that team, working for nearly two years on several aspects of the strategy including assessing the likely social impacts of the emergence of a strong tourism sector in Saudi and leading the team that looked at how the Kingdom’s rich and varied cultural heritage assets (tangible and intangible) could be developed. One of the recommendations that we put forward in the first strategy was for a co-ordinated programme of conservation across the country, focussed on protecting, preserving and adapting for tourism usage of a representative sample of historic villages and towns.

Between 2006 and 2008 I led the team that prepared masterplans for the historic cores of four small cities on the coast, plans that although well received have yet to be implemented because of a lack of funding. So it was with considerable satisfaction that I have finally been able to see progress on the wholesale conservation of a historic village in Saudi Arabia. I have been asked by UNWTO – the World Tourism Organisation – to advise the successor organisation to the SCT – the Saudi Council for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) on what international awards their Historic Villages Conservation programme might be eligible for. Other than the internationally respected Aga Khan Awards (www.akdn.org) there are very few heritage or conservation awards for projects in the Arab World. My research has thrown up several awards for new architecture (inspired no doubt by the massive urban expansion across the GCC area but little that could, if awarded, bring to this innovative programme the international attention that it merits.

The photos are of a couple of the restored buildings in Al Ghat, a small town of around 12,000 people on the fringe of the Najd desert, some 250 km north of Riyadh. The traditional mud-brick houses and public buildings were abandoned around 30 years ago but because of the arid desert environment, have remained in fairly good shape since. In order to secure the support and participation of the community, a co-operative has been established by all of the property owners to take ownership of the project (all property rights have been transferred into the co-op) and to raise the funds necessary for the conservation of the buildings and their adaptation for tourism uses. A signature, pilot project has been funded directly by the SCTA, converting the former Amarah (governor’s palace) into a local history museum and the municipality has ensured that all essential services (water, electricity, sewerage, telecoms) are installed. Finally, a loan of SAR 7 million (more than £1.15 million) has been obtained from the government to kick-start conservation works across the whole village. One house, the traditional home of the Sudairi family, has already been completed and furnished as an 8 room lodge. More will follow as the village is developed and marketed as a destination mainly to the domestic market. Other attractions in the area include a new national park, many date farms (Al Ghat is famous for its high quality dates) and some amazing sand dunes.

On Sunday I head off to the mountains of Aseer in the west of the country to see Rijjal Al Maa, a village I first visited back in 2001 and where there has been sustained investment for a number of years, mainly by the community but also by the SCT/SCTA and also the municipality. Built from stone and decorated with quartz, the tower houses of Aseer are very different from the mud brick (adobe) buildings of the Najd and represented very different conservation challenges. But the opportunities for introducing tourism uses into the buildings are the same, and I will be interested to see what changes have been made since my last trip in 2005.

For more information on the SCTA’s work on conserving architectural heritage, visit http://www.scta.gov.sa/sites/english/Antiquities_and_Museums/InternationallyRegisteredSites/Pages/conference_on_heritage.aspx

Wildlife tourism in East Yorkshire

Today saw the launch of our report looking at the potential to develop wildlife tourism across East Yorkshire. This has been a fascinating study to undertake, combining my established consultancy skills with my re-emerging academic research capabilities. It also gave me the chance to visit some wonderful sites around the area including the little-known but fabulous Yorkshire Water reserve at Tophill Low (their new hide is pictured above) and the well-known and also fabulous Spurn Point where I was able to climb to the top of the abandoned lighthouse (picture below shows my three research assistants on this project - Vasu, Teju and Jayesh - at the top of the lighthouse).

As for the study findings - with a fair wind, some signficant capital investment and some innovative and co-ordinated marketing by the main players (VHEY, YWT, Yorkshire Water, RSPB and East Riding Council), I reckon that over the next ten years we could treble the value of wildlife tourism to the area's economy to a state where it can support more than 500 jobs. That won't replace all the jobs lost in this recession, but it will make a difference in some of the more remote villages and towns of Holderness and the surrounding area. The only downside is that I will have to share the area's rich and wonderful natural heritage with many more people!

Another historic property threatened with closure

Interesting news this evening that Arundells, the home of the former Prime Minister Edward Heath, will close to visitors at the end of this month. This 18th century property in Salisbury was 'left to the nation' after his death and contains a collection of gifts, paintings and photos commemorating both his political and personal lives as well as the usual upper class, country house furnishings. Despite the income from tours - more than 35,000 people have visited in the last 5 years -and one would assume a legacy from the former PM, the Trustees have decided to close because the income being generated is insufficient to cover the maintenance and other operating costs.
This of course is a familiar story to historic house managers and I guess the only reason that it got a mention so far up the BBC six o'clock news was the fact that Heath had anticipated his 'gift' lasting in perpetuity. So will future generations of landed gentry be so keen to leave their properties to the nation? Probably not. But given that we have so many historic properties available to visit anyway, is it really a loss?
Some commentators have also said that it is a shame that Heath's collection will be split up, but whilst there are some items of historic significance in terms of global politics (eg. the ancient Chinese vases gifted to Heath by Chairman Mao) the fact that they won't in the future be seen in what was only ever a temporary setting shouldn't be too much of a loss to the heritage sector.
You don't need to rush down to Salisbury in the next few weeks because all of the tours are now fully booked. And presumably at some time, the more interesting pieces will find their way into a museum somewhere.

The World Heritage List - playing politics with heritage?

Last week UNESCO inscribed another 21 sites onto the World Heritage List, including the amazing observatory of Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the canals of central Amsterdam and the At Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah, Saudi Arabia. I know all of these sites, having holidayed in both Delhi and Amsterdam and having visited ad-Dir’iyah, the capital of the first Saudi state, many times during the time I was based in Riyadh working alongside the Supreme Commission for Tourism (now the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities – SCTA).

The architecture of Jantar Mantar (opposite) is certainly stunning – almost abstract in places and looking like a contemporary skatepark. The site was a lunar and celestial observatory and is testament to the scientific knowledge and spirit of inquiry of the time. Amsterdam’s canals are an iconic aspect of the city’s urban form and reflect the ingenuity of the town’s inhabitants in terms of managing flood control as well as facilitating trade.

At Turaif I am a little more bothered about. The site itself is architecturally interesting although none of the original fabric remains – the authorities have invested considerably in restoration and rebuilding works in recent years. But the authenticity argument is only part of my concern. For a cultural heritage site to be inscribed on the WH list it must meet a number of criteria that have been taken to reflect its global significance.

The UNESCO press release issued on august 1^st and celebrating its inscription explains the significance of At Turaif thus: “This property was the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian Penisula, north-west of Riyadh. Founded in the 15th century, it bears witness to the Najdi architectural style, which is specific to the centre of the Arabian peninsula. In the 18th and early 19th century, its political and religious role increased, and the citadel at at-Turaif became the centre of the temporal power of the House of Saud and the spread of the Wahhabi reform inside the Muslim religion. The property includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis”.

Note the link to Wahhabism – the very conservative form of Sunni Islam based on the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, an 18th century scholar whose legacy, if one is to agree with the work of some scholars, includes the Taliban and Al-Qaeda (see for examples Charles Allen’s 2006 book God’s Terrorists). Whether or not one agrees with the beliefs of these organisations, it does appear that by according international status to a site directly linked with their progenitor, UNESCO could be seen to be legitimising this fundamentalist ethos.

The reason that this particular issue struck such a chord with me is that in the same week that the World Heritage Committee was meeting in Brasilia, I was asked to review a fascinating new collection of essays edited by Sophia Labadi and Colin Long entitled ‘Heritage and Globalisation’ and published in the UK by Routledge. One of the first chapters of the book, written by the Australian ethnographer Marc Askew, takes a very strong position on the way in which UNESCO, through the World Heritage List, is using what he terms a veneer of academic and specialist validation to support the work of nation-states in what he calls ‘projects of cultural reification and domination’. In other words, UNESCO is complicit in allowing member states to pursue their own ideological agendas by according globally-endowed status to sites that are supposed to be of outstanding universal value, but which in reality can be highly political and indeed contentious. However, the involvement of the state party with the support of UNESCO allows a homogeonised view of the past to be celebrated – what Laurajane Smith refers to as AHD – the Authorised Heritage Discourse that reflects that state’s view, and not that of other stakeholders (existing and potential, domestic and international).

I retain a strong affection for my many Saudi Arabian friends and colleagues, and am delighted that in recent years they have engaged with the World Heritage Convention and that so much investment is being made in protecting, conserving and managing the wealth of heritage assets – pre and post-Islamic – across the Kingdom. I just wonder, however, whether in the current global political climate, the nomination of At Turaif was a sensitive act?

Wildlife tourism in Normandy

Have just spent a couple of days with clients from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on a tour of wildlife sites in the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, looking at the promotion and management of nature tourism in a destination best known for its recent military heritage.

The team from the Parc Naturel Regional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin were very hospitable and went out of their way to demonstrate how they are developing a range of products and itineraries to attract tourists for short stays at any time of the year, and also to tap into the D-Day market, encouraging those 'touristes du memoire' to spend at least half a day exploring the landscape of the peninsula. After all, it was the 'boccage' - those small fields surrounded by thick hedgerows - that held up the Allied advance for so long.

I was particularly impressed at the work that the ParK authorities are doing developing craft building skills so that they can restore the cob houses (made of pressed mud/ clay) of the area - indeed, the first temporary exhibition in their new visitor centre just north of Carentan is on the subject of earth building. That new visitor centre uses some of the traditional techniques as well as a design based on a Norman Manor House to provide a wonderful gateway to the regional park. And one of the main tourist attractions - the Maison du Marais (left) represents the culmination of a two year restoration project using those traditional building skills.

In terms of promoting responsible tourism, the Park's tourism and economic development team are also working with local food producers and restaurants to develop local supply chains, and with farmers to ensure a sustainable approach to land management, particularly in the marshes - the Marais - that constitute the special landscape of the area. For anyone contemplating a short break in Northern France where you are guaranteed good food and a unique mix of cultural and natural heritage, I really recommend a trip to Cotentin (http://www.parc-cotentin-bessin.fr/). Ferries from Portsmouth go to Caen/Ouistreham or Cherbourg - both ports less than an hour's drive from the area. And yes - there is lots of wildlife including several pairs of nesting White Storks, Marsh Harriers and grey seals out in the bay.

Art in the Forest

Had a great walk on the sculpture trail through the Forest of Dean last Saturday with my nephew Daniel. Some of the pieces are quite monumental including a large chair on an outlook over the forest and an 'observatory' similar to that in New Delhi, although made of wood and not sandstone. Starting from the visitor centre at Beechenhurst we wandered through groves of spruce edged with chestnut, oak and birch, pausing to take in some outstanding works as well as some that left us a little underwhelmed.

The Forestry Commission, through its commercial arm Forest Enterprise, has done a sterling job both in the Forest of Dean but also at Grizedale in the Lake District promoting environmental art and sculptures. These trails attract thousands of visitors a year and permit the visitor to engage in many different ways. For 11 year old Daniel they were climbing frames or play equipment, but to others we saw they provided an opportunity to reflect on the strong connections we still have with our natural environment.

At one point I was able to get a little peace as Daniel wandered off to look for leopard spoor (honestly!) and as I looked up through the canopy, straining my eyes into the bright summer sun I was reminded of Dennis Potter's wonderful TV series 'The Singing Detective' when the main character thinks back to his boyhood in the Forest, repeating to himself the mantra "The Oak, the Elm, the Ash" (think I've remembered it correctly - it was more than 20 years ago). There really is something quite amazing about mature trees and their ability to calm the adult mind whilst at the same time exciting the younger visitor by offering climbing opportunities. Whether it is possible to accommodate both audiences at the same time is something else....

Cycle tourism again

Had a good meeting this week with Jonathan from Countryscape (www.countryscape.org) to talk about mapping the routes Anna is developing in Northumberland for the cycle hubs project. Learnt all about www.mapmyride.com which is so easy to do and which has a really broad reach (potentially). So though I would map some of my local rides and see how I got on. That in turn inspired me to get out for the first time this year (no excuses except I have been very, very busy) - see the results at www.mapmyride.com, search for Peasholm, Scalby, Hackness Loop - for some reason I can't get a link to work.

Anyway, isn't technology wonderful!