Zabīd

Zabīd
Zabid Mosque
Zabīd Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 14°12′N 43°19′E / 14.2°N 43.317°E / 14.2; 43.317
Country	Yemen
Governorate	Al Hudaydah Governorate
Time zone	Yemen Standard Time (UTC+3)

Historic Town of Zabid*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Yemen
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv, vi
Reference	611
Region**	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1993  (17th Session)
Endangered	2000-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Zabid (Arabic: زبيد‎) (also spelled Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 23,000 persons^[1] on Yemen's western coastal plain. The town, named after Wadi Zabid, the wadi (or valley) to its south, is one of the oldest towns in Yemen. It was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century and a center of the Arab and Muslim world due in large part to its famed University of Zabid and being a center of Islamic education. It was the capital of the Ziyadid dynasty from 819–1018 and the Najahid dynasty from 1022–1158.^[2] Today, however, it is at the intellectual and economic margins of modern Yemen.^[3]

Zabid has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Its Great Mosque occupies a prominent place in the town. The vestiges of its university can also be visited.

Threats to Zabid

In 2000, Zabid was listed on the List of World Heritage in Danger; the listing was made on the behest of the Yemeni government due to a state of poor upkeep and conservation. According to a UNESCO report, roughly "40% of the city's houses have been replaced by concrete buildings, and other houses and the ancient souk are in a deteriorating state.^[4] If the city has not begun preservation of its cultural heritage within two years of its inscription as a UNESCO WOrld Heritage LSite, it faces possible loss of this vaunted status.^[5]

References

1. ^ World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Zabid Joint Monitoring Mission, 17 - 26 January 2007
2. ^ "Najahid Dynasty." Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 14 April 2006.
3. ^ Eickelman, Dale F. "The Middle East and Central Asia." (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River: 2002)
4. ^ UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger 2000: Historic Town of Zabid
5. ^ Ahmad al-Aghbari and Mohammad al-Ulofi (February 15, 2009). "Is Yemen Able to Keep Zabid Listed in World Heritage?". Saba News. http://www.sabanews.net/en/news176233.htm. 

External links

• UNESCO World Heritage Site listing
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Zabid

This article about a location in Yemen is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

Coordinates: 14°12′N 43°19′E / 14.2°N 43.317°E / 14.2; 43.317