“There is a common language between me and the buildings. I try to preserve it in every house. I have the feeling that the city is grateful to me, and I am grateful to the city because it has taught me a lot,” says Harbia, a Yemeni engineer. says: Al-Himiary describes his relationship with the Yemeni capital.
Mr. Al-Himiary has worked since childhood to fulfill his dream of preserving Sana’a’s heritage and ensuring “the continuity of our history as one of the greatest civilizations.”
As a project officer at the Cultural Heritage Department of the Historic City Authority of Old Sana’a, she is currently working on a UN-supported project to restore dozens of historic buildings in Sana’a and across Yemen.
UNESCO/Yemen
Harbiya al-Hamiry, a Yemeni cultural heritage engineer who set out on a mission to revive the country’s historic buildings.
‘There is no difference between men and women’
“There is no difference between men and women when it comes to preserving this historic city,” she asserted, emphasizing respect among all members of the team as well as residents of the neighborhoods in which they work. It is true that we face challenges and difficulties, but by working as a team we can rise above them. “We now have a number of female engineers working on this project, proving their competency in this field every day, all contributing to the preservation of this gem.”
In every project she has worked on, Ms. Al-Himiary has tried to find opportunities for women and girls. “For example, when I was in the old town of Zabid, we taught several girls traditional building crafts such as carpentry, woodworking, plasterwork and carpentry. As we opened up more training opportunities, we saw equal participation rates for boys and girls. In some transactions, girls outnumbered boys.”
UNESCO/Yemen
Yemeni cultural heritage technician Harbiya al-Hamiry on a walk around Old Sana’a.
When she asked why she was training one of the girls in traditional woodworking skills, she told Mr. Al-Humairi that by restoring the wooden decorations in her house, she was exercising her rights as one of the house owners and preserving them. He said he would do it. Privacy for her and her family.
“My advice to any girl is to choose a field that she likes, because as long as she loves that field, she will definitely succeed in it,” says the engineer. “The ambition you want.”
unesco
Cultural heritage conservation technician Harbia Al Himiary (center)
