Jibla, Yemen

Jiblā (Arabic: جِبْلَة‎) is a town in south-western Yemen, ca. 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south, south-west of Ibb. It is located at the elevation of around 2,200 metres (7,200 feet), near Jebal Attaker. The town and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List due to its purported universal cultural value.[1] The historical Palace of Queen Arwa is located in the town.

Jibla

جِبْلَة
Town
Jibla, with the Queen Arwa Mosque in the background
Jibla
Location in Yemen
Jibla
Jibla (Middle East)
Jibla
Jibla (Asia)
Coordinates: 13°55′N 44°9′E
Country Yemen
GovernorateIbb Governorate
DistrictJibla
Time zoneUTC+3 (Yemen Standard Time)

History

Following the death of Sulayhid dynasty ruler Ali al-Sulayhi in 1067 CE, Arwa al-Sulayhi's husband Ahmad became the de jure ruler of Yemen, but he was unable to rule being paralysed and bedridden. He gave all of his power to Arwa, one of her first actions was to move the capital from Sana'a to Jibla in order to be in a better position to destroy Sa'id ibn Najar and thus avenge her father-in-law's death. This she managed to do by luring him into a trap in 1088. She built a new palace at Jibla, and transformed the old palace into a great mosque where she was eventually buried.[1][2][3][4]

Rural life of villagers

As late as 1979, the women of Jibla would launder their clothes in large pools of water formed by rivulets of natural spring water which trickled down the slopes of Jebal Attaker. Stepping stones of the brook were used in place of scrub-boards.

Rest your heart among the little hills of Dhī l-Sufāl, gaze upon its expanses, / There the air is as clear as crystal, the water is pure, and night brings even greater happiness.[5]

References
  1. Jibla and its surroundings, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, retrieved 2009-04-20
  2. Muhammad Zakaria (1998) مساجد اليمن
  3. Mernissi, Fatima; Lakeland, Mary Jo (2003), The forgotten queens of Islam, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-579868-5
  4. "Yemen" (PDF) (in Arabic). NIC.
  5. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Jibli (d. 1880 / 1881)
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