Amiriya Madrasa

Rada’a – Al Bayda, Yemen

Coordinates: 14.417389, 44.840535

Nearby Places

• Citadel of Rada’a 0.24 kilometers N (9°)
• Queen arwa Mosque 92.74 kilometers SW (234°)
• Jibla Village , Unesco Tentative 93.14 kilometers SW (233°)

It is considered one of the most important Yemeni madrasa, namely in Islamic art and one of the masterpieces of the establishments of the Tahiri state. King Dhafir Salah al-Din constructed it in Rabi al-Awwal (910 Hijri) -September (1504 AD).

Located in Rada, Yemen. The monument was in poor condition until 1978 when Iraqi-born archaeologist Selma Al-Radi saw it and enlisted financial help from foreign missions to restore it in a more than twenty-year effort which she led.

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 8, 2002, in the Cultural category.

Restoration

The restoration process revived the art of qadad, a form of waterproof interior and exterior plastering. In 2004 a documentary film, Qudad, Re-inventing a Tradition, was made on the subject by the filmmaker Caterina Borelli.

The restoration of the Amiriya Complex was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007.