Who was Hassan Fathy, the earth based architect who inspired the Middle East? Exactly forty years ago, Hassan Fathy published his groundbreaking book on community-inspired mud architecture in Egypt. To mark his book’s 40th anniversary and commemorate his green legacy, we spoke to Salma Samar Damluji who worked with Fathy in Cairo in 1975 and […]
Award-winning architect Salma Samar Damluji speaks to GreenProphet about her mud architecture work in Yemen and why Dubai’s property development mentality is ruining the Middle East The Middle East may be a fascinating place politically but architecturally, it’s on its last legs. Years of corruption and poor governance mean it’s slowly becoming one of the […]
Iraqi architect Salma Samar Damluji has won the ‘Global Award for Sustainable Architecture’ for her mud-brick renovation work in Yemen Mud. Muck. Dirt. Clay. Earth. Call it what you like – it’s the stuff of life and also of sustainable architecture. From the stunning mud mosque of Djenne in Mali to the clay tower homes […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUI_Lq4qhcI[/youtube] Following violent protests in February, Cairo police stacked 10-feet-tall masonry walls around the Ministry of the Interior to cut access to that hated symbol of Egypt’s ousted regime. New barriers appeared after subsequent riots, turning nearby communities into a labyrinth of roadblocks and checkpoints. Recently, artists “removed” them, overpainting concrete with images of the streetscapes they blocked. In a […]
Geoffrey Dabelko at the 12th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment in Washington D.C. A couple of months ago a friend of mine studying at the Monterey Institute of International Studies engaged with a Green Prophet post about the link between water and security. As it turns out, she is studying with adjunct […]
Born in an economic boom, kids in oil-rich Arab Gulf States use their silver spoons to up caloric intact. Blame laziness, love of Western brands, or ample disposable income, but children across the Gulf region are getting fatter. Recent studies tag 20 percent of children in Dubai as overweight, and another 12% as obese. Their Gulf nations’ […]
All suited to the Middle East climate and budget, here are 6 green buildings that just about anyone can build without a mortgage. People often say of green building projects that they aren’t affordable. This is true if you’re shooting to live in a glittering LEED certified urban high rise in Dubai or Saudi Arabia, […]
10,000 years after inventing agriculture, will we 7 billion take this strange next step?
Through his free movie First Earth David Sheen is passing on the positive transformation that occurred in his life after learning about ecological architecture. When David Sheen first decided to make a film that depicts the history, necessity, and straight-up sensibility of ecological architecture, he had no idea what a massive task he had […]
Jordanian Nadia Lawton, a permaculture teacher tells Green Prophet why she believes permaculture could be the region’s silver green bullet. “Permaculture made total common sense to me,” insists Nadia Lawton, “it also fitted with my life ethics a a Muslim.” While the first part of Nadia’s statement may not be considered unique, her remark about […]
Frankincense burners such as those depicted above could eventually become unnecessary as frankincense supplies dwindle. We all know the story. The Three Wise Men (Magi) traveled to Bethlehem upon the birth of baby Jesus and laid gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh at his feet. The story is so engrained in the consciousness of Christians […]
If you have lost faith in earth architecture, take note: Yemen's Manhattan of the desert, Shibam, boasts 400 habitable clay towers!
Tawakkol Karman accepting the Nobel Peace Prize last Saturday in Oslo, Norway. Photo via the NY Times. Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist and political activist instrumental in the Arab Spring is the youngest peace prize laureate to accept the prize in a ceremony over the weekend. She is one of three women including Leymah Gbowee […]
CDM funding for renewable energy in emerging nations is endangered in Durban, South Africa With the increasingly likely non-renewal of the Kyoto Accord after 2012 at this week’s international climate talks at the seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa, renewable energy project funding throughout […]
Had a busy week? Well, why not stop and sample the delights of Sunday’s news nuggets It’s been a busy week here at Green Prophet headquarters and we’ve all been hard at work highlighting the green and not-so-green news of the Middle East. Personally, finding out that Mekkah wouldn’t be replicating the mistake of building […]