Bayt Al-Hamdan

Room for Entertaining Guests

This is the Al-Hamdan House (Bayt Al-Hamdan), located in the Janah Valley (Wadi Al-Janah), in Unaizah. My host was Ibrahim Saleh Al-Hamdan, the patriarch of this home.

The doorway in the right rear of the room led to a storage area. The concrete fireplace was rigged with an electric blower to stoke the flame. If you look at the window sill on the right of the photo you can get an idea of the thickness of the walls. The ceiling is at least twenty feet high and the walls have windows at both lower and upper levels. Also, ceiling fans hang from the ceiling to assist with circulating the air. Because of the time-tested construction techniques, I am confident this room is very comfortable in the heat of the summer.

There are only shutters and no glass in the upper windows so, with the shutters open, birds flitter in and out of the room at will along with the sunlight and breeze. No one seemed to mind at all. All the sounds of the farm surrounded us and it was a very tranquil morning.