Dammam, Safar 05, 1448 AH corresponding to July 19, 2026, SPA Tourists pause before the diversity of ancient traditional architecture in Qatif Oasis, observing some models of buildings, their formations and distinctive heritage carvings, in an environment that holds designs of the spirit of the past and the contemporaneity of the present, amid the city's changing features from traditional houses to modern architecture. In its natural surroundings, the traditional architecture in the oasis combined the coastal and agricultural environments, drawing a living model of integrated sustainable engineering and a material embodiment of a unique duality, as the economic role historically made it a vital center for commercial and maritime exchange and a meeting point for caravans in the Arabian Peninsula. The local builder in ancient times, known as 'Al-Ustad,' succeeded in achieving an exceptional balance between utilizing direct local resources and resisting the climate. With the development of life, construction materials not available in the surrounding environment were brought in, making these houses historical testimonies that tell a story of civilization. Construction in the oasis blends heritage materials and visual aesthetics, with a building identity formed from local materials such as marine and coral rocks, clay, local plaster and lime, palm trunks, bamboo stems, jandal (a type of tree), and others. Local heritage researcher Mohammed Al-Masli explained that the basic structures and thick walls of those old buildings relied on limestone and coral rocks extracted from the Gulf bottom and shallow areas near the beaches. They were characterized by their porous nature and lightness, allowing the building to breathe by absorbing the coast's intense humidity during the day and storing it, then releasing it at night as cool vapor to achieve a unique natural thermal insulation. He added that sticky clay is brought from abundant water springs and nearby clay lands to serve as a flexible binder that holds the stones together and withstands tremors and weather changes without cracking. It is covered with local plaster and lime, which were used to paint the walls in bright white to reflect scorching sunlight and disinfect rooms from insects and parasites, in addition to using 'hasir' and 'bariya' woven mats as insulating layers to prevent dust from falling from ceilings. Al-Masli explained that construction in the region since ancient times relied on palm trunks for timber, in addition to trunks of a tree grown on Tarout Island called 'Al-Khatra,' which earned its name from its use in building small boats used for transportation between the island and its surroundings, besides being a construction element for buildings on the island and nearby towns in the ceilings of houses, shops, and sabats (covered alleys). Meanwhile, architect and construction heritage enthusiast in Qatif, Engineer Mustafa Al-Nimr, pointed out that the timber in the ceilings of those houses has a special imprint that allows us to know the time of the building's construction. Local palm trunks guide us to the era before the flourishing of the pearl trade—that is, before the mid-19th century—as they were cut and adapted according to need, a process called 'tasjeen' and the craftsman called 'musajjin'. He explained that the use of 'basjeel' wood—strips of long bamboo stems—and 'jandal' (a type of tree) indicates the era of the pearl trade's prosperity—that is, between the mid-19th century and the 1920s—when these timbers and other materials began to be imported from East Africa, East Asia, and India along with dyes and colors for local architecture. In this phase, palm trunks continued to be used for those who wished. He clarified that after the discovery of oil in the last century, construction developed, and there was a greater shift away from some local building materials. The use of 'marabee' (timber beams) and manufactured modern wood panels began in the ceilings of houses and buildings, later replaced by concrete ceilings and modern architecture. He drew attention to the fact that those local and imported materials were combined to eventually form an integrated architectural and economic system that highlighted the region's identity distinctively through the use of fine timbers, plaster carvings, and advanced geometric decorations on house facades, clearly reflecting the financial capacity of the homeowner and his connection to the prevailing regional and global pearl trade networks at that time. // End // 17:53 TM 0141