Encroaching on History

 The remnants of Ain Zubaidah project, which was launched more than 1,200 years ago by the wife of Abbasid Caliph Haroon Rashid to quench the thirst of Hajis and Umrah pilgrims, stand testimony of Queen Zubaidah’s generosity and farsightedness.

A few years ago, late King Abdullah had set up a four-member committee comprising representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Agriculture, Interior, and Water and Electricity to conduct a study on the historic water canal and develop the facility.

The work of the committee has yet to see the light of the day for unknown reasons. In the meantime, some of its facilities have been turned into a veterinary clinic to treat ailing animals.

As a result of the negligence of authorities, the project’s existing structures are in such a state that it might collapse anytime. Some people have transformed the facility into a dump without realizing its historic value.

Moreover, some villagers have constructed barns around the canal and use it as animal’s husbandry and while utilizing its buildings to store fodders, exacerbating environment pollution around the project.

Some passersby, including tourists and children, have caused damages to the canal with graffiti while some individuals have constructed homes encroaching into the compound, Makkah Arabic daily reported.

The committee that monitors encroachment on public land has removed such violations, the paper said. While some individuals have tried to use the project’s land to construct a mosque near their homes.

There is no wall to protect the canal while the absence of a law to punish violators has emboldened many of them.

Mahdi Al-Nasser, an African shepherd who stays in a canal building in Khabt Numan with his colleague was not ready to answer the daily’s questions.

He claimed that he has been staying in the building only for the last two months. But the gas cylinder he uses for cooking threatens the antique building’s safety, especially if fire breaks out, the paper said.

Ibrahim Khudair, media coordinator of the National Water Company, said his organization has nothing to do with Ain Zubaidah. “The project does not come under our responsibility,” he added.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage is not happy with the present situation of Ain Zubaidah. “A committee will conduct a detailed study on the project and present it to authorities,” said Dr. Faisal Al-Sharief, director general of SCTH, told Makkah daily.

He said those who destroy antiquities and historical sites would be punished in accordance with the Antiquities Law.

Queen Zubaidah decided to establish the water system after performing Haj in 193H when she noticed that pilgrims were suffering from a shortage of drinking water in Arafat, Mina and Makkah.

She appointed the best available engineers of the time to build the canal in order to supply free water to pilgrims throughout their assembling places in Makkah and other holy sites. It was a difficult task and required digging tunnels under massive rocks and building tunnels along slopes.

After surveying the entire area, the engineers started constructing the 35 km long canal from Hunain Valley, which was rich in water. It was very difficult to sustain a canal on the surface, so the engineers planned to make a subterranean canal in the form of a tunnel (aqueduct), with water stations raised above the ground at different intervals.

The queen was ready to pay any amount of money to implement the project, which took three years to complete and its cost was equivalent of billions of dollars of our time, which she paid from her own pocket.

After several years of hard work, the canal was eventually brought all the way down to Jabal Al-Rahma in Arafat, and then to Mina and Muzdalifah.

The spring water from Hunain Valley and other water sources on the way were converged into the canal. The water supply through this canal brought great relief to the pilgrims as well as to the residents of Makkah for more than thousand years, said a historian.