JEDDAH — About 30 historic and dilapidated buildings in Old Jeddah are on the verge of collapse, threatening the lives of residents and visitors. A long-time resident of the area, Abdullah Al-Matari, said the buildings are threatening to the lives of visitors of Old Jeddah and those living or working in close proximity to them. "The threat increases during seasonal festivals when Old Jeddah is extremely crowded. Authorities do not want to renovate the buildings, because they don't want to tamper with the historic value of the buildings," said Al-Matari. He added the authorities have to interfere and rectify the buildings as their collapse will cause a great tragedy killing tens of people. Ahmad Al-Yafie echoed Al-Matari adding that preservation of history requires maintenance and not negligence. "If the authorities truly wish to main the historical sites of Old Jeddah, they should work on renovating them and reconstructing them in order to avoid erosion over time," said Al-Yafie. He also said a number of historical buildings have already collapsed due to the negligence and lack of constructional maintenance. "Children and tourists roam around these buildings. Their lives are in danger and we are not doing anything about it. We should anticipate the tragedy before it happens," said Al-Yafie. He also said authorities should form a committee to look into the issue in order to come up with a suitable solution. "Authorities should invite historians and academics and get their consultative view and advise. Action must be taken soon. The buildings are an obvious threat and they tarnish the appeal of Old Jeddah and ruin its beauty," said Al-Yafie. Head of the Historical Area Municipality Sami Nawar said the municipality is taking the concerns of the citizens seriously. "We have formed a team to work on renovating these ramshackle buildings. The team is currently in effect and the renovations will start soon," said Nawar.
