Database: Tayyarahs

A classic tayyarah extending across a street of the Old Town.

AlUla Old Town developed over time, becoming a maze of narrow lanes lined with small two-storey houses built side-by-side. This arrangement, with limited space to expand individual houses, gave rise to a particularly original and ingenious way to extend, the tayyarah: with the consent of the neighbour opposite, construction of a room on the upper floor that spans the street provided an additional room for the house owner who built it. A side benefit was the shade provided for the lane below.