The Jewish village, Beit Bos, Sana’a
Its history dates back more than a thousand years and is still steadfast, preserving its charm despite neglect
“The Bossi Jew and the Bossi Jew”
On the southwestern outskirts of the capital, Sanaa, the village and fortress of Beit Bous stands like a stranded ship, as if its captain miraculously managed to escape from the fierce winds, so that his ship remained on land, witnessing bygone times, during which Yemenis, Muslims and Jews coexisted in neighboring dwellings. They have the village fence and are united by various interests.
The accounts differed in naming the village, which has more than 300 houses, and is administratively affiliated to the Sana’a Governorate. While some historical references indicate that the name Boss House was named after a Jew named “Boss” to open the Baa and settle the Waw, it is said that he was the first to inhabit the village, other information indicates that the name came after the founder of the village, which is the Hamiri king Dhi Boss bin Earl bin Sharhabeel (mentioned by Nashwan bin Saeed Al-Hamiri, who died in 573 AH, in his saying: Or where is Dahir, Dhu Yazan, Dhu Bous, Dhubeeh, and Dhul-Anwaah).
The village houses were built on the top of the mountain from the stones of the mountain itself, in an organized and harmonious way in the form of a crown above the importance of the mountain high, in a way that demonstrates the genius of ancient Yemeni design and architecture.
The village overlooks a valley that includes a group of agricultural fields as far as the eye, which was owned by the villagers, who built their homes on this mountain for fortification, before modern urbanization devoured those fields in later years, and there are inscriptions in the western region of the village that are said to be in the Himyarite language And the references say that the village was belonging to the Jews, but they were adjacent to the Muslims in the same area.
According to various accounts, the village dates back more than a thousand years, and other accounts say that the Jews left the village after Imam Yahya bin Hamid al-Din asked them to leave the village and surrender their property.
The village of Jews has turned into deserted ruins, but some poor Yemeni Muslim families still live in the village.
Because of the troubled security events, the number of tourists decreased, as more than 44,000 tourists from different countries visited it every month.
The village was neglected and some of its buildings began to collapse and walls to crack. Residents in the area say that the village was full of a number of traditional industries, pottery and historical monuments that were looted during the
In the history of the village’s construction, multiple accounts say that the village’s construction dates back 2,500 years ago, while other accounts say that it dates back more than a thousand years.
Historical accounts indicate that the Fort Beit Boss remained for a long time a subject of contestation by those who aspired to control it, as it is a natural garrison on the city of Sana’a from its southwest. In the year 289 AH, the Tarif family seized it after their defection from the Yafarid state, and they used it as a prison to hold important prisoners. In the year 450 AH, the Sulayhids captured it and restored it during the reign of Queen Arwa bint Ahmad al-Sulayhi. Some accounts say that King Ahmed bin Ali al-Sulaihi, the husband of Queen Arwa, inhabited the fort of Beit Boss for a period of time, then the fort was neglected with the succession of states over Yemen, until the establishment of the Tahirid state in 910 AH, when the fort was restored, which still contains among its flanks. To this day, there are many stories and secrets, and its rocks engraved in Musnad script still bear witness to the nobility of a civilization and the oppression of neglect.
Ali Muhammad Qaid, a resident of the village, tells a different story, which is widely circulated in social circles. Under the heading “The Jew, the Bossi, the Bossi Jew”, he states that a murder incident took place in which the perpetrator was believed to be from the Jewish community, and that a reconciliation between the members of the two sects occurred after the incident, requiring that the members of the Jewish community be dealt with the same as other members of the village and its residents. Qaid adds that “what applies to Al-Busi applies to the Jew equally,” and from that came the famous phrase “the Jew Bossi, and the Busi Jew,” a phrase widely used in social circles in the suburbs of Sana’a. Whatever the authenticity of these accounts, Hamiri inscriptions on the walls of the village’s buildings confirm that the village had Jews and Muslims in its flanks, evidence of an ancient human civilization, and how many thousands of foreign tourists visited it every month – before the security turmoil –
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