title: Amiriya Madrasa
text: # Amiriya Madrasa
  
  Al-Amiriya (Arabic: المدرسة العامرية) is a 16th-century madrasa (educational institution) located in Rada, Yemen. It is under consideration for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in 1504 and is an example of the architecture of Tahirids, Yemen. The monument was in poor condition until 1978 when Iraqi-born archaeologist Selma Al-Radi saw it and enlisted financial help from foreign missions to restore it in a more than twenty-year effort which she led.
  
  ## Significance
  
  This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 8, 2002, in the Cultural category.
  
  The restoration process revived the art of qadad, a form of waterproof interior and exterior plastering. In 2004 a documentary film, Qudad, Re-inventing a Tradition, was made on the subject by the filmmaker Caterina Borelli (preview).
  
  The restoration of the Amiriya Complex was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007.
  
  