Building an Environmentally Sustainable Mudhouse in Yemen

The mud house revives the traditional architecture of the once Jewish quarter in Sana'a, Yemen. (E. Arrott/VOA)

Workers preparing the mud for plaster. (Photo courtesy AIYS)

A worker chews qat after working with plaster. (Photo courtesy AIYS)

Hindiston

From right, Kate and Stephen Steinbeiser and architect Abdullah al Hadrami in the mafraj, a traditional room to chew qat. (E. Arrott/VOA)

Light from a stained glass window on the main staircase. (E. Arrott/VOA)

An alabaster window, upper left, is a traditional Yemeni feature. (Photo courtesy AIYS)

Architect Abdullah al Hadrami, behind a door leading to the porch. (E. Arrott/VOA)

A Star of David is often used to ward off the "evil eye" throughout Yemen. (E. Arrott/VOA)

Several images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in order to help identify key stellar distance markers known as Cepheid variable stars (Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA)