Khabar Khair (Only Good News) – Fatima Rashad

Natural gypsum is one of the finest types of gypsum, and this type of gypsum is found with salt rocks in the forms of flattened bodies that match limestone, sandstone, and clay, or in the form of thick layers deposits.

Gypsum: an impure land deposits consisting of parallel grains mixed with sand and clay, and forming a gypsum mass, Gypsum occurs in nature as flattened and often twinned crystals, and transparent, cleavable masses called selenite.

And regarding  how gypsum is extracted, geologist Muhammad Ahmed says: “Gypsum is extracted using explosives, or by mechanical means, an open drilling machine is used after the surface cover is removed to avoid distortion of the layers.” He said: “There are exploration and drilling companies that break the used ores into small pieces the size of the lenses are stored in warehouses, then sent to the roastery, and then sent to grinding. He adds: “Cement and soil must be used so that the gypsum remains resistant, especially during the construction process.

Gypsum uses:

 Gypsum has multiple uses, including: the medical use in Immobilizing fractures, and making chalk, and the main use of gypsum is in decoration, such as the making traditional Yemeni Qamaria windows , and in Yemeni style buildings. Yemenis have known it long time ago, it is best known to the general public as “Lime mortar.” In this regard, Salem Bahakim, one of the workers in this field, told Khabar Khair (Only Good News):: “Gypsum is used in building drywalls, walls and sheetrock, and is used in concrete blocks and in constructing modern houses, and it is frequently used. In Al Qamariyat, gypsum is also used in the interior decoration of houses.

He says: “There is imported gypsum and this type can be engraved and shaped, and we can make domes and Qamaria windows from it, and there is manufactured gypsum, which is gypsum with bleaching materials added to it to make it more solid. What distinguishes gypsum is the flexibility of its use, as it is in addition its use in decoration, it is mixed in certain amounts for use in building places with high humidity, especially in areas near the sea, and there is a kind of gypsum used in building malls, because it resists fires. “.

gypsum artifacts

Gypsum is widely present in Yemeni architectural, and in mosque inscriptions and domes, and is an essential element in al-Qamariya, antiques and models. The use of gypsum is not limited to construction and decoration but is also used in making artifacts. Ikhlas Al-Khatib, one of the creative artists, talks about using gypsum in her own business (making antiques), saying: “My business  is about making candle holders and antiques from gypsum and white cement in different sizes and shapes, She said: scented candles and all the components that I work with are available and I can get them easily, but the difficulty I face is the lack of silicone molds of the required shapes and sizes, so I had to make my own crok molds, which do not give me the required shape that I want, that ready-made molds give after drying, in addition to not having  a large place in which candles are kept while drying, and this sometimes leads to pieces damage, because working on gypsum needs a special laboratory or a suitable place away from family members, as it affects human health.