Architecture of The heritage buildings in Najaf and its role in promoting national identity

Heritage represents the living memory of the individual and society , it is cultural identity that people recognize about the privacy of people . That is the full record of human activity in a society preserved in the collective memory of the people . It is a manifestation of individual and collective creativity of the nation during its long history . As a result , heritage has a strong relationship with the cultural practices of society and its outlook for the future as well as the link between the present and the past. Therefore, the loss of cultural heritage means the loss of the nation's memory , identity and pride in its own history and present. Talking the architectural heritage of Najaf, which is one of the main pillars of the city's heritage through the ages, means talking about the variables in the moving time and the fixed place. Najaf in its plans and architecture as one of the historical cities of religious origin had to respond on its architectural planning to a range of needs and factors that influenced the pattern of planning and the shape of the city and the models of buildings . In order to deepen the subject , we chose the old Najafi house as a model for local architecture . Mr. Ali Al-Damarji's house was chosen as a model in Al-Huwaish district . As it is characterized by the integration of the elements of planning , architectural and construction , as well as the capacity of an area of (380 m2.) , and its good condition as classified by the heritage survey committee of the city of Najaf grade (A) in terms of heritage status , and the state of construction . The study has found that the architecture of the heritage buildings in Najaf and the Najafi house in particular has some characteristics that are almost unique to them . However , this privacy does not mean the identification of an independent identity . Rather , it is the local privacy which is integrated it its overall image within the identity National Heritage of Iraq . In spite of the presence of different oriental influences , the Najafi house remained conservative in its basic layout of its traditional character , which imitates the old and ancient Iraqi style . And this in itself drawn the image of Iraqi cultural communication and authenticity through the ages