French presence in the world

Very high-level research work
A place to meet and talk

Located in a discreet back street, not far from the lively Al Tahrir ("Liberation") square, outside the old town of Sanaa, the Cefas building is a good example of Yemeni architecture. A traditional house belonging to the Al Ajami family, with yellow-ochre mud walls decorated with dazzling plaster ornamental work, and two ‘mafraj’, traditional Yemeni indoor living rooms, it is a timeless place.
Founded in 1982 at the initiative of Christian Robin, the primary purpose of the centre at that time - formerly the French centre for Yemeni studies (CFEY) - was to accommodate archaeological missions and social-science researchers working in the former Arab Republic of Yemen. In 2001 its name was changed to Cefas to mark its regional vocation in the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa. "After the reunification of the Yemen in 1990 when the country became more open to the world, the centre gradually broadened its fields of research", explains Jean Lambert, director of Cefas since September 2003.

Coming under the authority of both the French ministry of foreign affairs and the French national centre for scientific research (CNRS), Cefas today carries out archaeological and social and human science research on the Yemen and neighbouring countries (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea). In particular, it has a well-endowed library providing a documentary resource of 8,000 books, the great majority of which are in Arabic, and a cartographic collection, the only one of its kind in the world, with more than 1,000 maps of the Arabian peninsula.
"Cefas makes a significant contribution to France’s influence in this part of the world, because we carry out both missions in the field and very high-level research", adds Jean Lambert, a trained anthropologist and specialist in Yemeni music. With a small team of seven people, the centre is currently running research programmes in linguistics (on minority languages in the Yemen), contemporary Yemeni literature (a symposium on contemporary Yemeni and Saudi literature will be held in January 2006) and on the conservation of ancient manuscripts in Sanaa and Zabid.

Archaeological research, led by Mounir Arbach, is a key component of Cefas’ programmes. "The Yemen is the historic cradle of the Arab and Muslim world. There are still numerous archaeological sites and we are involved in excavation, rescue and restoration work in several Yemeni regions", stresses the researcher. In 2004 for instance Cefas took part in a rescue operation at the site of As-Sawdâ (ancient Nashshan), in the Jawf region. "We saved some pillars that were once part of a temple and on which you could make out some bas-reliefs, from looting and the ravages of time. This is an important archaeological discovery for the history of Islamic art and civilisation", says Mounir Arbach. The centre publishes some six books a year, including an annual reference review Les Chroniques yéménites [The Yemeni Chronicles].
The centre also plays a leading role in the training of young researchers from France and other countries (Yemeni, Europeans, etc.). "Cefas is the only French and international institution that allows the running of long-term studies of one of the countries of the peninsula", confides Pascal Menoret, one of the centre’s residents. The centre has enabled this young researcher to become a specialist on the Saudi monarchy, and in 2003 he published L’Énigme saoudienne [The Saudi Enigma] (pub. La Découverte, Paris). Now based in Riyadh and working on the political socialisation of young Saudis, he would like to set up a Cefas satellite centre in Saudi Arabia. But Cefas is also a place which offers hospitality, meetings and discussion where you may come across lovers of the civilisation of South Arabia and the Arab countries. With twelve rooms to accommodate its guests, it is more than just a study centre. "Cefas is a great adventure. It is a house of people in love with the Yemen", says its director.

Julien Nessi,
journalist