City of Shibam
(from Wiki): Shibam, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, owes its fame to its distinct architecture.The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud brick and about 500 of them are tower houses, which rise 5 to 11 stories high, with each floor having one or two rooms. This architectural style was used in order to protect residents from Bedouin attacks. While Shibam has been in existence for an estimated 1,700 years, most of the city's houses originate from the 16th century. Many, though, have been rebuilt numerous times in the last few centuries.
Shibam is often called "the oldest skyscraper city in the world" or "the Manhattan of the desert", and is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. The city has some of the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them over 30 meters (100 feet) high, thus being early high-rise apartment buildings. In order to protect the buildings from rain and erosion, the walls must be routinely maintained by applying fresh layers of mud. The nearby town of Tarim contains the tallest structure in the Wadi Hadhramaut valley, the mudbrick minaret of the Al-Mihdhar mosque. It stands at a height of approximately 53 meters (175 feet.) This is the tallest minaret in the southern Arabian peninsula.
Like Manhattan, the high-rises of Shibam were built on a rectangular grid of streets and squares. Unlike Manhattan, the skyscrapers are made of mud, date back to the 16th century, and the dusty streets are often overrun with goats.
Mud skyscrapers of Shibam, Yemen by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
adobe mud apartment buidlings Shibam - Wadi Hadramawt, Yemen by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
Those who can afford it limewash their houses to protect them against termites and against the rains and flooding which occur from time to time in sa'il, the bed of the main wadi.
In general the windowless lower floors are used for grain storage, with areas for domestic use above and those for family and leisure above that. The main room on the second floor is used by men for socializing. It often has wonderful carved plasterwork and freestanding decorated wooden columns supporting the ceiling, while women's areas are found higher, usually on the third or fourth floor. The highest rooms are for communal use by the whole family, and on the upper levels there are often bridges (mi'bar) and doors connecting the houses. These are a defensive feature, but also a practical one – especially for old people who find it difficult to walk up and down the interminable staircases.
IMG_7401 by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
not too happy about the public display of affection by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
Wadi Dawan:
Wadi Dawan is a town and desert valley afew minutes from Shibam. Located in the Hadhramaut Governorate, it is noted for its mud brick buildings. On January 18, 2008, an ambush attack on Belgian tourists traveling in a convoy through the valley took place. killing 2 Belgians. I visited the region the year before.
Wadi Dhar, Yemen by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
abobe mud house in Wadi Dawan village - Yemen by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
Wadi Dawan village - Yemen by
Phil Marion, on Flickr
I will post more but if you are curious here is a link to more photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsiWqq8eM