Easy yemen Tours Places to See

Capital of the Hadhramawt region since the end of the reign of Sheba in the 3^rd century A.D., Shibam is a city that exceeds all visitors’ expectations. The city, known as “Manhattan of the Desert” and surrounded by fortified walls of the 16^th century, packs in nearly 500 five to seven – storey buildings in less than a half square kilometre. It is said that Shibam was founded by a direct descendant of Noah and marked for a long time the frontier between the Sultanates of Al Qatn and Seiyun which disputed control of the city till the arrival of the British. The building of Shibam are the precursors of the tower architecture adopted afterwards all over the country. At the city doors you can visit the mudbrick factories that are still functioning today.

Zabid

Some 37 kilometres south af Bait Al Faqih, in the Thiama region skirting the Red Sea, is one of Yemen’s most ancient cities. Zabid is a city of culture par excellence and boasts numerous important library. It was in Zabid that, at Al Asha University (819 A.D.) a math system called Al Jabar was unveiled. Al Jabar is the basis of today’s algebra. During the years of maximum splendour the city boasted 236 mosques, many of which were destroyed over the centuries. Zabid’s houses are richly decorated inside and contrast unexpectedly with the simple external walls. The architects in the past developed a peculiar style aimed at hiding the wealth of the owner. Zabid was the location for the shooting of the film A Thousand and One Nights by renowned Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini at the beginning of the Seventies.

Shibam Aqyan

This town (not to be confused with Shibam of the Wadi Hadhramawt) is near Kawkaban, approximately 35 kilometres to the northwest of Sana’a. The ancient town, now in ruins, dates to the Yafurid dynasty (829 – 1001 A.D.). It was the capital of the Yafurids during the 9^th century A.D. The town, which is 2.300 metres above sea level, was named Shibam after a Hymarite king. Most notable among its landmarks is the Grand Mosque, built in Mohammed Ibn Yafur in the 9^th century A.D. the old suq and the town gate.

Kawkaban

An ancient historic centre and a fortified citadel about 2.800 metres above sea level, this city is walled from the north and is fortified naturally from the other directions. The capital of Bani Sharaf Al-Deen in the 15^th century A.D., Kawkabam is characterised by beautiful architectural designs. Most of the houses were destroyed in the past and were rebuilt. It was reputed as a school of music in ancient times. It is said that Kawkaban was named so because it had two palaces decorated with the precious stones. Each of them was called a star (literally planet) so it is Kawkaban (two stars) attributed these two palaces.

Shihara

One of the most famous fortified village in Yemen, it is situated on the top of Shihara Mountain at 2.600 metres above sea level. The village played an important role as base of the resistance against the Ottomans and was a refuge for Zayid Imams. Shihara is divided in two parts, on separated peaks of mountain, joined by a 400 years old stone bridge, hanging a 300-metre gorge.

Sa’ada

The northern protectorate of Yemen, Sa’ada has seen the birth of Zaydism, the most important spiritual school of the Yemeni Islamic philosophy. It is a good example of a walled town containing fine models of mud-brick architecture. It is also the one remaining place in the country to find Jewish silversmiths.

Manakha

Situated on the Haraz Mountains, 90 kilometres from the capital, Manakha is an important town situated in the centre of a terraced countryside at 2.200 metres and offers a beautiful panorama of the surrounding mountains.

Ma’rib

Situated east of Sana’a, Ma’rib was the capital of ancient Sheba. It is located where the caravans transporting incense crossed towards the Red Sea and the entire region. Ma’rib is one of the most important archaeological sites in Yemen.

Very interesting to visit the Temple of the Moon God, the Throne of Bilquis and the Cyclopean dam (built in the 8^th century B.C.), a sophisticated engineering project upon which the survival of the reign of Sheba depended. You can see all around hewn it the stone, some Sabaean inscriptions.

Only a few kilometres from the old dam, the new dam at Ma’rib is worth a detour. Financed by the late Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi, who can trace his ancestry to the time of the collapse of the old dam in 570 A.D.,

it is 40 metres high and can hold up to 400 million cubic metres of water.

Not far from Ma’rib, on the way back to Sana’a (125 Km) along Al Hazm Road, is Barakish, one of the best preserved Yemeni ancient walled cities.

The walls reach up to eight metres in height in some places, with 57 towers and two gates, located in the east end west. Barakish was the first capital of the ancient Kingdom of Main (around 400 B.C.) and the city walls date back to around the same peri

Beit Al Faqih

A few kilometres from Zabid, the town hosts one of the most famous markets in Yemen. Founded in 1700s as a coffee trading post, it offer the visitor a chance to plunge himself in the intense atmosphere of Yemeni trades, from ceramic to dresses, coloured baskets and even camels.

Mukalla

A flourishing port on the Indian Ocean, Mukalla i san important fishing centre. It is also famous for its mosque and its museum which hosts archaeological finds from all over the country.

Aden

This city, built on a volcanic outcrop is not only the most important port in modern-day Yemen, it was also one of the most ancient ports in history. Aden is famous for its cisterns probably built by Himyarites in the first century B.C. From the sea, and only from here hiring a boat, you can reach the beautiful and unspoilt Donafa Beach.

Taiz

Taiz has been inhabited since pre-Islamic times and has been a capital for various periods during its history.

It sits on a plateau about 80 km north-east of Mukha at an altitude of 1.400m. the citadel, perched on its own volcanic cone, is tucked under the cliffs of the 3.200m. high Jabel Sabr, a granite mountain.

Taiz lies in the heart of a rich agricultural region where intensive cultivation on terraces takes advantage of torrential summer rains, so an abundance of locally grown foodstuffs is always available.

Being wormer than Sana’a in the winter and cooler than Aden in the summer, Taiz has long been a place of seasonal refuge.

The golden period of history for Taiz was from 1229 to 1454, during the rule of Bani Rasul’s dynasty, when the city was an important centre of political power and trade.

After a period of eclipse, the Ottoman Turks, arriving in Yemen in 1546, made Taiz a centre for military sorties into the north. However it was only during Imam Ahmad’s reign (1948 – 1962) that the city became capital again. Imam Ahmad’s palace, in Al-Ordhi, is now a museum. Much of the thirteenth-century wall of the city disappeared although two of the major gates, Bab Musa and Bab Al Kabir, still remain.

The old suq has some interesting goods (many from Tihama) including basket, embroidery and pottery and, not least, silver shops. However, the four Rasulid mosques are the city’s most important feature.

The two finest and oldest are superb samples, Al-Muzaffar, in the centre of the city, and Al-Ashrafiyah are named after their builders, Sultan Muzaffar and Sultan Ashraf I and II (reigned 1250 -1377).

The structures show Turkish-Syrian influence, while the decorated interiors and the calligraphy that is inscribed therein recall Persian, Egyptian and even Moorish-Andalusian work.

Al-Muzzafar, the oldest mosque in Taiz, features over twenty white cupolas and dates back to early 13^th century; Al-Ashrafiyah (completed in two stages between 1295 and 1400) is more closely related to traditional Yemeni architecture.

It has two minarets and a Koranic school in an adjacent building. Its elegant plaster decoration and delicate carving display an Egyptian influence and the great dome of the northern prayer hall is one of the most magnificent artistic achievements in Yemen.

Hodeidah

Hodeida is Yemen’s fourth city in population terms and the most modern in the Region of Thiama.

It developed as the leading port of the Ottomans when the coffee trade at Mukha dwindled, and still retains its old Turkish quarter. It arise on the Red Sea, rich with fish species, and the market bustles as sharks, including hammerheads, rays and yellowfin tuna are carted around in wheelbarrows to waiting vehicles.

Fish are transported into the mountains every morning in galvanized iron tanks on blocks of ice to be eaten fresh in the main cities.

Other are smocked, frozen or dried, the latter, often sprats or sardines, being made into spicy tomato sauce. Wealthy merchant families had opulent houses constructed in the Old Turkish area of Hodeidah.

Due to neglect, these building are decaying severely, but have lavishly decorated plasterwork interiors and superb carved balconies. Decorative stucco work and niches in walls pressed with coloured glass and mirrors scintillate with painted peacock designs – a recurring theme throughout Thiama and an indication of the Indian influences seen in the region as consequence of sea-trade.

Jiblah

The town lies in one of the greenest and most beautiful areas of Yemen, at the confluence of two wadis. It was once a wealthy trading town and centre of Islamic teaching, and many of its buildings are three or more centuries old, made of the local grey-and-pink-toned stone.

One of Yemen’s greatest queens, Arwa bint Ahmad Al Sulayhi inherited the Sulayhi state from her husband in 1084 and moved her capital here from Sana’a.

The queen was versed in the subtleties of art and literature and patron of writers and architects.

She is also renowned for investing vast amounts of money in public works, as building a repairing terraces, aqueducts, roads, bridges, market and mosque, including the eastern wing of the Great Mosque in Sana’a.

She died in 1138 at the age of 92 and was buried at the mosque in Jiblah. This is dated from 1088 with a twelfth-century minaret and elegantly designed ablution chambers and pool.

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