Shibam

Shibam is an ancient Arab city, which can be defined as the oldest settlement on the land with skyscrapers. This, of course, an exaggeration, because the high buildings and towers of the whale did not reach 40 meters, but for the time in which they were built these dimensions are unique and are unique. Not surprisingly inflected beat as the “Manhattan of the desert”.

The city of Shibam is actually an old Arab town of gated and similar settlements were built in Africa. If you look at the whale from a distance, you will see countless nearby oblong and rectangular towers. All are dotted with small windows. The old village is located in Wadi Hadhramaut Yemeni province. Since 1982 whale is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Today Shibam is inhabited city with about 7,000 inhabitants. Largely through the narrow streets it is not possible to drive a car is rare to see this car. The narrow medieval alleys, surrounded by dense clay houses have all the charm of the Orient. Shibam is a quiet town, the smell of dust and animal feces everywhere, but this is hardly the most important thing here in the former capital of Hadramawt Kingdom. And to this day in whale can be accessed through a single main entrance, which interrupts the high fortified walls of the village.

The old town is visible from afar on the road for him, and depending on what time of day, the buildings of cut stained in different colors. The morning clay, overcrowded multi-storey towers of whale are yellow, lunch can be colored in beige and ocher, the evening often acquire pink shades. Because of this color cut is also known by the name “Al-Saffra”, which translates as “yellow”. The flog as a part of old and new district, which occupies an area of ​​1117 square kilometers and has about 48,000 inhabitants. Ago in the ancient village lived about 7000 people, but over half the time moved to a new area or moved to other cities.

This in turn led to abandonment of many buildings that are subject to weather and climate impacts. By its nature and significance Shibam is the earliest example of planning based on vertical structures. Absolutely all buildings, houses and towers in the old town are built of adobe or clay, at the time when these lands are Bedouins attacked settlements. That is why most towers, houses are about 500 in number, were built five or sixteen floors.

On each floor typically has 2 apartments. So were the attacks of Bedouins mitigation. A significant part of the buildings date from the scourge in the 16th century, but in the last few centuries they have been restored. Whale can boast some of the tallest towers in the world built entirely then adobe. Several of the buildings reach 40 meters. Record holder in the medieval Arab village adobe minaret is one that reaches 53 meters purposes. It is covered with a protective compound that is designed to protect it from the influences of nature and time.