photo tour of a 500 year old high-rise skyline

[cityboi]

Shibam is located in the deserts of Yemen. These mud-brick "skyscrapers" are more than 500 years old.

[cityboi]

Shibam is around 2,000 years old but the vast majority of these buildings were built in the 16th century. There are a total of about 500 hundred of these towers between 5 and 10 stories high. The city has been nicknamed "the oldest skyscraper-city in the world" and "Manhattan of the desert"

Shibam is located in the heart of Hadhramout Valley , a valley described as Al-Ahkhaf Valley as it is too close to the Ahkhaf Al-Raml, the homelands of the Aad people who mentioned in the Holy Quran. There was no space to the citizen in Hadhramout to build, so they looked up at the sky to build the unique skyscrapers. (the same reason we build skyscrapers today) The towers are built by skimming the land of earth to bring the mud, carefully chosen for the best kind, and they pile it up. They mixed it with straw, the stalk of the wheat and corn crop after being threshed. The strong men mixed the mud with their hands and feet till it becomes soft, and then shape it into special frames prepared earlier for this purpose. Then they make bricks of the materials, which is put under the sun to dry. What is interested in the city that they are connected to each other through doors that anyone can go through about 20 houses without going out to the street. (a 500 year old version of Charlotte overstreet mall) This is useful in the cases of wars and sieges. This city is definatly an architectual feat that is overlooked and there is nothing like it in the world.

This should have been listed as one of the 7 wonders of the world.

[jimthemanincda]

Great pictures. Thanks for the info.

[Neo]

I saw this the other day and was amazed that this existed. I had no idea that this was out there, color me amazed. No doubt the true birth of the skyscraper as we know it today.

[cityboi]

I saw this the other day and was amazed that this existed. I had no idea that this was out there, color me amazed. No doubt the true birth of the skyscraper as we know it today.

[The Tot Pack]

this is soo amazing.

i have found one of the many places i want to visit before i die.

its so beautiful!!!

[cityboi]

this is soo amazing.

i have found one of the many places i want to visit before i die.

its so beautiful!!!

[cityboi]

Here is a photo of Sana's, Yemen. (same country) This is such amazing and rich architecture and probabally the best example of urban planning from the ancient world. Their culture traditionally built tall structures for heavily populated cities. The seem reason New York City looks the way it does today. We quickly discover that things and concepts we thought were invented in the 20th century were invented ages ago.

[dimebag1980]

I've never seen this before but I'm beyond shocked!! Amazing... i love it!

[1ajs]

ok then thats a region of the world i wana see in the next 5 years.......

[asonj23]

Wow, that is amazing. I've never heard of it either. Do people actually still live in the "city" or is it empty? Anyone have any street shots?