Old Walled City of Shibam, World Heritage Site in Yemen

Sibam, located in the Hadramawt region of eastern Yemen, is called the “Manhattan of the desert,” with its strange landscape of high-rise residential buildings in disarray. It is surprising that there are as many as 500 of them.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why the Old Walled City of Shibam is a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner in this issue.Read this and you will definitely learn more about Shibam!

What is Old Walled City of Shibam?

Shibam was a city on the way to the trade route of spices and frankincense in the southern Arabian Peninsula.It was the capital of the Hadramawt Kingdom, which flourished around the 3rd century. The high-rise houses are made of sun-dried mud and other materials, and some of them are up to seven stories high. Its appearance is sometimes referred to as the Manhattan or Chicago of the desert.

There are many reasons why this landscape was created, but one major reason is flood control. Shibam is located at the bottom of a valley called the Wadi, and because of the heavy flooding that occurs during the rainy season, the residents needed to build vertical structures. Of course, the construction of high-rise buildings also meant protection against attacks by foreign tribes.

Buildings became taller and taller around the 8th century, and the high-rise residences seen today were built after the 16th century. Today, there is a forest of more than 500 high-rise residences. This is thought to be due in part to the fact that the people living in Shibam competed with each other to build the tallest structures.

Heritage in Danger

Shibam has been on the Crisis Heritage List since 2015 because of the unstable situation and potential threats.

For what reason is Old Walled City of Shibam on the World Heritage List?

Shibam was recognized for the following

Registration Criteria (iii)
The point is that the traditional way of life in Shibam, where high-rise mansions are densely located, is gradually changing with time and its existence is in jeopardy.

Registration Criteria (iv)
That Shibam, surrounded by walls and lined with high-rise buildings, is one of the best city plans of antiquity.

Registration Criteria (v)
The point that the high-rise mansion is evidence that people have continued to live in response to their natural environment, including the great floods that occur from the Wadi.

World Heritage Mania Conclusions and Impressions

They call it the Manhattan of the desert or the Chicago of the desert, but the skyscrapers that suddenly appear across the desert could be mistaken for a mirage. It is a unique landscape, unparalleled even in the Arabian Peninsula, and a crystallization of superior architectural technology. It is also a frightening story that a huge flood that destroys an entire city occurs even in a desert….The high-rise houses of Shibam are proof of man’s resilience in the face of such desert wilderness.

*This is a study based on research conducted by a World Heritage enthusiast.As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the media.