Shibam Haḍramawt is a town in Yemen. With about 7,000 inhabitants, it is the seat of the District of Shibam in the Governorate of Hadhramaut. Known for its mudbrick-made high-rise buildings, it is referred to as the "Chicago of the Desert", or "Manhattan of the Desert".
History
The first known inscription about the city dates from the 3rd century CE. It was the capital of the Hadramawt Kingdom. In the 20th century, it was one of the three major cities of the Qu'aiti Sultanate, the others being Al-Mukalla and Ash-Shihr. The city was listed with the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1982. In 2008, a tropical cyclone flooded Shibam. During the Yemen Civil War the city suffered some damage after insurgents detonated a car bomb. There was also coalition bombing in the area. In 2015 UNESCO listed the city as "cultural heritage at risk".
Shibam has a hot desert climate. At an average temperature of 28.0 °C, June is the hottest month of the year. January is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging.
Architecture
Overview
Shibam, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is known for its distinct architecture. The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud brick, and about 500 of them are tower blocks, which rise 5 to 11 storeys 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". It 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 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 city is surrounded by a fortified wall, giving it the name "the walled city of Shibam". The nearby town of Tarim contains the tallest structure in the Wadi Hadhramaut valley, the mudbrickminaret of the Al-Mihdhar mosque. It stands at a height of approximately 53.. This is the tallest minaret in the southern Arabian peninsula.
Threats
The mudbrick buildings are frequently threatened by wind, rain, and heat erosion, and require constant upkeep in order to maintain their structures. The city was heavily affected by flooding from a tropical cyclone in 2008. The foundations of many of the buildings in the city were compromised by the flood waters, eventually leading to their collapse. It was also the target of an Al Qaeda attack in 2009. In 2015, Shibam was added to the list of World Heritage sites in Danger when violent civil war erupted in Yemen. Historic buildings were significantly damaged during heavy bombing in Sana'a, and remain at risk from armed conflict.
