Shi-BLAM

I'm always looking for something different, somethingwhere you think "Oh, i've never seen that before". While visiting temples in Asia is nice, it gets rather repetitive. Same goes for churches in Europe or mausoleums in Central Asia. Since i was living in Yemen, something touted as the "Manhattan of the Desert" or "Skyscrapers in the Sand" or whatever other cool moniker sounded way too cool to pass up. Finally something unique. So off i headed in search of the land called Shibam.

Throughout human history, mankind has time and again managed to

accomplish great feats of architecture. At times, using sheer brute force like the Pyramids of Giza or the Great Wall of China. These landmarks, as iconic as they are, were sure bets, architecturally speaking, as long as there were slaves for labour and resources to build it. But in the dry riverbed of Wadi Hadramaut, in Eastern Yemen, locals took on a task of sheer experimentation. 2,500 years ago, when the vast majority of homes in the world were a mere single storey, the people of Shibam set their sights skyward. Using only the mud and dirt available to them from the desertified ground, a skyscraper city took shape. Not a place for kings or emperors (although it did serve as a capital for a while) the 7 - 8 storey tower blocks were the dwellings of merchants, homes for the common people. As a matter of fact, they managed to squeeze in some 500 dwellings into a walled city about 900 m2.

The image of these commanding structures has drawn in tourist for ages.

It is one of the absolute highlights of Yemen, and even the Arabian peninsula as a whole, being inscribed into the UNESCO Heritage list as early as 1982. This eruption of architecture, as if from nowhere, could have easily been a cash cow for the Yemeni tourism industry as travellers would undoubtedly turn up in droves to meander through the labyrinth of streets, and waiting for the popular sunset photo from the viewpoint over the city. While Yemen's instability has always been a slight deterrent, it was a single event in March 2009, killing 4 South Korean tourists, that absolutely decimated any hopes of a healthy tourism industry here. Heavily armed escorts for all tourists are now the norm (and pretty much obligatory). Permits and permissions are all part of a rather bureaucratic visit here. The sunset viewpoint is even fenced off for the exclusive use of foreigners. Even still, none of these measures can guarantee one iota of actual security. Hence the reason, very few make it out here.

So, i guess the question is, "Is all the effort and 'danger' worth it?"

To be honest, i'm not really sure. Certainly the overall view of the city from the view point is pretty, as well as unique, bordering on magical. But they (the guards) don't let you go high enough to get the angle that's shown on all the tourist brochures. Not a big deal, i suppose. But the thing is once your inside the city, it's really no different than every other old town in the country. On any given street in Shibam, you could mistaking think yourself in San'a or Ibb or Zabid. The buildings themselves are very un-ornate (they are made of mud after all). But on top of this, the streets are absolutely dead until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. And i don't mean 'kind of quiet', i mean you could very well not see another person except for your escort. The shops are closed. There's no market. And there are no interesting locals to try to sneak photos of. Then just as the town finally awakes from it's slumber, you rush up to the view point to get the sunset picture then are whisked away as foreigners aren't supposed to travel at night.

It's probably my fault. I guess i had set my expectations so unrealistically

high that there was no way Shibam (or anywhere) could have lived up to them. And while i walked away with an overall underwhelmed feeling, i still think that any tourist willing to overlook the overcautious travel advisories for Yemen should most definitely see Shibam. Once the people finally came out in the afternoon, they were as nice as anyone would be expected to be, considering you're walking around with some dude with an AK47. The kids, which most travellers dismiss as "annoying", simply want a photo (they are saying 'soora'). Once you take a pic, they happily leave you alone. As for timing, you won't need more than a hour (and even that's stretching it) to wander the streets. Maybe 30 minutes for tea, watching the locals argue over backgammon (the way they've done for thousands of years). Then 30 minutes to watch the sunset. It's certainly not a full day trip although it works well with a half-day to the cultural city of Tarim.

There are few options when it comes to transport to Shibam. Pretty much everything comes from/goes to the local 'capital' of Seiyun (where the regional airport is). Overland travel between Seiyun/Shiban and San'a was completely off limits to foreigners at the time of writing. Even travel south to al-Mukalla seemed abnormal and not typically granted to independant travellers.

From Seiyun to Shibam frequent shared taxi do the trip (less than an hour). Mini-buses do the same trip for the same cost (a few hundred Rials). A private taxi, there and back with waiting time, should be more than 2,000-3,000 YR. There is no reason to stay in town, unless opting for the super expensive al-Hawta Palace Hotel. There is a ticket booth at the main gate of the old city where someone may or may not be selling tickets for 500 YR.

Even with all it's security problems and logistical complications, Shibam still manages to bring in the tourists. I was quite surprised to see the number of western faces around, and down right shocked to see large groups of older travellers. But one thing is for sure, Shibam is more about the forest than the trees. It is a true testament to local engineering that each building has stood for as long as they have, but it is the overall image of a Skyscraper village from the desert floor that is the attraction.