Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP OF CHAPTER
Shibam
As you get closer the heat haze lifts and you realise that what you are looking at is not
really a group of fossilised giraffes rearing up out of the palms, but something even more
improbable. It's Shibam, a 2500-year-old city of seven- and eight-storey tower blocks
built entirely out of mud and faith.
History
Shibam is thought to date from the 4th century BC, but was built on the ruins of an even
older city. It was later settled by citizens of old Shabwa after their city was destroyed.
Later the town grew to boast the most important market in the region, and served for cen-
