Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
have set off to seek their fortunes abroad, and those who have succeeded have often re-
turned to build sumptuous 'palaces' in and around the city.
Today it feels as if Tarim's day is done - a few more years and it will have melted back
into the desert dust from which it sprung.
Sights
Tarim is famous for the quantity and quality of its mud-brick 'palaces', many of which
were constructed by Yemenis returning to their homeland after making their fortunes in
the Far East.
Al-Kaf Palace
HISTORIC BUILDING
('Ish Shaa Palace; 417500)
As-Sayed Omar bin Sheikh al-Kaf built the Al-Kaf Palace, Tar-
im's most flamboyant, apparently using a book of different architectural styles as a tem-
plate, in a kind of 'pick-your-own' project! The result is an unlikely mishmash of styles -
art nouveau, art deco, baroque, Southeast Asian and Hadrami. Back in its day, it must
have been beautiful, but now it's a crumbling relic and a visit here is a little sad as you
think about the marvellous lifestyle that this building once represented.
Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library
HISTORIC BUILDING
( 41522; admission free)
Housed in the back of the Great Mosque (or Masjid al-Jami), Al-
Ahgaf Manuscript Library is the second-largest library in the country and contains over
5000 manuscripts, though most are hidden from prying eyes. Some of the more beauti-
fully illustrated manuscripts are on display in glass cabinets. All captions are in Arabic.
Al-Muhdar Mosque
MOSQUE
The large and dazzling-white Al-Muhdar Mosque, built in 1915, is the symbol of Tarim
and until the construction of the new Al-Saleh Mosque in Sanaʻa it boasted the tallest
minaret in Yemen; it soars nearly 40m into the air.
OF PETRIFIED CAMELS & TORTURED SOULS
Travel half a day east of Sayun, to the Wadi Masilah, and you will come across an extraordinary sight: a small
town of prim and proper houses set at the foot of a tomb. This is the tomb of the Prophet Hud, and this is no or-
dinary town. The great-great-grandson of Noah, Hud was a giant of a man, the size of a palm tree according to
some. He was sent by God to make the 'Adites - the race of giants who were the original inhabitants of Had-
ramawt - change their immoral and lax ways. This wasn't well received by the 'Adites. They chased Hud and his
