How it began
Shibam stands on a rocky spur at the edge of Wadi Hadramawt in Yemen, at a caravan halt on the spice and incense route. The settlement dates to before Islam and became the capital of Hadramawt after the older capital, Shabwa, was destroyed around 300 CE. The Friday mosque dates largely from the 9th to 10th century and the castle from the 13th.
The walled city seen today is mainly of the 16th century. It replaced an earlier settlement that was partly destroyed by a great flood in 1532 to 1533. Building tall within a tight wall answered the need for refuge among rival families and also displayed their standing.
How it works
The houses are towers of sun-dried mud brick, rising up to seven stories, set on a rectangular grid of streets and squares inside a fortified wall. The bricks were made from the soil around the city, mixed with hay and water and left to dry in the sun. Ground floors have almost no windows and were used for livestock and grain. The upper floors held living and social rooms, and bridges and doors between neighboring towers gave a way of escape.
The city depends on its floodplain. Seasonal floods water the fields and lay down fresh mud, which supplies the building material. Mud brick erodes in wind and rain, so the towers need constant upkeep.
What lasted
UNESCO calls Shibam one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on multistory construction, and the most accomplished example of traditional Hadrami urban architecture. It reflects the period from the 16th to the 19th century when local traders gained wealth and standing abroad. In the late 19th century, merchants returning from Asia renewed the walled city. The traveler Freya Stark called it the Manhattan of the desert in the 1930s.
Where it stands today
Shibam is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is still lived in. Its main threat is flooding, as in October 2008, when a cyclone damaged buildings. Abandonment of the old flood management system, modern water supply without adequate drainage, and concrete construction nearby also put the mud structures at risk. In 2015 the city was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the war in Yemen.
