Shibam, Ancient mud-brick city in Hadhramaut, Yemen
Shibam is a mud-brick city in the Hadhramaut desert region containing over 500 tower buildings that rise up to eleven stories. All structures are built from sun-dried mud bricks packed densely together, creating a vertical urban form that resembles a forest of plain towers.
After devastating floods in 1532, the town was rebuilt with the vertical tower layout that characterizes it today. This reconstruction responded to the inhabitants' needs and shaped the city's form for centuries to come.
The towers follow traditional Islamic design with fortified ground levels and decorated windows higher up, where families lived separated from street activity. This arrangement shows how daily life was organized vertically, with each level serving different purposes for the household.
The buildings need regular upkeep, with workers applying fresh mud coating to exterior walls to shield them from weather damage. Visiting is best planned for cooler months, as desert heat can be intense and the narrow streets offer little shade.
The dense clustering of multi-story mud buildings emerged from the residents' need to defend against desert raiders by building vertically rather than spreading outward. This defensive urban design created a tight pattern that has endured for centuries and stands today as an unusual record of that practical necessity.
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