Manhattan of the desert. The tall cluster of sun-dried mud brick tower houses of the 16th century walled city of Shibam, which rises out of the cliff edge of Wadi Hadramaut has been described as a ‘Manhattan’ of the desert. Located at an important caravan halt on the spice and incense route across the Southern Arabian plateau, the city of dwellings up to seven storeys high developed on a fortified, rectangular grid plan of streets and squares. The city is built on a rocky spur several hundred metres above the wadi bed. The Friday mosque dates largely from the 9th -10th century and the castle from the 13th century. The dense layout of Shibam surrounded by contiguous tower houses within the outer walls expressed an urban response to the need for refuge and protection by rival families, as well as their economic and political prestige. As such the old walled city of Shibam and its setting in Wadi Hadramaut constitute an outstanding example of human settlement, land use and city planning. The domestic architecture of Shibam including its visual impact rising out of the flood plain of the wadi, functional design, materials and construction techniques is an outstanding but extremely vulnerable expression of Arab and Muslim traditional culture. Within the city wall, all the physical elements, features and urban fabric that form the significance of the property are present largely undamaged and mostly in good condition. Also, the oasis, its functioning and relationship with the city is still intact, and deserves protection. The social, functional and visual integrity are still valid even though visual and structural integrity are indirectly threatened by new constructions and concrete structures in the surrounding environment.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 15:38:28 +0000
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