Shibam

Shibam is a walled town of about five hundred mud-brick tower houses rising up to eight storeys from a single platform on the floor of the Wadi Hadhramaut, and it has been called the oldest skyline in the world and the “Manhattan of the desert”. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The towers are built entirely of sun-dried brick, need replastering after heavy rain and stand shoulder to shoulder with no gaps, which is why the whole town reads as one block. The best view is from the escarpment across the wadi at sunset. The town is walked through in twenty minutes.