Zabid
Yemen · Tihama · 100 m
Description
Zabid lies on the hot Tihama coastal plain and was the capital of Yemen for centuries and one of the great centres of Islamic learning, where the University of Zabid taught law and where algebra was refined. It holds a UNESCO World Heritage listing for a domestic architecture found nowhere else, brick houses whose plain outer walls hide facades of intricate carved and moulded brickwork facing the courtyards. Eighty six mosques survive in a town of modest size. The heat here is the fiercest in the country. The finest brickwork faces inward, so the town gives up little from the street.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 2 days (optimal 1 day)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – February
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Historic town of Zabid (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Carved and moulded brick courtyard facades
- Great Mosque and the Asha'ir mosque
- University of Zabid and the manuscript tradition
- Zabid citadel
- Tihama market and the plain villages
- Round thatched Tihama huts
- Red Sea coast west of the town