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Shibam of Yemen |
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World's First Skyscrapers?Democracy in Yemen did not stop, instead it is in a continuous development. - Ali A Saleh
These were mostly built between the early 14th to the 17th centuries Near the Empty Quarter Desert, between the rocky folds of the mountains, Wadi (valley) Hadramout stretches into the surrounding cliffs. Here, one finds a beautiful portrait, the lines of which were shaped by the artistic hands of ancient Yemenis. Along the length of the Wadi, situated on a plateau in the centre, the city of Shibam rises up, solid and eternal - the first skyscrapers in the world to be made of mud and clay. The clay-formed houses of Shibam are 30 - 40 metres tall, each having between 5 and 16 floors. The ground floors have a wall thickness of up to 2 metres to support the weight of the floors above. The higher floors are usually painted with thick layers of white alabster, while the windows are framed with wood artistically engraved with geometrical designs. The windows are designed to allow air currents entry even when shut. Beneath the rooftops are small windows with shutters that can be opened or closed according to the weather such that the temperature inside the buildings remains fairly constant year-round. Shibam has a surrounding wall seven metres high with one entrance gate. The internal streets are narrow and curved and made for pedestrians. Source: www.yemeninfo.gov.ye
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