Shibam Arabic: شِبَام حَضْرَمَوْت, romanized: Shibām Ḥaḍramawt[2][3]
Town
Old Walled City of Shibam
The city with the Hadhramaut Mountains in the background
Nickname(s):  Manhattan of the Desert (مَانْهَاتَن ٱلصَّحْرَاء) Chicago of the Desert (شِيْكَاغو ٱلصَّحْرَاء)[2][4]
Shibam Location in Yemen Show map of Yemen Shibam Shibam (Middle East) Show map of Middle East
Coordinates: 15°55′37″N 48°37′36″E / 15.92694°N 48.62667°E / 15.92694; 48.62667
Country	Yemen
Governorate	Hadhramaut
District	Shibam[1]
Population
• Total	7,000
Time zone	GMT+3
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Old Walled City of Shibam
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv, vi
Designated	1982; endangered as of 2015
Reference no.	192
Region	Arab States

Shibam (Arabic: شِبَام حَضْرَمَوْت, romanized: Shibām Ḥaḍramawt),^[2][3] officially the Old Walled City of Shibam (Arabic: مدينة شبام القديمة وسورها), is a town in Wadi Hadhramaut in eastern Yemen with about 7,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Shibam District in the Hadhramaut Governorate.^[1] It is known for its mudbrick-made high-rise buildings, with some of the buildings reaching as high as 11 stories. The design was in order to protect the residents of the city from Bedouin attacks.

The city was founded around the 3rd century and became the capital of the Kingdom of Hadhramaut in 300 AD. Its strategic location along ancient trade routes contributed to its prosperity. Shibam has been continuously inhabited for an estimated 1,700 years. In 1982, Shibam was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique architecture and cultural significance. it is referred to as the "Manhattan of the Desert" (مَانْهَاتَن ٱلصَّحْرَاء) or "Chicago of the Desert" (شِيْكَاغو ٱلصَّحْرَاء).^[5][2][4]

The first known inscription about the city dates from the 3rd century CE.^[6]

The origins of the city of Shibam date back to the pre-Islamic period, when the city rose to prominence until it became the capital of the Kingdom of Hadhramaut in 300 AD, after the destruction of its previous capital, Shabwa, located in the far west of the Hadhramaut Valley.^[7]

In the 20th century, it was one of the three major cities of the Qu'aiti Sultanate, the others being Al-Mukalla and Ash-Shihr.^[8]

The city was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982.^[9][10]

The 2008 Yemen cyclone flooded Shibam causing some of the buildings to collapse.^[11]

During the Yemen Civil War, the city suffered some damage^[12] after insurgents detonated a car bomb.^[13] There was also coalition bombing in the area. In 2015, UNESCO listed the city, along with Old Sana'a, as "cultural heritage at risk".^[9]

External videos
Old Walled City of Shibam (UNESCO/NHK) (via UNESCO)

Shibam, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is known for its distinct architecture. The houses of Shibam are all made out of mudbrick, and about 500 of them are tower blocks, which rise 5 to 11 stories high,^[14] with each floor having one or two rooms.^[15] This architectural style was used in order to protect residents from Bedouin attacks.^[16] While Shibam has been in existence for an estimated 1,700 years, the present town dates to 1533.^[17] Many houses, though, have been rebuilt numerous times in the last few centuries.

Shibam is often called "the oldest skyscraper city in the world".^[6] It is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction.^[10] The city has some of the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them over 30 m (98 feet) high,^[18] thus being early high-rise apartment buildings. In order to protect the buildings from rain and erosion, the walls must be routinely maintained by applying fresh layers of mud. The city is surrounded by a fortified wall,^[10] giving it the name "the walled city of Shibam".

The mudbrick buildings are frequently threatened by wind, rain, and heat erosion, and require constant upkeep in order to maintain their structures. The city was heavily affected by flooding from a tropical storm in 2008.^[19] The foundations of many of the buildings in the city were compromised by the flood waters, eventually leading to their collapse.^[20] It was also the target of an Al Qaeda attack in 2009.^[21][22]

In 2015, Shibam was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in danger when violent civil war erupted in Yemen. Historic buildings were significantly damaged during heavy bombing in Sana'a, and remain at risk from armed conflict.^[23][24]

The town is located in the central-western area of Hadhramaut Governorate, in the desert of Ramlat al-Sab'atayn. Its main road links Sana'a and other cities of western Yemen to the far eastern territories. The nearest towns are Seiyun, seat of an airport, and Tarim, both in the east. Another road, departing from the village of Alajlanya, in the west, links Shibam to Mukalla, the governorate's capital on the Indian Ocean.^{[citation needed]}

Shibam has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh). At an average temperature of 28.0 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), June is the hottest month of the year. January is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging 18.6 °C (65.5 °F).

• 
  View of Shibam
• 
  City gate
• 
  View of some "skyscrapers"
• 
  Two buildings on a street inside the town
• 
  Detail of intricate wooden door
• 
  Interior of one of the buildings
• 
  Street view
• 
  Architecture pattern
• 
  Shibam buildings with balconies
• Video of several scenes of Shibam
• 
  View of Old Walled City of Shibam
• 
  View of Shibam

The Dubai Global Village, an open-air shopping and entertainment complex in the United Arab Emirates, includes a Yemeni pavilion with mud-brick structures intended to evoke the architecture of Shibam.^[26]

• Yemen
• Marib
• Middle East
• South Arabia

• Shibamonline.net
• Shibam at Archnet.org
• World Heritage Site
• Official website of the Al-Quaiti Royal Family of Hadhramaut
• Shibam at TravelAdventures.org
• Shibam, Yemen – Ciudad de Tierra at YouTube
• Shibam at YouTube
• اليمن ـ شبام حضرموت (in Arabic)
• Shibam / Shabwa