Urbanitarian

Old Walled City of Shibam

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In Shibam, Yemen

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The Old Walled City of Shibam, located in Hadramaut, Yemen, is a historic fortified city known for its towers made of mud bricks, earning it the nickname "Manhattan of the Desert" due to its elevated skyline of mud skyscrapers.
The city's vertical construction dates back to the 16th century, with some key buildings originating in the 9th century, making it an important example of traditional Hadrami architecture.

The city was fortified to protect its residents from attackers, surrounded by a boundary wall and featuring two city gates and a watchtower.
The towers are arranged in a grid layout, with narrow roads ranging from 3.5 to 5 meters wide, designed for defensive purposes. The streetscape at ground level is uniform, as most ground floors consist of windowless storage rooms.

The towers vary in height from 5 to 8 storeys, with an average of 6 storeys, each covering a plot of approximately 90 square meters.
The towers follow a vertical zoning system:
Ground floors were used for storage, often windowless for security.
The first and second floors housed livestock.
The upper floors, starting from the third, contained living spaces, areas for women, children's areas, kitchens, and toilets.
Bridges between towers connected higher floors, creating "streets" in this vertical city and serving as escape routes during attacks.

The towers are trapezoidal, with walls thick at the base and tapering toward the upper floors, making them structurally stable.
The buildings are constructed from mud bricks made from local soil, with walls rendered in mud plaster, which requires regular re-plastering due to wind erosion.
Windows are abundant on the higher floors, made from local wood and adorned with ornamental cutouts to promote natural cooling.

The city layout includes four major public squares, typically located near mosques, and smaller plazas amid the residential towers.
The open terraces at the tops of towers also functioned as communal spaces, providing areas for social interaction.

The city also features siqayah—public water fountains, built by philanthropists to provide water to travelers, a unique feature of the urban landscape.

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