Shibam
Shibam
شِبَام (Arabic) | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Old Walled City of Shibam | |
Aerial view of Shibam Roofs of the towers View of the city and its walls City gate Buildings on a street inside the city | |
| Nicknames: | |
Map of the city | |
Shibam Location in Yemen Shibam Shibam (Middle East) | |
| Coordinates: 15°55′37″N 48°37′36″E / 15.92694°N 48.62667°E | |
| Country | Yemen |
| Governorate | Hadhramaut |
| District | Shibam |
| Population | |
• Total | 7,000 |
| Time zone | GMT+3 |
| 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, romanized: Shibām), 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. It is known for its mudbrick-made high-rise buildings, with some of the buildings reaching as high as 11 stories. The design centred around protecting 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 sometimes informally referred to as the "Manhattan of the Desert" (مَانْهَاتَن ٱلصَّحْرَاء) or "Chicago of the Desert" (شِيْكَاغو ٱلصَّحْرَاء).