"Sana'a, pearl of Arabia." a Sanaa Travel Page by TheLongTone

Sana’a is the city of Yemen: there is not to be found in the Highlands of Yemen,nor in the Tihama nor the Hijaz a city greater or more populous nor with finer proportions, nor any nobler of origin’
Ibn Rustah, Kitab al-A’laq al nafisah, c.900 AD

The old city of Sana'a is truly astonishing. I was prepared for the beauty of individual buildings. What I was not expecting was the sheer extent of city which retains some sense of its ancient structure, and it is for this reason that Unesco made Sana'a a world heritage site in 1984. The ancient walled city occupies an area around one kilometre by one and a half. Within this area there are many thousands of tower houses (Dr Ronald Lewcock, consultant in conservation to UNESCO, and technical coordinator of theUNESCO international campaigns in Shibam and Sana’a from 1982 to 1990 puts the number variously at 8,000 and 14,000) as well as mosques, hammams, and caravanserais.

The tower house is a type pretty well unique to Yemen. Commonly of six or more storeys, built around a central spinal staircase, those of Saana are typically of stone constriction for the first fourfloors, with the remainder executed in baked brick. with highly ornamental windows.