"Jiblah" Jiblah by janiebaxter

Jiblah is situated in the middle of two wadis, 74km north of Ta’iz.
It was the capital of the Sulayhid dynasty in the 11th and 12th centuries when Queen Arwa reigned from 1067 to 1168. She became queen after the death of her husband and moved the capital to Jiblah from Sana’a.

Queen Arwa Mosque Minaret

Under Queen Arwa, Jiblah became a prosperous trading town & centre of Islamic teaching.
Queen Arwa's family were from the Ismaili Shi’a faith which had always believed in educating women and as well as being very well educated she was a patron of artists, architects & writers.

Old Stone Buildings in Jiblah

Queen Arwa invested in many buildings and roads and made many improvements to Jiblah, adding to its importance and prosperity. Most building left today are around 300 years old and made of pinky grey stone with the average house being 5 floors high.

• In a nutshell:Made prosperous by a woman - deserves a visit!