The great gate
Red stone and high walls.
Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · yeowatzup — CC BY 2.0 · yeowatzup — CC BY 2.0
Kawkaban is a fortress town on top of tall cliffs, above the town of Shibam and a broad farming plain in Al Mahwit Governorate, west of Sanaa. Its name means two planets in Arabic. It is known for its lavish tower houses, its huge gate and its dramatic view, among the finest sights in the Yemeni mountains and among the closest to the capital, with the plain below looking like a coloured map. Kawkaban and Shibam below it form the double town of Shibam Kawkaban. The fertile farmland, the strength of the Kawkaban fortress and the closeness to Sanaa made the place strategically important throughout Yemen's history. People relied on the summit as a refuge in times of danger and on the plain for food and trade. You enter by a large gate between walls of red stone, then walk among tall stone houses and an old water cistern near the summit. At the edge the land opens suddenly on red rock cliffs, with Shibam and its fields clear below. The finest light comes at sunset, so stay until then if you can. It is about 37 km in a straight line from Old Sanaa and about 9 km from Thula. The edge is unfenced in many places, so take care. Bring a warm layer, as the air turns cold in the evening. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to the whole of Yemen and tells anyone there to leave, so check official guidance before making any plans.
Red stone and high walls.
Shibam and fields below.
Cut near the summit.
Above Shibam Kawkaban, Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen
No, the Shibam known for mud towers is in Hadhramaut, and this is another town of the same name.
Just before sunset, when the red cliff and the plain below light up.