To Shibam , in the heart of Wadi Hadramaut , in Yemen , there are the first skyscrapers in history .
Very tall buildings made with mud that stand out in the middle of the desert.
This urban complex is often referred to as the " Manhattan of the desert ", And one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction (some buildings even reach 30 meters ).
It was once one of the stops along the incense and spice caravan routes that crossed the Arabian plain. Perched on a spur of rock and surrounded by canyons carved by rivers, its elevated position has spared it from flooding over the centuries.
The city was built on a rectangular platform, protected by defensive walls that they managed to save the inhabitants from the invasions and attacks of the rival tribes and the Bedouins.
The buildings made with mud are about 500, a real forest, and are up to nine floors high. Real skyscrapers for the time. Mud and water were shaped to form bricks that were left to dry in the sun for days .
The ground floor of the buildings had no windows. It was used to store goods.
The upper floors were the residential ones and were equipped with openings. Each floor usually had only one large room. Some bridges connected the buildings to each other and were used for possible escapes.
These tall structures were often affected by winds, rains and erosion. The last calamity dates back to 2008, when a tropical cyclone hit Shibam, damaging numerous buildings.
In 1982, Shibam was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
