Yemen

Socotra Island: A Miracle of Life and a Natural Poem in the Indian Ocean

Take you to Socotra Island, Yemen, for a 7-day trip on the third day

Tarim is a historic town situated in Wadi Hadhramaut in Yemen, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is widely acknowledged as the theological, juridical, and academic center of the Hadhramaut Valley. The palaces of Tarim are among the most intricate and technologically sophisticated mud-brick structures in the world. Their architectural style is an elaborate synthesis of southeast Asian, Neo-Classical, Rococo, and Hadhrami elements, reflecting the role of Tarim as a crossroads of trade between east and west. This historic city is also the theological and academic center of the wadi and features the Al-Awqaf library, a collection of 14,000 religious manuscripts. A 50-meter-high, unreinforced mud-brick minaret, the tallest on the Arabian peninsula, characterizes the city. Although the entire Yemeni territory of Wadi Hadhramaut was declared a World Heritage Site in 1982, preservationists have focused their attention primarily on the nearby walled city of Shibam, leaving the Tarimi palaces in various states of disrepair. The unification of Yemen in 1992 returned ownership of the palaces from the government to private individuals, and, while the majority of the buildings remain in use, many lay neglected by absentee owners. An umbrella organization for the preservation and management of the palaces is planned, as well as the establishment of a Center for Mudbrick Architecture. #heritage #nature #frozenintime #tarim