Sanaa: The old fortified city with the architectural “diamonds” inhabited for more than 2,500 years

In recent years, several of its buildings have suffered enormous disasters, due to the violent conflicts between the government and Iran-backed Huthi rebels, while the country has recently been in Israel’s sight. However, the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, which is the largest city in the country, with a population exceeding 3,400.00 inhabitants, hides architectural “diamonds”. CORVERSE The old fortified city of Sanaa has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and includes rare architectural wealth. In fact, the old city has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations as early as 1986 and was the cultural capital of Asia for 2004. At times, great efforts are made to preserve some of its oldest buildings, some of which are over 400 years old. CORVERSE The old town is surrounded by ancient walls 6-9 meters tall, and has over 100 mosques, 12 hammams as well as 6,500 houses. Several of the houses resemble ancient skyscrapers, reaching quite high and complemented with flat roofs, while they are decorated with elaborate decorations and intricate carved frames and stained windows. One of the most popular attractions of the city is the Salt Market (suq al-Milh), where visitors can buy besides salt, various spices, ceramics, silver, as well as antiques (replics or real). At the same time, the Great Mosque (Jami’ al-Kabir), which was built in the 7th century, also steals the impressions, becoming one of the oldest in the Muslim world. The Yemeni Gate (Bab al-Yemen) is a point of entry from the city walls and is over 700 years old. A commercial area of the old town is Al Madina, where development progresses rapidly. In addition to three major hotels, there are many shops and restaurants. The area also includes three parks as well as the Presidential Palace.