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Shibam Kawkaban

Shibam Kawkaban
شبام كَوْكَبَان
Town
Shibam Kawkaban is located in Yemen
Shibam Kawkaban
Shibam Kawkaban
Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 15°30′N 43°54′E / 15.500°N 43.900°E / 15.500; 43.900
Country Yemen
GovernorateAl Mahwit Governorate
Time zoneUTC+3 (Yemen Standard Time)

Shibam Kawkaban (Arabic: شبام كَوْكَبَان, romanized: Shibām Kawkabān)[note 1] is a double town[4] in Shibam Kawkaban District, Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen,[6] located 38 km[1] west-northwest[4] of Sanaa, the national capital.[1] It consists of two distinct adjoining towns, Shibam (Arabic: شبام, romanized: Shibām) and Kawkaban (Arabic: كَوْكَبَان, romanized: Kawkabān).[6] Shibam is sometimes also called "Shibam Kawkaban" in order to distinguish it from other towns called Shibam.[1]

Shibam is a market town at the edge of a large agricultural plain;[4] above it is the fortress-town of Kawkaban, at the summit of the cliffs to the southwest.[6] Kawkaban, which means "two planets" in Arabic, is a sizeable town in its own right,[6] and is known for its lavish tower-houses.[4] Because of the fertile surrounding farmland, the defensive strength of the Kawkaban fortress, and the city's closeness to Sanaa, Shibam Kawkaban has been strategically important throughout Yemen's history.[2]

It contains a fortified citadel about 2,931 m (9,616 ft) above sea level.[7] It is built upon a precipitous hilltop, walled from the north and fortified naturally from the other directions. It was the capital of the Yuʿfirid dynasty (847-997), and was also home to a Jewish community until its demise in the mid-20th century. The city affords good views of the surrounding countryside.

The city features several old mosques: al Madrasa, al Mansoor, al Sharefa and Harabat. The old market is in the middle of the city. Old rainwater reservoirs can also be seen in the fortified town, named Meseda, Alasdad, and Sedalhamam.

  1. ^ a b c d Eagle, A.B.D.R. (1990). Ghayat al-amani and the life and times of al-Hadi Yahya b. al-Husayn: an introduction, newly edited text and translation with detailed annotation. Durham University. pp. 158–9. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Robin 1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Costa, Paolo; Vicario, Ennio (1977). Arabia Felix: A Land of Builders. Rizzoli International Publications. pp. 36, 171. ISBN 9780847800506. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Schmitz, Charles; Burrowes, Robert D. (2018). Historical Dictionary of Yemen (third ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 443. ISBN 9781538102336. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  5. ^ Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (1994). Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Liverpool University Press. pp. 81–3. ISBN 9780853238607. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Wilson, Robert T.O. (1989). Gazetteer of Historical North-West Yemen. Germany: Georg Olms AG. pp. 44, 198, 284. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. ^ Weather in Jabal Kawkabān Freemeteo. Retrieved on 11/08/2016.


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