Haid al-Jazil

Haid al-Jazil sits on top of a rock spur standing out from the wall of Wadi Dawan, a cluster of mud-brick houses built right to the edges of the pillar so that the walls continue the line of the rock, and from the valley floor the whole thing reads as a single structure growing out of the cliff. Much of the village has been abandoned and parts have collapsed, which is what happens to mud brick that stops being maintained.

What you actually see

• The rock pillar - the spur the village is built on top of.
• The continuous line - walls carrying on from the rock face without a break.
• The abandonment - the parts that have collapsed since people left.
• The wadi floor - the palm gardens below the village.

When to go

October to March is the cool season. Summer heat is severe. The best views are from the valley floor in morning or evening light.

Honest expectations

Much of the village is abandoned and structurally unsafe; it is looked at rather than entered. Mud brick collapses without maintenance and the site is deteriorating. Access to mainland Yemen requires arrangements made well in advance.

Nearby

Wadi Dawan runs around it, and Seiyun is northeast.