The Old City of Sana'a

The Old City of Sana'a, set high on Yemen's central plateau, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and among the most visually astonishing, a UNESCO World Heritage site of unique beauty. Inhabited for more than two and a half thousand years, its dense warren of lanes is lined with thousands of remarkable tower-houses, some rising six or more storeys in warm brown brick, intricately decorated with dazzling white gypsum tracery around the windows like frosting on gingerbread. Punctuated by ancient mosques, minarets, hammams and the lively bustle of the Suq al-Milh market, the skyline of Sana'a is like nowhere else on earth.

What you actually see

• The tower-houses - the ancient brown-brick houses with white tracery.
• The skyline - the astonishing storey-upon-storey cityscape.
• Suq al-Milh - the lively ancient covered market.
• The mosques - the historic minarets and Great Mosque.

When to go

October to April brings the most pleasant weather to Sana'a's high plateau, mild by day and cool at night, ideal for wandering the lanes and market and admiring the tower-houses; the highland setting means the city is temperate year-round. The warm brick glows beautifully in early morning and late afternoon light.

Honest expectations

Sana'a's dense old city is a working, lived-in place best explored slowly and respectfully, ideally with local guidance, and its ancient tower-houses require ongoing care to preserve. As one of the oldest and most beautiful walled cities on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage skyline of gingerbread towers found nowhere else, though, the Old City of Sana'a is utterly extraordinary.

Nearby

The highland villages and the palace of Dar al-Hajar lie around the capital.