Seiyun

Seiyun sits in the middle of the Wadi Hadhramaut and is dominated by the palace the Kathiri sultans built there, an enormous whitewashed mud-brick block of several storeys with towers at the corners, standing above the palm gardens on a rise in the middle of the town. It has served as a museum. Seiyun is the practical centre of the Hadhramaut and the base for Shibam, Tarim and the wadis.

Background

Seiyun sits midway along the Hadhramaut Valley. Shibam is 12 kilometres away and Tarim 35 kilometres, while Mukalla is about 360 kilometres off by the western route. The city had 135,000 residents in 2015. Villages around it include Madurah, Burr, Hazkir and Houta Sultana, and it has its own airport. Its palace, built for the Kathiri sultan in the 1920s from mud and stone, looks over the marketplace used by traders from outside. Seiyun is first mentioned at the start of the 4th century. Summer temperatures range from 26 to 42 °C and winter ones from 6 to 28 °C.

Source: Wikipedia, "Seiyun"

What you'll find

• The Kathiri palace - the vast whitewashed mud-brick block above the town.
• The palm gardens - the cultivation filling the wadi floor around the city.
• The wadi setting - the valley the Hadhramaut towns are strung along.
• The base position - the centre for reaching Shibam, Tarim and the side valleys.

When to go

October to March is the cool season. Summer in the wadi is extremely hot. The palace museum's status has varied.

Things to know

The palace museum's opening has been uncertain and should not be assumed. Facilities are basic. Access to mainland Yemen requires arrangements made well in advance.

Nearby

Shibam is west, and Tarim is east.

Key facts