Thula

Thula is built of dressed pale stone below a mountain crowned by a fortress, and the town is unusually intact: the houses are stone rather than the mud brick of the lowlands, several storeys with decorated windows, on paved lanes with cisterns cut into the rock. A path climbs to the fortress above. It has been on Yemen's tentative list for World Heritage nomination for many years without being inscribed.

Background

Thula, also written Thila, lies in 'Amran Governorate in west-central Yemen. The town goes back to Himyarite times, from 110 BCE to the 6th century CE, and keeps its traditional houses and mosques. Excavation found Sabaean ruins beneath the Himyarite layers, with massive stone architecture. It is among five Yemeni towns on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List, to which it was added on July 8, 2002, under the Cultural category. Restoration from 2004 to 2011 brought back the Bab al Mayah gate and the traditional cistern, along with paths, several watch towers and sections of the Sabaean fort.

Source: Wikipedia, "Thula"

The main sights

• The stone houses - several storeys of dressed pale stone with decorated windows.
• The fortress above - the citadel on the mountain crowning the town.
• The rock cisterns - the water storage cut into the stone.
• The intact fabric - a town largely unaltered in its building.

When to go

October to April is the cool season at this altitude. Summer is hot but the highlands are milder than the coast. Nights are cold in winter.

Good to know

The climb to the fortress is steep and the path is rough. Access to mainland Yemen requires arrangements made well in advance. Facilities in the town are minimal.

Nearby

Kawkaban is south, and Sana'a is southeast.

Key facts