In this Daily Beast piece, photojournalist and travel author, Barry Pell, pens about one of his favorite places to visit – Yemen.
Yemen is one of the world’s oldest centers of civilization, and Pell worries that the recent violence there threatens some of the worlds most important and vital archeological treasures.
“Throughout my travels around Yemen, I often gasped in amazement encountering sights that pulled me into medieval times. In Yemen’s far eastern Hadhramaut Valley is the oasis town of Shibam. Inhabited for more than 1,700 years, the town contains a tight collection of some 500 skyscrapers soaring up from the desert sand and surrounded by a protective earthen wall. It is deservedly called the Manhattan of the Desert.”
Pell continues, “Sadly, the fighting between Yemen’s government and rebels means that these and other unique places in the country are now off-limits to all but the most intrepid travelers. Even more disheartening, historic zones that were previously protected have now been targeted.”
