DHAR AL HAJJAR

Dhar Al (, the palace of the Rock, the most famous monument of Yemen, is 15 km north of the town of Sana'a. It was built around 1930 by order of the Imam Yéhia who made it one of his summer residences. The imam was very jealous and as soon as one of his servants exceeded the age of 15, he was immediately returned. The-storey palace sits atop a rock overlooking the bottom of the wadi. The renovated interior (all walls are limed) includes rooms and mafraj of all sizes, secret passages, garde, a attic allowing for three months autonomy, a deep well of 130 m…

There are double qamareyas and stained glass windows with contrasting colours two to two, reflecting a third colour on the white walls of each room. The terraces offer a magnificent view of the orchards and qat of the wadi. The well in the palace feeds a small pond with a fountain, facing the large mafraj which is separated from the main building. This concept of a separate house of the house was introduced by the Ottomans in the th century.

Next to the palace is a small boutique of silver jewelry and traditional objects. Not far from the mosque is still a hammam in perfect condition. The village of the Wadi is charming, surrounded by old trees. The trail that crosses the hamlet leads to an interesting point of view on the back of the palace. A half-hour walk leads to the village of Al Gabel, which presents a beautiful sanaani architecture. There is an astonishing round nobla, with a square mafraj. There is a splendid panorama from the cliff overlooking the entire Wadi. On Friday morning, this cliff is the place where Yéménites De celebrate marriages: preceded by a group of doshan, arc battant drums, the groom and his male guests go into procession to dance the bara and make pétarader kalashnikovs and revolvers.