Ma'rib Things to Do

Set on a hill outside the present town, the old town of Marib is a crumbling wreck, but is worth a look.
It is said to date from the first millennium BC.
The old town of Marib was mostly destroyed in the civil war in the 1960’s.

Believed to have been built in 8000BC, this is supposed to be a more important temple than the Throne of Bilqis/Moon temple and was dedicated to the Sun god.
It is desperately in need of excavation and restoration and it is surrounded by a wire fence which you cannot go through.
At present it contains a high wall, a row of 12 metre high columns and some stone plinths and pieces containing Southern Arabian inscriptions.
There are also a lot of loose stones and crumbling bits of the site lying around outside the fence.

The Throne of Bilquis (Sheba) is also known as the temple of the Moon as it was dedicated to the Moon God Almaqah.
Thought to have been built around 2000 BC, this temple has five and a half pillars set high up on steps. There is a sacred wall with a row of seats along the edge as well as a plinth where a holy oxen statue used to be.
The sign outside states it is called “Baran Temple”.
You can go in and walk around this one quite freely and I was the only tourist there at the time of my visit - along with my police guides.

Marib Dam was built around the 8th century BC across Wadi Adhana to hold and divert the flood water which fell during the rainy season for use in agriculture.
The old dam allowed the area to prosper from cultivation, as it was built at the bottom of the surrounding valleys to gain the most water collection.
It was made from massive stone blocks held together with lead and iron and held 150000 cubic metres of water, was about 700 metres long and 35 metres high.
Marib Dam broke and was repaired a few times but was finally abandoned around AD570.

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This temple, lying on a side road, was dedicated to the sun god (dating from 800 BC). Unfortunately the area is fenced, police escort is prerequisite, so you can only take some photos of the row of 8 high columns. There is an elderly guard (???) keeping the keys of the area and he can point you to see were some ruins with inscriptions on them (see additional photo).
Certainly more excavation is needed.

In Marib surroundings tradition is mantained.
In some places, you can visit these mills moved by camels, as it was done years ago. As the camel move , the stones mill grain in order to obtain flour or oil.

Marib is the starting point on the route across the desert to Seyyun and Hadramawt.
It´s the last "civilized" area untill you reach Seyyun and Hadramawt´s vities. In your way, you may only find beduin camps sparsed in some dry "wadis".
Before starting the route, you should hire a beduin guide, in order beduin people allow you to cross the desert.

The old Marib city was builded over the ruins of a Sabean fortress. It had a wall around the city with only three gates. The city was nearly razed during Civil war in the sixties, as it was allied to the old king of Yemen and suffered bombing.
Now, you can visit the ruins of Soleiman mosque and the old house of the Iman, near the entrance of the city.
Inside the city, you will find all the mud houses collapsed. Nearly all the city has been abandoned, and now only live few families who offer they old houses as viewpoints.