Kawkaban Travel Guide

 flynboxes Says:  Here's the drill. Any guide you hire will take you up to the town/mesa. You walk around and take your photos but don't buy anything from the local yo yo's selling trinkets since you can get it cheaper in Sanaa anyway. When you are done clicking the camera and shooting the... 

 hydronetta Says:  Unfortunately despite its dramatic setting, Kawkaban is depressively abandoned and ruined. After a lovely ride over the cliffs of the mountain with excellent views, by the time you approach the village your first impressions are great. The exterior wall follows the steep... 

 hydronetta Says:  An interesting sight in Kawkaban, is the ancient cisterns (I saw at least two) where in older times were used to keep water in town. Both of them were build by the edge of the mountain (!!) and there was staircase to their bottom. 

 Mcclovis Says:  Several Yemeni men chew qat while looking down the cliffs of Kawkaban. This naturally gives them a double high. The vehicle in the picture is less than a metre away from the edge while the men have their legs hanging over it. But that is no problem because as long as they... 

 Nansen Says:  Don´t be confuse about the name of this town: In Yemen there are four towns with this name, one of them is the famous Shibam in Hadramawt region. This one is called northern Shibam or Shibam-Kawkaban. The name of the city is mentioned in documents from the II century .... 

 Nansen Says:  The old path between both cities is still used by lots of people. The walk is short and from there you will have excellent views. The path is well-manatined and not difficult, so all people can do that. It akes 45 minutes to do that (from Kawkaban to Shibam). You will have... 

 Nansen Says:  You can visit the all the town in a brief walk, because it ´s not a big town. The most interesting thing to visit in the city is the viewpoint near the cliffs, where there´s also a waterpool. From there you can see Shibam and Thula, down the valley. 

 hydronetta Says:  All three villages (Thulla, Shibam, Kawkaban) offer accommodation. Nevertheless as most of them are funduqs (matresses on floor) I would recommend you to drive a bit further on and stay in Al Mahwit town.Al Mahweet Hotel represents a good value. The rooms are well... 

 K1W1 Says:  This place has to be seen to be believed. My room is a typical Arabic reception room, with cushions along the walls and a small table in the middle. The views are incredible as the town is perched atop a clifftop and overlooks the valley which includes several towns.The... 

 janiebaxter Says:  We stopped here for lunch which was excellent with really nice quality food – chicken, lovely rice, potatoes and a welcome change from bananas in the form of a “bint” (daughter) cake made with honey, which most of our party had 2 helpings of. The staff here were really... 

 hydronetta Says:  This funduq (located in Shibam and not Kawkaban), is certainly popular among groups, as everybody we had met, ended up here to have lunch. The entrance to it caused me a lump in my throat, but the dining room was spacious, nicely painted with large windows and quite well... 

 hydronetta Says:  48kms northwest of Sana'a, at the foot of Jebel Kawkaban, 2300m above sea level, Shibam village (not to be confused with famous Shibam in Hadramawt) is another stop in the village circuit around Sana'a. Despite its historical significance (dates back to 2nd century AD) , the... 

 hydronetta Says:  Thula lying more than 15kms from Kawkaban, was certainly the architectural highlight of the villages (Shibam-Kawkaban) around Sana'a. Its high-rise stone houses match perfectly with the mountain behind it (see additional photo). You can enter the village by car through the...