What makes the Yemeni skyscrapers so unique is that they are still in use, just as they were hundreds of years ago. In the Old Town of Sana'a, for example, while a few have been converted into hotels and cafes, the majority are still used as private residences. "As children, we would play soccer in the tight alleyways and as teens we would sip coffee under the bright stained glass," said Arwa Mokdad, peace advocate for Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation.
As I travelled around the country, marvelling at these skyscaper cities, I could not help but wonder why the Yemenis built these high-rises, considering the vast desert expanses of their country. Salma Samar Damluji, architect and author of The Architecture of Yemen and its Reconstruction told me that construction was, in fact, traditionally restricted to small sites, meaning buildings needed to be vertical. "Towns and cities had an outer wall, called Sur, and a further boundary from the desert," she said, explaining that not only were the wall and the surrounding desert a barrier to any urban development, but any agriculturally viable space was deemed too valuable to build on, so that building upwards, in tightly formed clusters, was the preferred option.
Tower houses continue to be built in Sanaa, often using modern materials; often they are built from concrete blocks with decorative "veneers" of brick and stone. These "neo-traditional" tower houses are found in newer districts as well as the old city.
Most new residences built in Sanaa, though, use newer styles of architecture. The most common are "new villas", which are low-rise houses with fenced yards; they are especially common in the southern and western parts of the city. The other main archetype is smaller, "Egyptian-style" houses, which are usually built with reinforced concrete. These are most commonly found in the northern and eastern parts of Sanaa.
From the article:
More from Wikipedia: