Things to see and do Sub Arabic Kingdoms

It was discovered during excavations in 1991 and 1992 by the Italian mission led by Professor Alessandro de Maigret. The temple is almost square, displaying 12 m out of 11. It consists of twelve monoliths pillars and five naves. The oldest part of the th and th centuries BC.

14 meters high, measuring 766 m and contains 56 bastions. It was closed from two doors, one to the east and the other to the southern part of the wall. The inner surface is 7,25 hectares. The bottom part of this fortification is South Arabian times. It is constructed of long blocks of limestone, rendered, externally polished and piquetés in the centre. They are perfectly equipped without any mortar: they show solidarity with a system of dress and stiles which demonstrates the exceptional skill of the stone tailors and the masterpieces of the time.

Inscriptions (close to 300) are engraved on the outer face of the wall. The top of the wall, rebuilt in the Islamic period, is much less beautiful. The small mosque, tower and well, inside the site, are after the th century. The houses of this time are built with land and re-use.

It was used to calm the flow of waves during the rain seasons, and the water thus contained could irrigate the oases of the north and south, on a surface of nearly 10 000 hectares, by means of dispatchers, weirs and small dikes. We do not know the exact dating of the dam, but the downstream water capture and diversion systems show that, from the second millennium before our age, the South-Arab population approaches hydrology techniques. The south and north piers and their locks and overflows show to the visitor the perfection of the South Arabs in the art of capturing waters. The maintenance work of the dam required a large number of labour to remove sediment deposited in the bottom of the basin or to perform work on the building itself. It was in 542 that the last repair of the dam was carried out on the orders of the Ethiopian King Abraha, and then it was the final rupture, perhaps under catastrophic flood, or an earthquake, or more simply because of the lack of manpower.

The new dam, 2 km from the former, was completed in 1986. His funding was provided by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan of Abu Dhabi, whose ancestors lived near Marib. The book irrigates the fields and the citrus cultures around Marib, which settle the population. A long 760 m high, it can contain, the good years, 400 million m 3 of water. A memorial, to the right of the book, tells its story in sabéen and Arabic under the engraved faces of President Ali Abdallah Saleh and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan. Siroua, the first capital of the Sheba'a Kingdom, cannot be visited for security reasons.

Known today as Mahram Bilkis was first excavated by the American Foundation for the Study of Man, led by Wendell Phillips, in 1951 and 1952. This temple was dedicated to the astrales deities. A pronaos with eight columns gave on a building whose inner part was surrounded by 32 monoliths columns, forming gallery. It was decorated with 64 false windows and numerous votive plates. The building opened on an oval courtyard protected by an enclosure about 300 metres.

Inscriptions were engraved on the walls. There are inscriptions in boustrophédon (primitive writing) not far from the remaining pillars. More than statues, including the famous representation of Mon'dîkarib, have been discovered. The temple, for the moment dated the th century BC, gave rise to pilgrimages, with renewed oaths of subservient to Saba.

Also known as Arsh Bilkis (the throne of Bilkis), it is 4 km southeast of Marib. He was dedicated to the male god of the moon, Almaqah. It was studied and searched by the German Archaeological Mission from 1988 to 1997. The first temple was built in the th century BC, and then enlarged four times over the following centuries. Ba'rân was an active place of worship for at least thirteen centuries. The temple, where only religious lords came, had a dallée courtyard, surrounded by monoliths columns, at the centre of which a well was found. The entrance of the temple was done by a large staircase. The six monoliths columns, which are still visible, were placed in front of the door on a podium. At the beginning of our era, the temple was partially destroyed. The religious complex was surrounded by a wall of raw bricks that sheltered the alluvial.

Located on the edge of the desert, was the focal point of the caravans that came from the Hadramawt and the port of Qana. It is the political capital of the Saba Kingdom and its religious centre. The contemporary city covers a 25-metre height, consisting of the ruins of successive cities.

The fortifications and Palais Palace of the «moukarrib» dynasties, that is, «backbone sovereigns», were first mentioned in the 4 500 th century B.C. The last speaker had a circumference of m and was pierced by five doors. Inside the city was the dynastic palace and several temples. According to Burkhard Vogt, who heads the German Archaeological Mission, the city could have contained, at its peak, between 30 000 and 50 000 people. The current dwellings are in very bad condition, having suffered intense Egyptian bombing during the civil war (1962-1970). The city, which still had 800 inhabitants in 1950, is now practically abandoned.