Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, and
historically known as South Arabia, is a country in Western Asia, on the
southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia to the
north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritrea,
Djibouti, and Somalia. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in
the peninsula, occupying 555,000 square kilometers (214,000 square miles). The
coastline stretches for about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles). Yemen's
constitutionally stated capital, and largest city, is the city of Sana'a. As
of 2021, the population of the country is estimated at 30,491,000.
Yemen is not only known for its religious
tourism in several places. This Middle Eastern country also has a unique
tourist spot for those of you who like anti-mainstream tourism.
The Dar al-Hajar is a former royal palace located
in Wadi Dhar about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) from Sana'a, Yemen. This stone
palace is very impressive because the buildings are made on a towering rock. Built
in the 1920s as the summer retreat of Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din, ruler of
Yemen from 1904 to 1948, it sits on top of a structure built in 1786 for the
scholar al-Imam Mansour. The palace stayed in the royal family until the
Yemen revolution of 1962. Imam Yahya was assassinated in 1948, but his
iconic palace still stands and it has become a popular example of Yemeni
architecture. While it is no longer used as a royal residence, the palace
has been refitted as a museum and can be toured for a fee. Visitors can
range about through the kitchens, storage rooms, and appointment rooms
connected by a small labyrinth of stairways leading through the five-story
structure.
But as impressive as it is to explore inside, it
is the view from the exterior that really makes the palace one of a kind. Combined
with the natural rock on which it is built, it truly looks like a monumental
work straight out of a fantasy novel. In addition to its unique
architecture, Dar al-Hajar also has several rooms, such as a guest room,
kitchen, to storage room and a large yard to relax. However, the
interesting thing about this five-story palace is the interior.
The entire interior of Dar al-Hajar is decorated
with natural stones which makes it very stunning like a palace in a fantasy
novel. In fact, it is so beautiful, Dar al-Hajar is immortalized as a
picture of Yemen's currency.
This historic site is also included in the
UNESCO World Heritage list. In 1974, Pier Paolo Pasolini used the palace
as the home of Princess Dunya in his film The Arabian Nights.
Sources
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dar_al-Hajar
https://kumparan.com/kumparantravel/dar-al-hajar-istana-batu-mewah-place-liburan-family-kerajaan-di-yaman-1tu5AbFWwib/full
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dar-alhajar
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