For most people, Yemen is most famously known as the place where Chandler Bing’s company transferred him when he wanted to get away from Janice. However, that may soon not be the only pop culture reference to Yemen. The Yemenis being the ingenious people they are, have built a village that looks like a set straight out of a fantasy movie.
Of course, getting a pop culture reference wasn’t exactly the motivation behind building it. You see, Yemen is one of the harshest places to live in, unless you live on the plains in the west coast, that is. Most other parts of the country are high and dry hills. But not to be deterred by the unfavourable conditions, the locals put their genius to some good use and have built villages on top of these hills. Although the primary purpose of building the village this way is to ensure that whatever water they receive is harnessed, no one would deny that one of these villages, called Haid Al-Jazil, could have featured in any sci-fi thriller.
Source: Atterrir
Although the village looks like it was built for a fantasy movie, the village is situated where it is, because of the wadi, a temporary water source, nearby.
Source: Sergej Esnault
Source: NationalGeographic
Source: Tsikonaut
Yemen receives very little rainfall all year, and so there are no permanent rivers or lakes. Building a village next to a wadi ensures that the little water they receive does not go waste, even if that means living on top of a 492-feet boulder.
Good going, Yemen. We hope some Hollywood production house gets to see this place soon, because this totally looks like a fort or a palace a fantasy thriller could use.
