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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Yemen

The village and citadel at Thula have their roots in the Himyarite kingdom. Source: fotoember/ Adobe Stock

Himyarite Kingdom: The Forgotten Empire (Video)

The Himyarite Kingdom , spanning from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD, stands as a testament to Yemen's rich history beyond contemporary turmoil. Situated strategically along the Maritime...
Dar al Hajar rock palace, Yemen. Source: fotoember / Adobe Stock.

Inside Yemen's Hand-Carved Rock Palace (Video)

Nestled a mere ten miles from Yemen's capital, Dar al-Hajar, the Imam’s Rock Palace, stands as an exceptional achievement, carved into the very rock it rests upon. Crafted during the 1930s by Imam...
The village and citadel at Thula have their roots in the Himyarite kingdom.		Source: fotoember/ Adobe Stock

The Himyarite Kingdom’s Bloody Conversion to Judaism: Passion or Ploy?

The Himyarite Kingdom was established in 110 BC and lasted until 570 AC. It is most often remembered these days as the “Jewish Kingdom”, thanks to the fact that for some time its predominant religion...
A view of Shibam’s mudbrick skyscrapers for which Yemen’s ancient mudbrick structures have earned the moniker “the Manhattans of the Desert.” Source: Jialiang Gao / CC BY-SA 3.0

Ancient Skyscrapers: The Mudbrick Towerblocks of Yemen

Skyscrapers are a common sight in today’s cities. These modern structures trace their history to the late 19th century. Nevertheless, skyscrapers have precedents in earlier times, one of which being...
An Omani Caves Exploration Team member about to descend to the bottom of Yemen’s legendary Well of Hell.			Source: Screenshot / OCET Oman

Omani Cavers Brave Descent into Yemen’s Famous “Well of Hell”

Popularly known as the Well of Hell, the Well of Barhout is a 98-foot (30-meter) wide and 367-foot (112-meter) deep sinkhole located in Yemen’s Al-Mahara province in the east of the country. The...
How Two Jewish Rabbis Respected and Protected the Ka'bah of Islam

How Two Jewish Rabbis Respected and Protected the Ka'bah of Islam

Before I can explain Ibn Kathir’s account of the two rabbi who protected the Ka’bah, I have to relate something about the Jews in Arabia in the five centuries before the birth of Prophet Muhammad. In...
Student looks at millennia old mummy at Sanna University Mudeum, Yemen.

Civil War in Yemen Threatens Millennia-Old Mummies and Other Cultural Treasures

It is estimated that the civil war in Yemen has caused the death of thousands of people and has pushed millions to the brink of famine during the past two years. Now it’s starting to damage the...
The ruins of the Ma’rib Dam.

The Ma’rib Dam: An Engineering Wonder of the Ancient World… Torn Apart by Rats?

The Ma’rib Dam is an engineering marvel of the ancient world that is located in central Yemen. This dam is easily one of the finest examples of masonry architecture in the Arabian Peninsula. Local...
Dragon's Blood Trees, Socotra Island, Yemen

The Lost World of Socotra: The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth

The landscape of the remote island of Socotra looks so foreign that it could almost pass as an alien planet. Its native flora is so rare and unique that the island looks like something out of a...
How to Prevent an Invasion? Build a Bridge! The Shaharah Bridge in Yemen, a Bridge of Sighs

How to Prevent an Invasion? Build a Bridge! The Shaharah Bridge in Yemen, a Bridge of Sighs

The Shaharah Bridge was built in the 17th century in Yemen and though it may just look like a regular bridge at first, it has interesting stories connected to it. The structure was designed to fall...
A photo showing some stelae found with Arabic inscriptions.

Archaeologists Discover that Earliest Known Arabic Writing Was Penned by a Christian

The oldest known Arabic writing found in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 AD belong to a Christian context and predates the advent of Islam with 150 years. In December 2015, researchers from a French-Saudi...
Google Image of some of the “wheel” geoglyphs found in the Azraq Oasis of Jordan.

Some Giant Geoglyphs in Jordan are Older than the World Famous Nazca Lines

Despite the difficulty in discerning the finished product of the giant designs from earth, archaeologists have recently announced that at least some of the great “works of old men” (as the Bedouin...