Who Built These Ancient Skyscrapers?

[@ThePresentPast_]

Sources: docs.google.com/document/d/1hv5gRqR69bT_VIELNz3bT_7L0XzJit9SppEo7Q-gpww/edit?usp=sharing

[@jamesbarry1673]

FYI you're cute by the way 😻

[@nishadgurung9319]

​@@jamesbarry1673 dawg what💀💀💀

[@faubourglincoln]

Interestingly enough, Shibam means Old New York.

[@EzekielBrockmann]

1298 and 1532 saw that "Anthropogenic Climate Change," doncha know?

[@michamcv.1846]

banned this channel like all youtubeshort movieripoffs musicnonsense and other pretemcious thumbnail videos. go were kamala lives but stay there ...

[@2curlicue4u]

Even more than the animations, I love the idea of hiring local film makers to shoot in their home countries. Great video

[@thecandlemaker1329]

They NEED that money in Yemen.

[@ingGS]

But they already shoot their home country. 😅

[@Gentleman...Driver]

I mean, its too dangerous to go there anyway.

[@_Hewman_]

do you love the way women are treated?

[@doubleT84]

You mean AI-generated Mohamed?

[@yuculptis]

Hey, I just want to say thank you for posting this video. My roots come from Shibam and Wadi Dou'an, and seeing content that talks about the Yemeni culture in a positive light always brings a smile.

[@rcristy]

God bless Yemen 🙏

[@asssadhadeeer]

hey i live their i'm from yemen

[@_Hewman_]

culture of enslaving women

[@mideastgirl8926]

i want to visit Yemen one day. love the ancient houses and the muslims are always very kind anyway.

[@geordiejones5618]

I don't know anything about you guys, but I know that you have family and ancestors that mean everything and that's enough for me. I can't stand how my country portrays the Middle East and poorer areas of the world. America will one day be some backwater wreck of some other empire. That's how it works and why you should never look down on other cultures, because one day their ancestors might be powerful and they could be your friend or enemy. Here's to a better future.

[@richardhall1667]

I just learned about Shibam and I am fascinated. It’s one of those things that makes you completely reconsider what you thought you knew about humanity, especially in the middle east. These people built a city of 70k people in 9 square blocks (3x the density of manhattan today) with 5 story buildings around 0-100AD with MUD BRICK. And it’s still there today. Just amazing. I hope things stabilize there soon; Yemenis should have a safe and stable life, and they should be able to proudly and openly share themselves and their culture with the world. 🇾🇪

[@dmo848]

We are all finally realizing we been lied to and played with for at least 150yrs. We are all waking up to these games they play. No more. We will all rise together and be as 1 as it should be. No more wars very soon. You watch. I have a feeling we will all come together and build

[@Srt3D01-db-01]

Coming from latin america this is also true: We always get the " europeans were SO advanced " but when they arrived to what is now Mexico they awe with their big cities and specially their sanitation facilities compared to lets say france's palace on what they basically pee everywhere like animals ( just look at any documentary) lol. Mesoamericans were highly advance. The "clasical" paleontologist was that these civilizations were not that advanced , because basically there are just a bunch of ruins.. Jump to the PRESENT DAY: Modern paleontologists are making HUGE discoveries using LIDAR maping the jungles and discovering not only more pyramids but even roads.. not paths: MASSIVE ROADS and interconected cities in between them. But guess what? Lazy old paleontologits believed just "europeans" were just the advance ones lol euro centrinc point of view. Still, thanks to utube for example we can see more besides the old conventional narratives

[@Gentleman...Driver]

@@Srt3D01-db-01 Europeans had clearly an technological advantage in certain parts. Like sailing, navigating, metallurgy, fireweapons, even complex architecture. That said, what appeared to them primitive, really wasnt. We are all humans and we have the same potential everywhere.

[@MarianLuca-rz5kk]

​@@Srt3D01-db-01 Yes, precolumbian mezoamericans were highly advanced, similar to Wakanda. They are free to revert to that high civilization.

[@amirrezajamadi4179]

Take a look at Yazd in Iran, I think you will like it.

[@shqip_sumejja]

Oman ends up with more spotlight than Yemen because of stability. Both countries are deserving of having their history known, not just the rich one

[@keymot1491]

Oman isn’t particularly “rich”

[@shqip_sumejja]

@keymot1491 I mean in comparison to Yemen

[@keymot1491]

@@shqip_sumejja when you have Saudi and UAE as neighbors, no one is rich

[@Darkest_matter]

@@keymot1491 haha true.. but a lot of saudi's aren't rich, but middle class. of course, there's also lots of extremely wealthy ones too.

[@estebancorral5151]

Both Oman and Yemen are well known For khat addiction. We now about you. It is not flattering. Also, nutmeg is toasted to concentrate myristicin, a hallucinogen and abortifacient.

[@DanielleAlek]

My favorite part of this video is this guy seeming genuinely baffled by the concept of stairs "But, without elevators, how do you get to higher floors?" "Uhh, with our legs? Is that not normal?" "Amazing."

[@Handle0108]

these people must have excellent leg and Calf muscles, after doing this for so long

[@sirunikunushik7735]

...and neighbors Which most of them are extended families use buckets with ropes to buy stuff from the first floor or give things from building to building. They don't really use the stairs that much.

[@8bitgamer85]

What about the elderly and disabled. How can they get up those stairs? Do they use a rope pulley system to lift them to the second or third floors?

[@DanielleAlek]

@@8bitgamer85 Usually in communities like that, family members and neighbors would help carry them. Believe it or not, some cultures don't actually just drop disabled people onto the side of the road and go "Sucks to suck" the way the US does.

[@amigowarmerise2743]

@@8bitgamer85 They never leave. Well, except once.

[@SF7PAKISTAN]

Something i found most interesting about this city is that the tall buildings did not destroy the community but instead the cramped spaces reinforced the communal connections that the people have. They have shared doorways, linked passages, they spend time with each other, take meals at each other's homes. This compared to modern skyscraping metropolises where one could die in the apartment next to you and people wouldn't know, you'd change neighbours and you wouldn't know and there seems to be no sense of community and people living together just individuals holed into their own fortresses

[@limitlessends]

I also found that social aspect very intriguing.

[@PoeticAmmunition.]

Islamically you have to look after your neighbour

[@williamharris8367]

Personally, I appreciate having minimal to no interaction with my neighbours. For me, social interaction is work; I do not need more of it during my non-working hours.

[@lloydjudd5137]

Is this the country where old men can marry little girls?

[@PeriferijaPeriferije]

I live in ex YU...we are "cramped" but come summer time..most stop..talk to each other even have coffee or BBQ....kids play in front...we all watch out for them esp. of they misbehave..I look after older ppl in the building because I drive so I can take them to ER need there be or during pandemic I'd buy groceries for them ...I like it..if there is a ruckus we all come out to see what's going on...if ppl go for vacation..we keep an eye on apartment..some even water flowers for each other.. I'd be afraid to live somewhere without neighbours... it's not perfect but I wouldn't like it any other way.

[@takeshih3909]

As an Architecture Department student it is really marvellous to know such an amazing ancient high story building that existed since ancient times ! reallly i got goosebumps to see this marvellous structures pls make some research about the building construction methods and techniques post in our textbooks

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

i love semitic people they are amazig, petra is my favorite pre-islam arab kingdom. yemen have many similar to shibam city.

[@abusaleh7798]

They make mud and put under the sun for some time and then a bird will come to walk over the mud bricks,if he walked perfectly then it's ready ,if he started puting his head down the mud then it's nedd more time

[@defeatSpace]

Engineering-scientist (engineer/physicist) here and same. This city is completely fascinating.

[@clivewarner2162]

It's classic adobe mud and straw style. The walls are feet thick; I needed to make an alcove in one room, to place a two-way VHF radio station. I just used a knife and small trowel to excavate it from the wall.

[@whyjnot420]

This really makes me think of Kowloon Walled City before it got torn down. (The title card didn't help matters any either)

[@Johnny-rj9on]

Definitely, but far less dystopian.

[@Darkest_matter]

but kowloon was a mess. this isn't.

[@kleuafflatus]

Hong konger here lol I was thinking if someone would make that comparison, and I'm not disappointed haha. To be fair, the walled city was a result of geopolitics, not engineering, so its messy-ness is a natural result of that. What I want to point out is that many cities in asia have much higher population density than Manhattan. I live in the suburb in hong kong and my government housing building, being the shortest in the neighborhood, houses around 10 families each floor and it has 35 floors. The city area has much higher density than that. Some sources say mong kok, the literal center of hong kong, has a population density of 130000 per square km. Macau, Manila and dhaka are all known for their density among others. In fact the deciding factors of whether a neighborhood can sustain that many people are not the buildings themselves, but on waste processing, drinking water and power grid, followed by general health care/hygiene and employment opportunity.

[@gdottothegamer1001]

There's a video about it right under this one 😂

[@whyjnot420]

@@Johnny-rj9on That is a good way of putting it.

[@Ggayy_667]

As a Yemeni, I really liked your content, especially this video. Although I lived for 19 years in a city that is only about 30 kilometers away from Shibam, all this time I thought I knew a lot about Shibam, but when I watched this video I discovered that I really didn’t know much about it. Thank you for showing Yemen in a more beautiful image despite all the fake propaganda it faces.

[@smallcube-zn2mm]

Yemenis are inventor of modern style urban design in some way

[@ShopeeMarketteam]

How are you alive and how do you have internet

[@m.b44]

​@ShopeeMarketteam They have internet but wars have ruined their lives. We wish them a happy life full of goodness and peace for the whole world.❤

[@pangolimazul6055]

I really want to visit Yemen one day, many amazing sites like this. I like that you collaborated with a local to make this and the interviews made the video more interesting. I hope Yemen can find peace.

[@tbird-z1r]

It will always be Islamic.

[@foxa7685]

Welcome to Yemen

[@MeliVenditti]

​@@foxa7685the most beautiful country I have ever seen ❤ I'm from Italy

[@foxa7685]

@@MeliVenditti thank you for saying that, you are welcome to come again Sir , would you mind telling me which part of Yemen did you visit?

[@MeliVenditti]

Sanaa , Hodeyda, Shibam … a very important Italian intellectual "Pasolini "​ said 50 years ago : "save Sanaa" and filmed the city , marvellous documentary ! I hope to come back in 🇾🇪 wishing the best for your country and your resistance ❤@@foxa7685

[@nexus-media.]

Yemeni here, I really like the video and appreciate the coverage of the beautiful sides of Yemen❤ I just want to tell give you a few points you can improve on, as i really appreciate this video. Whoever you hired to translate did a very inaccurate job. I understand the need to add information or context, but that you can do with your own voice, if there's distortion of the voice of the locals, just don't interview them. Also the orientalism with all the music and whatnot might appeal to non-MENA ppl, but it is very off-putting and kind of perverted. There's so much famous music from Yemen, especially Hadhramawt (Abu-Bakr Salam)

[@ThePresentPast_]

Hey, great you like the video and thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry to hear that the translations were not up to par. I asked two Iraqi friends and they said they were contextually correct. When it comes to music, I hear you. It's always a balancing act with music, I'm sorry to hear it was not suitable to you. People associate certain sounds with desert landscapes but when is it too much? I would have loved to used some music from Yemen but that is copyrighted and I unfortunately don't have Hans Zimmer under speed dial :)

[@abdughanibalhman5038]

@@ThePresentPast_الكثير من الموسيقى تستطيع اخذها بدون مقابل مالي ، يمكنك فقط ان تستأذن من المؤلف الموسيقي على سبيل المثال : محمد القحوم

[@YOKokob]

Lmao Abu bakr is the Tupac of Yemen, BTW all the problems in yemen are American influenced

[@noticiasinmundicias]

Agreed on the music bit, felt like playing Civ lol

[@Tiri_the_takehe]

@@ThePresentPast_ Could you improve the translation at least? I'd love to know what the interviewees are actually saying

[@Valkyri3Z]

Civilization is not about creating the next fascinating gadget or next attraction. It is about how you approach another human being and the world , you approach them with respect and love or not. Shibam is not only a city with massive architectural advancement it is also a tight knit community build to take of each other and the nature. West can learn so much from these people.

[@saywhatnow57]

The only woman in this video isn't allowed to show anyone her face. Yemen has one of the most oppressive cultures towards women of anywhere. I'm not sure the West has as much to to learn from these people, as they could stand to learn a few things about human rights from us.

[@NoCluYT]

@@saywhatnow57 the "us" you speak of are from the left. They pushed for that progress for women. The right tries to take credit for that just to look morally superior to "lesser races".

[@ibeetellingya5683]

I wish peace, safety, and good life to the citizens. Unity of people, not war.

[@muichirotokitotokito6819]

shibam is not the '' manhattan of the middle east'' manhattan is The Shibam of the west

[@sirunikunushik7735]

Yes, but sadly Islam burned the great civilizations to the ground like everywhere they invade.

[@slightlyopinionated8107]

@@sirunikunushik7735 and what did hinduism do exactly? more expacts decide to live in uae, qatar, malaysia and indonesia which are muslim nations than even considering taking india as a transit

[@sirunikunushik7735]

@@slightlyopinionated8107 I really don't know what you are talking about because my comment is deleted ...I don't know maybe the @muchiroto....or anyone else? Some people are losers by the nature.

[@slightlyopinionated8107]

@ I don’t remember what you said but considering what I replied with, it’s an indication that it was something regarding Islamic culture which is why I replied with speaking of Hindu culture and what has it done for India? Many Muslim nations are much better off than India. Even Malaysia and Indonesia which were previously Hindu countries, are much safer and doing economically better than India.

[@sirunikunushik7735]

@@slightlyopinionated8107 I'm a christian born and raised from middle east. i don't know a lot about indian believe/culture, but I do know a lot about islam and muslim culture. Since this video is about Yemen, most probably I must put a comment on Yemen the 7th century New York that islam burned this grate civilization to the ground and today we still see the result.

[@rogink]

I have to admit that at the start I thought I was seeing a CGI model of what the city used to look like - and perhaps it had been buried in the desert. As a 'know it all' I can't believe I was unaware of such an incredible city. KZbin has taken over from Wikipedia as my source of new knowledge :) To those of us in the wetter parts of Europe, the Arabian peninsula seems to be just one big desert at first sight - I understand Riyadh has to bring desalinated water all the way from the coast - so it's always a surprise to find there are pockets of water throughout Arabia, but not all year around. I'm still a little unsure of how each building works though. Today we'd assume that each level of a multi-storey building would have several flats. But it seems one family lives from floor to roof over several storeys, divided up for separate purposes.

[@wewenang5167]

Because Riyadh was literally built on a desert that was not settled by any city dwellers before in the Peninsular. Riyadh was one of a camping side for the Saud family clan. They were Bedouins unlike the Arabs in Makkah, Medina and Jeddah who are city dwellers and the Yemenite is also a city dwellers. This is the things about Arabs culture that not many people outside the peninsular knows. There are 2 type of Arabs, the city dwellers and the Bedouin. THEY ARE VERY DISTINCT ALTHOUGH THEY CAME FROM SAME ROOTS. Prophet Muhammad who were born in Makkah was a city dwellers and he was not a Bedouin and even he differentiate between his people and the Bedouin. He predicte dthat in the late hour of the wolrd the Arabian peninsular will be ruled by Bedouins KINGS. HE WAS RIGHT. THE SAUD ROYAL FAMILY and all the UAE and KHALEEJI royal family like in Bahrain and Qatar were all Bedouins Arab not Hadari or city dwellers Arab from the western coastline. The only Hijazi or City dwellers Arab king that exist today is the Jordanian King.

[@Ugaas3]

The Yemenis were always living in cities but I believe there are cities around the Arab peninsula which are under the desert.

[@rogink]

@@wewenang5167 Thanks. Actually I know a little bit about KSA as I had a Saudi student staying with me a few years ago. I think he said there were actually 4 groups - Sunni, Shia, Bedouin, and 'blacks' (I guess from African slaves). There are rules about which group can live where, where they can work, and who they can marry.

[@LudwigVaanArthans]

Ofc you didn't hear about Shivam, the Saudis want to conquer Yemen so any positive info about it is paid off or threatened to never come to the surface. Good thing some people still talk about the things that are good, not just the bad they want to show you

[@GOODdeels]

​@wewenang5167 Al-Saud weren't bedouin. At all. They're descendant of Banu Hanifa, a settled clan that inhabited Hajr, the capital of Al-Yamamah (Modern day Riyadh) for at least 1700 years.

[@Soturi92]

The architecture in Yemen is so beautiful and a city builder’s DREAM. Well, city builders like me. It is uniform yet not imposing. It has individuality yet is blended. It is incorporated WITH the environment to sustain simple infrastructure.

[@MacAnters]

You just worded my philosophy when it comes to Minecraft, where I never had words for it before. Thanks mate 👍

[@bradhafichuk]

A followup showing more of the construction and/or interiors would be awesome to see. Thank your local team for getting the shots and interviews! They did a great job.

[@LudwigVaanArthans]

Interiors might not be permitted for filming, it will be completely up to the families living in those buildings

[@MissesWitch]

Something about Shibam's design just gives off the feeling its meant to be there~ Like it's part of the landscape~ It feels open and airy~ Unlike what you'd find in modern day cities, Which feel confining and imprisoning. I think that's what makes it so appealing~

[@NiyaCathrel]

I had never heard of this place. And I appreciate that you sent local people there to film - shout-out to the Yemen crew!

[@douglasgriffin694]

This is one of the best historical/educational videos I’ve seen recently! Kudos!!

[@simonsaysno]

Bologna follow up!

[@ThePresentPast_]

yes!

[@matthewtilley7175]

Whats that mean?

[@luuk5154]

@@matthewtilley7175 in medieval times, bologna had many high buildings. Look it up. It looks as if its straight from a sci fi movie

[@koob1413]

@@matthewtilley7175he made a previous video discussing old premodern tall buildings.

[@kevinkillhoven]

​@@matthewtilley7175 what he meant was the bologna skyscrapers, try google it

[@Gulitize]

If you are interested in interesting architecture there are also windcatcher in Iran. there is a really good documentary in German following the "last" builder of these in Yazd. But it didn't actually die now he believed and now is a renaissance of them.

[@ThePresentPast_]

oooh interesting!

[@liegesaboya33]

Could you put the link here , please ?

[@DCDSG]

I can't understand why we haven't found a way to all live in peace. This region seems magnificent and it's a shame most of us will never see it in person.

[@shieldmaidenforchrist1310]

Take a little time to understand what Islam has taught from its earliest years and you'll understand why Yemen is in the position it's in.

[@mimimusa757]

​@@shieldmaidenforchrist1310 I think take time to understand what the bible teaches about Arabs canaanites, Babylons and Philistines and any non isrealites in the region and you wil understand why America and and Zionist jews get in the business of the region and try to built their military bases here and take our resources and our access to OUR national water and OIL and trade routes in the region

[@mimimusa757]

​@@shieldmaidenforchrist1310jesus love all , except he littraly said racist things about the canaanites , greeks , and if you believe he was not only the massiah and " son of god " but god , than every racist thing about the arabs , canaanites, amalek , babylons , is his doing even promoting baby killing And accordingly he even didn't punish David for rape , Abraham for incest ( since you guys believe sarah is the half sister of abraham) , lot and his daughters , did not punish solomon and Aron for their apostasy despite punishing non isrealite about apostacy And go look the apostacy laws and theft laws in the bible ( and these laws where actually applied for the most part of christianity , however in the modren era the Christian became more libral and secular about the bible and the rules , and tried to paint themselves as " love thy enemies " type of people ) despite them littraly genociding the native indigenous people of America , and Canda , and we all know what happened in churchs to the indigenous non Christians community in churches and schools . And we know what the christian orthodox did to the muslims Bosnian . And don't get me started with the witch hunt and crusades and what the romans did to the pagans of Europe and what they did to Philippines and the muslims of spain and what they did to other Christians ME who did not follow their sect of christianity . So don't pretend as if your history is peaceful when it is not and neither is your book and preist , which many of them now are promoting the ethnic cleansing and the land and a property theft and genoc ide of Palestinians and their kids . People like you and the Zionist jewish supremacist all want to take control of our region and believe that " god " promised our wealth and land to the likes of you and the isrealis ( who they think they are isrealites , but they Ban the DNA tests ).

[@mimimusa757]

​​​@@shieldmaidenforchrist1310just a prove of your ignorance , what happened to yemen is the fact that yemen has always been a prosperous country with rich history and that continued untill the colonial era when a British and french dudes decided to break the region and make up imaginary lines and with recognizing the importance of the the geographical position of yemen , it comes with tragedy since 2 greedy super powers are eyeing bab al mandb and its importance in the water international trade route ( the 2 greedy superpowers is firstly America and its allies in the region isreal , the UAE greedy government and SA unislamic government , and the 2nd greedy super power is the Russians and also its allies in the region ex: the unislamic Iran and etc ) I can't believe this ignorance of basic facts Both Russia and america are want to build military bases in the region to control the important trade routes , and that's why America and Russia keeps interfering in the region and keep on harming our people by supporting dictators and regime changes for people who are not loyal to them , which led to the situation of yemen today But someone as ignorant as you and doesn't know his scriptures absolutely is not going to know the history of the region and the horrendous amont of foreign interference that led to the instability of the region , not to mention the planting of a colonial project in the region which planning on ethnic cleansing the indigenous Palesti nians people and actively geno ciding them with American , French , german , UK help and the traitors of the so called Arab governments that cares only about obeying American and isreal Zionist orders just to stay in power and for money (despite we as Arabs support our Palestinian people and Yemeni , and Sudanese and labanese and syrian and somalian brothers and sisters) , all of this and foreign military bases destabilize the region and that is what exactly the Zio nist jewish and Christian Americans want so that their colony can expand ( don't forget the peaceful bible promises the land between the Euphrates and the nile to children of abraham and don't forget that Christians like paul think of expelling the arabs and taking their wealth and jews scriptures goes even further about making the Arabs their slaves , but hey jesus loves all and forget that this scriptures existed before the prophet Mohammed pbuh , even if the bible and the torah and talmud took alot of time to be written and canonized and the existence of many versions of the bible and the different bibles for each sect that doesn't have the same amount of chapters like the catholic , orthodox , protestant , Coptic and Ethiopian bibles these scriptures existed , it all to blame on arabs and islam 😂 )

[@mimimusa757]

​@@shieldmaidenforchrist1310if you can't respond to the arguments you should have some honer to leave them not delete them 😂

[@Hanible]

I'm from Tunisia, thanks for showing the good side of Yemen that is, I believe, purposefully ignored by western media. I would've liked it if you had used authentic Hadhramawti music instead of the typical, orientalist desert music, which can be annoying and borderline offensive. Also this city has an extensive mythology and epic-ness tied to it, It would've been cool to have recounted some of those stories, instead of presenting this world wonder as a mere adaptation to hash dry climate.

[@julinaonYT]

Yes, hear, hear! No more holywood style "desert sands" scores.

[@AnotherMafisto]

Lets all take a moment to appreciate that this amazing content is free. Well done, keep up the good work!

[@onionheadhistory]

Thanks for the video Past Present. Love your content and thought that this story was amazing. These ancient skyscrapers are so amazing and it is so sad that they are under so much threat from both the climate and war. But It also shows how people can adapt to this changing world. I also thought that your 3d graphics and animation are great. As a beginner video editor who is learning 3d in blender, I really respect the work you put into your videos and research.

[@BS-jw7nf]

brilliant video highlighting the ingenuity of these people. There still lives a huge misconception that people of the past were "backwards" and "unsophisticated", and the only way to break that misconception is by showing the awesome things that humans have always been able to do.

[@simonstergaard]

This is one of the best short docus i have seen in a long time, especially because it is a topic that i have not expored before. Gonna watch more of your stuff. Thankyou!

[@SilverBullet93GT]

this is proof that if you have enough rock and enough roll, you can build a city on it...

[@homebakedgoods]

😂Underrated comment

[@Josh-d2m]

It's nice to see people learning about Yemen, I recommend searching about Haid Al-Jazil also! An ancient village situated on a giant boulder.

[@eurybaric]

The builder guy at the beginning says somthing like: " And war..for what reason?!! War. What is this war? For what reason ? Why is there a war, now?" Took a couple of rewindings to get the whole thing hah. But yeah says a lot about Yemenis ( Not Houthis).

[@wewenang5167]

yup i kept hearing harbs, al harbs....i can't speak Arabic but know some of it becasue im a Muslim...and i know Harbs means war :P

[@natenatters]

Amazing video! Everything from the story itself to the naration and animations, even hiring the local film maker! Thanks you for this :)

[@firdausaznel3598]

5:35 "But it wasn't a cliff, it was Shibam" literally give me a goosebump.

[@ShirleyTimple]

Just one? I'd get that looked at.

[@Miamcoline]

Beautiful. Finally a good modern doc about the city and that speaks to locals to boot!

[@dvvna]

Interesting to know about this. I'm part yemeni, my ancestors are from hadhramout. I love to know more about it and the places surrounding it.

[@clivewarner2162]

The wadi is amazing. I lived there in 1981? Ali Nasir was president. I stayed at the hotel in Sey'un. At the time I could converse in Arabic and had some interesting conversations with my local PDRY crew, one of whom spoke English. So we could communicate pretty well. They asked me about life in England. Especially about courting, marriage customs, and so on. I don't want to seem to look down on any culture, but I felt as if i were in pre-Biblical times. They were very shocked when I told them about our customs. There is a valley in which the skeletons of huge people have been found. It's rumoured that Goliath came from there. The topography is intense, as is the climate. Travel is basic. As I recall it took us a day to get from Sey'un to Mukh'alla by Land Cruiser. You absolutely need Arabic or a guide. Really, both.

[@allenrusselljr]

That's some good mud ! Blows away our local new york mud. Absolutely anazing city that I've never heard of. Thank you for this video

[@nathanielm77]

I’m surprised this city never came up in my architecture history classes. (Current architecture student). Loved the video!

[@ShirleyTimple]

It's not in Europe and wasn't built by white guys. It's why places like this aren't common knowledge, it's not beneficial to the eurocentric world they want.

[@HopeForPeave]

Man instant subscriber roght here. Amazing video and your curiosity, video prep and approach on a topic covered so many times is so good

[@fern-tv]

first

[@dantetre]

6:00 Fern/Jonas it was you making an audio cameo?

[@SpanishEclectic]

So very interesting. I came across a CD of Yemenite songs by Ofra Haza many years ago, but don't know much about the country or culture. It's amazing that people still live there, and I'm sure the communal aspects of living in the city have helped it survive. I hope it can withstand war and climate change, and remain a haven for its people. In the American Southwest (where I live), there are ruins of mud brick cities built long ago, but Shibam is a special place. Thank you for sharing its story.

[@duckpotat9818]

It makes far better use of its 3D structure than modern cities with vertically partitioned rooms and horizontally connected buildings. Maybe in the future our cities will evolve like this

[@slightlyopinionated8107]

what an amazing video. everything from the visuals, the storytelling and the information is so top notch that this almost feels like theft to watch it for free. this type of content is what the bell notification was made for 👌

[@thorru3638]

my god, this is absolutely amazing

[@gambocco]

this is one of the most interesting documentaries I've ever come across. Thank you!

[@nikmohamed5906]

I'm amazed that these ancient buildings survive all those ancient Earthquakes for 2000 years!

[@akopowerletsplay3884]

,,,, hallo from germany

[@heyheychill]

It seems that this video is kinda incorrect. The city itself is known for 2500 years but the buildings are not that old. The oldest building is about 450 years old and the majority of buildings are from 1800s up to 1915.

[@karezaalonso7110]

They said they need constant work and maintenance

[@abusaleh7798]

​@@heyheychillwrong it's built bc in hadramout kingdom era but in 15th a large parts destroyed due a flooding and they rebuilt it again and countine to colore it each year

[@shadeedmuhammad8107]

Handmade by people who would in it.

[@danser_theplayer01]

I once went on a week trip in middle school where we built a little "house" for a daycare, just a small place to rest when you play outside. We mixed some clay, smothered blocks of straw, and stacked them, eventually getting clay walls with straw core. That was pretty fun, the material is pretty good, easy to build and can protect you from the elements. I imagine mud straw bricks are awesome, especially with riverbed mud.

[@Izaan17]

This is the best vide i have seen in a long time great script great editing great bgm great everything I love this video I have saced this video in great videos playlist i have Love u brother

[@0harris0]

thanks so much for this beautiful mini doc! have been fascinated with Shibam since first time I saw it! cheers!

[@TheLuckyluc555]

What a beautiful city, loved the interviews too

[@Kaniya-ig1ii]

It is interesting that there is a bridge crossing from one building to another building on the roof of each building.

[@chloeburnette9830]

The reason it is the Chicago of the Arabian Peninsula is the strategic position and center of trade.

[@arslanbashir7804]

My God, what a video. Animation, narration, filmmaking, all top tier. Thanks man

[@pellebaas1661]

Again an amazing video Jochem!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Legend!

[@mementomolly2944]

out of topic but this video made me tear up a bit bc you sound and talk exactly like my father who passed away 13 years ago

[@spectacles-dm]

Excellent video and the animation is on another level 👏👏👏

[@608pinkgirl]

Great video. I’m from Yemen and I do not know much about this beautiful city. Bc living abroad makes it hard to know or see our beautiful country Yemen.

[@Sputnik312]

Bless the hardy and kind people of Yemen, and their resistance

[@rollingthunder8223]

So kind of they treat half of their own population like slaves

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

I worked with a young Yameni electrician on a site in Canada, his story was one of the most fascinating things ive ever heard, and the guy was so humble, and very proper looking, (no homo lol) ,ive been very intrigued by his homeland ever since. What a uniquely beautiful place. Stay stong Yemen, your political situation can only get better, its just a matter of time.

[@codingblues3181]

As per international law, it is the right of every country, who are signatory to genocide convention, must try to stop genocide individually. Yemen despite being poor standing up for international law. USA, other Western countries are aiding and abetting genocide. Yemen has a right to defend itself!

[@DNAmutt]

Yemen has the right to bare consequences of their action lol Their flag literally calling for extermination of America... Good luck with that!!!

[@zangasperic11]

I like this unique mix of traditional documentary and youtube style of telling a story Jochem! A very interesting watch.

[@tengizpimpashvili1311]

Shibam looks like an awesome place to live I absolutely love the architecture and layout

[@theobserver9131]

It's cool to see, but I couldn't handle living in such a high density population. If my nearest neighbor is visible to me, they are TOO CLOSE. I don't want to see people unless I visit the nearest town.

[@lorrizzo]

What a beautiful city!!!! I would be proud if I lived there too!!! Love hearing of the unity amongst the families and friends!! Stay safe and protect your little piece of solace!!

[@Torus2112]

"How do you deal with going up 11 flights of stairs?" "You git gud."

[@AL-lh2ht]

the video basically sayss they mostly live in the lower floors.

[@wildwaning9427]

Absolutely beautiful!! Strangely, I kept thinking of how great it would be to film a movie there...include many locals and provide an economic boost.

[@thomas_delaney]

7,000 views is disrespectful. Awesome documentary.

[@ibeetellingya5683]

In 7,000 views in 6 hours since upload? You are disrespectful to the KZbin algorithm. 😄

[@1rober2]

I remember seeing pictures of this place in a book when I was a child. I thought it to have been abandoned and fallen into ruins long time ago, as so many other ancient cities. I am happy to see that it's even better maintained nowadays. May it's future be prosperous.

[@الصندوقالتعاوني]

يسكنها 70 الف

[@jessicaarverne1181]

Not being allowed to see the face of people is nightmarish. But the concept of this city is really impressive.

[@MohamedDhafer-o2e]

You’re really desperate and it’s annoying

[@ms.psoasmajor]

Your video had just popped up on my screen. I had no idea about the city. I was so amazed that people are still living in 2000 year old buildings. Thank you for sharing this story.

[@abusaleh7798]

Old Sana'a people still live in building dates to 2700 years

[@bbd121]

What if... *(positions hands)* Aliens

[@ShirleyTimple]

Don't be racist

[@UnclePutte]

Incredibly valuable story. I would have never found out about Shibam, or even seen anything positive of Yemeni culture, if it weren't for this video.

[@momojarwan1641]

To put into context, this mega city was constructed before the Europeans were going through the Dark Ages yet we're somehow told to believe the rest of the world was just a bunch of goat herders living in caves until Europe came to save everyone after the renaissance lol.

[@NoCluYT]

The narrative keeps people down. The more you dig up history, the more you see that each civilization had their reign of power.

[@lotbrouwer6314]

Het stukje over de sociale cohesie en de verbindingen tussen gebouwen doet me denken aan het ideaal dat ooit achter de Bijlmer zat. Daar pakte het alleen totaal anders uit 😅 Mooie video Jochem!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Ahh goed punt, zo had ik het nog niet bezien :)

[@lordaromat3890]

dont let isreal find this

[@erikafischer3049]

This is my favorite video of yours by far! Love the collaboration with local filmmakers, too.

[@makdaman1337]

What are NINJAS doing there ? 08:33

[@The_rajalat]

Thats rude...

[@user-pd6ci6fk1i]

Due to the current situations, it's hard to see for people who are ignorant of the place, but Yemen has a far richer, more intricate and beautiful history and civillization than most of other places in the Gulf region. The stability in modern times has driven the spotlight away from Yemen to the other states, but one can really appreciate Yemen when they learn it's history.

[@sumitpatankar369]

A 13-minute video that contains 4 minutes of information.

[@me4etoyogi]

The voiceover work has a Battlefield 1 vibe With the music and foreign languages. It is very cool video Also the idea of local video and content makers is perfect

[@greatestone4eva]

the unintended eurocentrism in this video is still wild. the videomaker didnt travel he just used someone else's footage. we should be watching that guy's YT instead. he brings up the houthis because that's all he knows about yemen/is in the wypipo news, the city is described primarily as a tactical location for colonizers and empires to take, and even at 6:24 he's still calling chicago the home of the first skyscrapers like this city wasnt thousands of years earlier -- just like columbus claims to discover a land already inhabited for thousands of years. eurocentrism is a ridiculous bias.

[@edgarsnake2857]

Stunning. An amazing ancient city I've never heard of. Very interesting. Thanks.

[@shutincharlie3461]

What is the bathroom septic system?

[@martynholden3478]

It means it has a waste storage tank that needs to be emptied because there isn't a proper sewerage system infrastructure

[@TolerantAcceptingModernCommuni]

Probably a latrine.

[@user-ql1eb2bm6x]

Ghamdan is one of these Yemeni skyscrapers, but it was triple the stories. Unfortunately it was destroyed

[@chrisd997]

not only chicago vibes but as we can see around 8:50 there are also ninjas living there!

[@Europeonion]

Allah will throw their mockery back at them, leaving them to continue wandering blindly in their defiance. 2:15

[@SarahAndrews24]

Ha ha ha, Ninjas, ha ha.😊😊

[@Europeonion]

@@SarahAndrews24 kafir ha ha ha

[@chrisd997]

@@Europeonion Stupidity and ignorance are infinite

[@uriu3193]

Found the Islamophobe

[@Zvideos8]

Yemen is an amazing place I lived there for 5 years. Their culture and history is very rich. The yemeni people take pride in who they are yet so humble. ❤

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Starts at 4:07 👎

[@tyler5914]

Thank you.

[@Rank_Hypocrisy]

The intro was nice, but I feel you.

[@T.J]

Thank you for posting this ! I would have liked to see more of the interior architecture of the buildings. The stairs, the rooms, interior construction details etc…

[@shutincharlie3461]

So messed up to make women wear all black in the crazy hot sun ....just cruel.

[@4wase-x3i]

its suprisingly cool though, I used to think like that too but searching up, the black fabric heats up and attract the heat from the inside of the cloth out which also makes a wind flow between the skin and the cloth. So, it's not just a cultural thing born but also an environmental adaptation.

[@shutincharlie3461]

@ so why don’t the men wear black too? If it’s so great…No, they wear light colors .

[@JohnCena-ex6zt]

​@@shutincharlie3461 Because men are always used to harsh conditions especially in rural settlements. It's not a rocket science

[@xvegitto]

Thank you internet stranger for coming to the rescue of the women, the natives sure don’t know any better and can’t decide what to wear to suit their local climate, your genius will be forever remembered.

[@shutincharlie3461]

@xvegitto I believe the women are forced ...big ass difference. If you don't think so , can they wear a white t shirt and shorts or anything but a giant shadow suit ass 🤡?

[@earth4180]

Yemen has some of the most fascinating terrain, cities, and culture in the middle east, and the middle east already has a crazy amount of history and culture compared to a lot of the world. The old city of Sana'a, this city, the city of Ibb. The green mountains of the southeast, some of the most populated places on the Arabian peninsula. They invented coffee, they have amazing and unique kinds of tea, they are the origin of the Arabic language. Tightly connected to the Horn of Africa and India (like the entire Indian ocean), like Oman, but to a much greater extent. I mean the country is fascinating. I hope one day it's safe enough for me to visit.

[@clivewarner2162]

I've been twice, to South Yemen, but I'm not sure it's safe to visit now. The people are lovely.

[@Faustobellissimo]

No, there were other examples of skyscraper cities before Shibam, like Rome in the 1st century BC, Cairo in the 11th century and the Italian Communes in the 15th century. The difference is that these don't exist anymore.

[@shqip_sumejja]

In a previous video he already talked about Italy's skyscraper cities. Whether they were the first or not doesn't matter too much as shibam developed independent of Rome

[@aquitainedugascon4726]

Even within Yemen there are far older cities that were built in a similar manner, Shibam only rose to prominence in the wadi Hadramawt after other places declined. This style of housing rose to prominence across south-western Arabia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt during the Iron Age, with some of the earliest well dated examples being from around 800 BCE. While I don't know much about Eritrea, in the other three regions they allowed for a far higher population density in places where agricultural land was at a premium and flooding an ever present danger, and by the late Iron Age you even start to see them outside the major cities in smaller towns and villages. Shibam is just the best preserved example amongst hundreds in Yemen.

[@abusaleh7798]

True ,we have the oldest palaces,cietes. We actully the ones who built the fortresses,castles in Andulsia (Spain,porugal )look after the old names of it and u will find it belong to yemeni tribes​@@aquitainedugascon4726

[@sykoteddy]

I love it when these odd videos turn up. I'm very impressed with that they fit 88k people there. I'm from Sweden and was born on the island Gotland that is sitting in the Baltic Sea, our island is probably the first thing Russia will invade if they do. This island is not small but at the same time not very big. But on it lives about 60k people, in the biggest city about 20k lives. It's hard to imagine how they can cram 88k people in their city. Great job on the video!

[@mapetlv]

what is with the way britts tell stories? why would i care that you didnt believe your eyes? 0:43

[@ronb112]

He is not a Britt

[@lionelproctor82]

Nothing British 🇬🇧 about his accent

[@MichaelLauzon1976]

It's clear that you're a #Seppostanian (aka '#murican)...!

[@gb4547]

Do you think he’s British or do you think his name is Britt?

[@scotth5988]

Whoops he's not British.

[@Rickswars]

I’m fascinated with old and new cities skyscrapers masonry buildings of all types too! This is mind blowing to me!

[@Terex39]

Oh man stumbled on the video. :) Hope you doing great and greetings from Gdansk!

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

3:42 Instead of going there... A very diplomatic way of putting it, if I may say. A well intentioned result too, so a win all round, bravo ragazzo!

[@Hector8]

Wow, ich fasciniert mich an diese Stadt. Und vorher hab ich nicht an Shibam gehört. Danke, dass Sie Ihr Wissen und Ihre Erfahrung mit uns teilen Joachim. Jetzt will ich besuchen!

[@شبلقحطان-ر9ح]

Welcome to Yemen ❤❤❤

[@Hector8]

@شبلقحطان-ر9ح Thank you very much but stuck in NAmerica at the mo'. You'll be the first to know when I can get my butt over there. You'd be the only person I'd connected with in your hood!

[@theliar214]

you just gave an idea with this title to a tiktoker to give the credit to ancient aliens. on a real note, i remember being in yemen as a kid (cause relatives) and there was a a steep road, which was hard to walk on but the view I saw walking up and down was amazing, it still stuck in my head.

[@shantishanti1949]

Fascinating. I am pleased it is world heritage listed and hopefully survives well into the future.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

No elevators makes living on the 11th floor a daily workout routine.

[@himanshusojitra1]

Shibam is a word corrupted from the word Shivam which is Sanskrit word. Sanskrit is mother of all languages so it is possible that Shibam has came from Sanskrit word Shivam 🙏