Tilá (Thula)

Tilá (Thula)

Thula is one of Yemen's five key historic cities on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. For many visitors, it is the most beautiful in the Sana’a region. The first settlement, called Altaleh, dates back to the Himyarite period, as confirmed by the inscriptions still visible on the rock. This extremely well-preserved town is surrounded by an intact wall, built at the base of a magnificent pink granite cliff. Thula is renowned for its archaeological sites and finds from the Sabaean period. The historic city also includes the Husn al-Churab fortress, decorated with ruins of ancient houses, cisterns and towers. The city is surrounded by a wall 2000 meters long, 5-7 meters high and 3 meters wide, with 26 watchtowers and 9 gates. The fortress is accessed by an ancient path and stairs. At the top, the ruins of several towered dwellings built around large cisterns are a reminder of ancient times. It offers an extraordinary 360° panorama of the entire region. The remains have been the subject of major renovation and development projects, including reconstruction of the Thula Fort, which began in 2011. Numerous mosques, mausoleums, imamate palaces, steam chambers and souks can be found in the historic city. As for the local architecture, the historic city comprises nearly six hundred houses, usually three to five floors high, built close to neighboring houses. The patterns of construction have created narrow alleys that separate one house from another. Several of the houses have sandstone facades with a wealth of carved, sculpted friezes.