Notes on the Geography of Yemen: Wadi Dhahr: Rock PalaceWadi Dhahr, though barely beyond the outskirts of Sana'a, feels remote. Make default image size larger ![]() The wadi from the north or upstream end. ![]() There's a village at the mouth of the valley, perhaps five miles downstream from the last picture. The village is also called Wadi Dhahr. ![]() Camouflage. ![]() Tucked in. ![]() A house built for a dangerous world. ![]() Rub your eyes. Go ahead. Atop a butte eroded to a single shaft, the Imam Yahya, who ruled from 1904 until his assassination in 1948, built the Dar al-Hajar or Rock Palace as a summer home. The place later became a museum. The government at one time had plans to convert the place into a luxury hotel with a rooftop casino. ![]() The rock footing. ![]() The view from the top of that footing. ![]() A terrace balustrade and an exercise in paleolithic anthropomorphism. ![]() The rooms are bare. ![]() The exterior is more impressive. ![]() You didn't think it was so big, did you? ![]() Outside and waiting for customers: itsy-bitsy apricots. ![]() Water is scarce, so fruit is small. |
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