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It looks over Shibam Kokaban town, and it is 3,000m above
the level sea. The name of the Fort was mentioned by Al-Hamdani,
and it was given the name (Kokaban) because its palace was
constructed of silver and stones that include corundum and gem,
and at night these components are shining like an astral (Khokab).
This Fort had a good reputation when Al-Motahar Sharaf Al-dean
used it as a fortified place during his battles with Turkish
troops. It was also used as a place of Abdul Khader Emirate, one
of the grandsons of Imam Sharaf Al-dean at the end of the
weakest Imams era. Many known authors, poets and scholars were
reputed in Kokaban and the singing way was developed as well.
But the name of the Fort was related back to Kokaban Aqan Ben
Zara, which was one of the most known places in Yemen.
The Fort Architecture:
The main entry is located on the
northern side of the middle partition boundary of the castle.
There is a gate, which made of two big wooden doors, goes to the
eastward, the outer parts of it is faced with mentallic
tinplate. The entry is a part of the middle boundary, which
surrounded the castle. The left part is higher, it is called Al-Qashlah,
it consists of two floors, the down floor includes many rooms
opening to the internal square, the other one is the same like
the first, there is a corridor at the top of this floor, and
there are many posts which were used to throw arrows to protect
the Fort in case of any attack. There is a defensive round tower
at the eastern north side of the Fort, and there is an
underground digging tunnel at the eastern side of the fort,
which could be reached through steps, this tunnel goes to the
lower town. The upper part of the entrance was decorated with a
board made of mica, some poetic lines are written of that board,
these poetic lines praise the Fort and specify the time of its
construction and the entrance name, but most of these words were
suppressed, so they can not be read.
The queen of the
mountains... The village of Shihara,
more than 8,500 feet above sea level is not the only wonder of
these mountains in Hajja province. The spectacle commences at
the foot of the town where its line of dry walls gives rise to a
dense mesh of terraces and 23 cisterns dug into the rock in the
form of an amphitheatre. This is an ingenious solution to the
problems of farming but also a clever system of defence. Shihara
is one of the few villages to have withstood the advancing Turks
in the 16th century without ever succumbing. The biscuit-coloured
architecture was, however, damaged in the 1960s when Shihara was
bombed from the air by the Republicans.
The bridge of Shihara:
is a masterpiece of engineering.
Built in the early 17th century across a gorge over 900 feet
deep, it linked the two parts of the village, situated on two
different peaks. Of the three original arches, designed by the
architect Salah Al-Yamani, only one remains intact.
As most of the villages in the
north, the houses of Shihara present a mixed construction
technique that uses wood and brick to guarantee elasticity to
the building. The windows are plastered white although they lack
the refined decorations of the towns; the roof is wooden beams
covered with reeds that jut out over the edge of the building.
It is considered as one of
the old historical towns, which dated back to the 7th century
B.C. The first presence for it was on the victory engraving,
which was recorded by "Kharab El Watr Bin Dhamar Ali". After he
defeated the king of Nishin Kingdom, he joined all his
properties to his kingdom. Then, Sheba people started moving to
settle in the middle mounds bottoms, especially, the bottom of
Al-boun, Ak-Rahba bottom, Sana'a bottom Sahman and Gahran
bottom. Many Sheba towns were constructed in their outskirts.
Shibam is one of those towns. Sheba people settled there in
order to expand their patch State to strengthen its power and
protect its borders. some of the Sheba tribes were moved to this
area. This town achieved cultural and religious promotion such
as, engraving rocks to form rooms, then they were used them as
graves; they were distributed in the Al-Low Mountain that faces
the town.
The architectural and
historical evidences of Shibam Kokaban during the Islamic
Period, such as the art of the archeological construction, still
remain to witness for that. Like, the religious constructions in
the mosques , grave yards and civilian buildings, like the old
market, Rock Palace (Al-Samsarah), Government House (Employees),
the old Turkish Bath and Military buildings, like the town's
boundary, its gates and strong towers. All these elements
reflect the nature and characteristics of the Arab and Islamic
town. At the beginning of the middle centuries, the main
constructions are as follow:
A- The Big Mosque (Al-Gama' Al-Khabeer):
It is located at the middle of the
town, and was built in the third century (A.H.), it is
attributed to the prince Al-Yafari Asad Bin Abi Yafar who was
one of the Al-Yafar State rulers, and he took Shibam as a
capital of his State. The importance of this mosque backs to the
old time of its construction and design, as the common design in
building the mosques. It is like a mini model of the Big Mosque
in Sana'a.
B- Kokaban Fort:
It is a famous fort, looks up the
Shibam Kokaban town, it is 3,000m above the level of the Sea.
The name of this fort was mentioned by Al-Hamdani. It was said
that the name of the town Kokaban came from the materials of
constructing his palace, which was made of silver and stones
that contain the corundum and gem. They were shining at night as
the star. From that time it took this name "Kokaban", and was
reputed since the Al-Motahar Sharaf Al-Dean had it as a
well-fortified fort during the battles against Turkish troops.
Soqatra Island has been
given more than one name, it is called the Island of Happiness
or the Island of Cairn and Abel. You may come cross different
names for this Island. It is the biggest and largest island in
Yemen; in the ancient time it was the back reserve for the
support of the old Yemeni Hadhramout Kingdom economy during the
first millennium B.C. The king of this kingdom was named the
king of glue land which was famous at that time in Soqatra. Also
incense sticks and laudanum were famous at that time. The people
of the ancient nations considered the place where these
commodities are planted as a holy place and the commodities as
well. That is why it was called by the Romans and Greek "The
Island of Happiness", many stories and legends have been woven
in respect there to as well as due to the difficulty to reach it
in the past.
The Island of Cairn and
Abel:
There is a distinguished tree,
named the two brothers blood trees which grown on the top of the
mountains, its height reaches between 6-9m. The people there
used to make cracks on its trunk and then a viscous red fluid
flows and left till it is dried up. It is used for medicine;
some of it is collected and packed for export. Many legends have
been woven around it of which that it grew from the blood of
Cairn and Abel when the first human crime ever took place for as
the blood flowed from sprang from it. Another legend is that it
grew from a clotted blood that flowed from a dragon during its
fight with an elephant till both got killed.
The Habitants of the
Island:
They speak a mixed language, old
Arabic (Dafari language) and ancient Yemeni-Almhari and
Hamyarite language. The population of the Island is
approximately 65,514 people; all of them follow the Islamic
religion.
The strange Island in the
Arab Peninsula:
Some of the Russian and European
scientists who concerned about oriental history succeeded to
reach this Island to observe the strange plants there. One of
the Russian scientists composed a book in 1074, in that book he
mentioned that the life of Soqatra people may open an unknown
history in the global history which linked with role of the Old
Arab Peninsula in developing the human civilization. This island
is regarded as a natural plant reservation. Some of the
scientists described it as a strange island in the Arab
Peninsula. It got the tenth position among the richest islands
in the world regarding the numerous different types of plants.
There are 75 types of rare plants in the world.
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