Sirwah, Capital of A Great Ancient Civilization [Archives:2000/28/Culture]
Hassan Al-Zaidi
Mareb
The Saba civilization is one of the ancient civilizations of history. Historians refer to its progress and achievements in architecture, water dams, palaces, agriculture and irrigation.
Sirwah was the old Yemeni capital of Saba kingdom and its history goes back to the seventh or eighth century BC. The ruins of Sirwah are still to be seen there in the governorate of Mareb, around 70 kms to the east of Mareb city. The area of this historical kingdom spreads over 2.5 square kilometers.
Four quadrilateral palaces add wonder, beauty and mystery to its architecture. As with other old cities, it is surrounded by high walls to protect it from any enemy attacks or invasions. The remains of some parts of the walls show the impressive artistic sensibility of the people who lived there and who had established that prosperous civilization. The temple of Sirwah is a first-rate tourist attraction. With its seven large rock columns, it is situated in the eastern part of the city. In the middle of one of the palaces, there stand two very large rocks, one above the other, each measuring ten meters in length and two meters in width. The two columns bear inscriptions depicting one of the victories of the kingdom of Saba.
In the centre of the city, there is a deep well surrounded by large stones, representing their modes of worship, rituals and beliefs. Most of the ruins, tombs and underground vaults are still buried and need to be unearthed to shed more light on that civilization. The more you unravel the glorious dimensions of that civilization the more proud you feel about it. Each stone used in building the palaces weighs around 35 tons. That shows that they were quite strong people with will and determination. As the nearest mountain to Sirwah is 100 kms away, they might have used the same techniques and methods as the ancient Egyptians when the latter built the pyramids. When one talks about the Yemeni civilization, one should take into account the fact that Yemen was the cradle of civilization in the Arab peninsula for three thousand years. The achievements of those great builders will never be forgotten.
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