100-year-old palace built on vertical stone pillars in Yemen

Dar al-Hajar stone palace is one of the top tourist attractions in Yemen. The 5-storey palace building is located on a vertical stone column for 100 years.

Located in the Wadi Dhahr valley, nearly 15km from the capital, Sana'a, Dar al-Hajar Palace was built as a summer residence for the King of Yemen, Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin, since the 1920s. The palace on this stone pillar is one of the most spectacular buildings in the world.

The Dar Al Hajar stone palace is located on a 20m high rock top, believed to date from the 1700s, according to Islamic scholar Imam Mansour Ali Bin Mehdi Abbas.

The 5-storey building has a spectacular look when viewed from any angle. With that beauty, Dar al-Hajar palace appeared on a Yemeni banknote.

The Dar Al Hajar stone palace has 35 rooms in all, such as the living room, kitchen, galleries, storage areas and also a quiet inner courtyard.

According to The Vintage News, Dar Al Hajar was built as a fortress, with gun emplacements to protect the place from attackers and water supplies from deep below the rock, in other words "could be easily withstand a siege ".

The palace remained owned by the Yemeni royal family until the country's 1962 revolution. Now this place is a museum of tourists flocking, visiting rooms and exploring the staircase maze.

Over time, the ancient stone palace was destroyed and repaired many times, with the largest restoration in the 17th century. Along with the unique tower architecture and long history, this work contributed part of Yemen's capital Sana'a became a cultural heritage. The capital of the Middle East country is also one of the oldest cities in the world.