Entering the huge gate of Sana'a, the ancient city of Yemen, is like walking into a portal to another world.

Narrow alleys, crowded with tall, skinny buildings, connect lush fruit and vegetable gardens to an ancient bazaar where donkeys are still sold.

I saw a locksmith working on giant metal keys that opened majestic wooden doors; a vendor selling cactus from a cart, and a local baker pulling fresh bread from a blazing hole in the ground.

In a small room, a camel circles hard, powering a millstone that grinds sesame seeds.

But for all the visual excitement, it's the architecture that dominates the scene.

Sana'a is filled with architecture unlike anywhere else in the world.

At street level, with mud-brick walls broken only by large wooden doors, there's usually not much to see.

But when I looked up, I found these slender buildings standing high in the sky, some with only one or two rooms on the first floor.

While the lower street levels are windowless due to their use as animal shelters or work spaces, the upper ornate windows are either covered in stained glass or covered in elaborate mashrabiya screens that protect the privacy of the women inside.

The frieze between the window frame and floor is marked with intricate white lime, which contrasts with the mud-colored background to create a gingerbread house effect.

Many have rooftop terraces, which double as entertainment spaces and outdoor bedrooms on warm evenings.

The building's grandeur, along with its simple practicality, make for an inspiring architectural vision.

From the alleys, it is almost impossible to appreciate the true height of these buildings, but when you reach the souq, you can see that some are as high as seven floors.

Climbed up to a seventh-floor rooftop that had been converted into a cafe; the old town lay below, but the nearby buildings were mostly as tall as the ones they were in, giving one the strange feeling of being surrounded by skyscrapers.

, it’s just that these buildings are 300 to 500 years old and made of mud.

Some skyscrapers in Yemen can reach heights of around 30m, while Chicago's first modern skyscraper was just a little taller than that.

Yemen is dotted with similar towering buildings, from smaller villages to larger towns, such as the famous Shibam, dubbed the "Manhattan of the Desert" by the Anglo-Italian explorer Dame Freya Stark in the 1930s; or the richly decorated Dar-al

-Hajar, the rock palace of the Imam.

The architectural style of Yemen's skyscrapers is so unique that the old cities of Zabid, Shibam and Sana'a have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The tradition dates back to at least the 8th and 9th centuries, and dating is nearly impossible.

, as these mud-brick or adobe buildings required constant patching and repair to prevent them from succumbing to the harsh elements, but "medieval sources tell us that the Ghumdam Palace in Sana'a was allegedly built in the 3rd century BC and in the ancient Sabaean of Yemen

The seat of the ruler, 20 stories high and beautifully decorated,” What makes Yemeni skyscrapers so unique is that they are still in use, just as they were hundreds of years ago.

For example, in Sana'a's Old Town, most are still used as private residences, although some have been converted into hotels and cafes.

"As children, we would play football in narrow alleys, and as teenagers we would sip coffee under bright stained glass," said Alwa Mokdad, peace advocate at the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation

(Arwa Mokdad) said.

The reason why Yemeni settlements are packed together rather than spread across the land is also due to the need for protection.

Living in the desolate desert, any city planning must consider security and the ability to view approaching enemies from land, as well as the ability to lock the city gates at night.

"An important factor in the history of Yemeni towers is the need for security against invading forces, as well as during times of local tribal disputes or civil war." High-rise buildings in Yemen are built using natural materials, which are extremely sustainable and well suited to the hot and dry Arabian desert climate.

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The roof terrace doubles as an open-air bedroom, and screens on the windows even allow breezes to enter the house, while also letting in plenty of light but not too much heat.

"The unbaked earth is a special kind of thermal mass," "It both absorbs heat slowly and releases heat slowly. During the day, when the sun shines on the wall, the heat emitted by the sun is slowly absorbed into the wall. As the sun shines on the wall, it slowly absorbs heat."

As night falls, heat is slowly released, [helping] the earthen buildings maintain a comfortable temperature." This simple, natural effect makes adobe architecture still popular today and explains the durability of Yemeni earthen architecture.

Incredibly, construction often does not use scaffolding.

Instead, master builders would start with a stone foundation, usually about 2m deep, over which mud bricks are laid in a continuous bond, meaning one brick overlaps the two above.

They then slowly built upwards, placing wooden joists for strength and adding floors made of wood and palm material as they went upwards.

Scaffolding is usually only used later, once the house is finished and needs to be re-plastered or repaired.

However, these building skills are on the verge of extinction.

"We are looking at structures that can withstand up to 300 years or more. Six- and seven-story buildings are built from sun-dried mud bricks, which contemporary architects cannot build today." Historic buildings are also subject to ongoing

The threat of wind erosion, war, and economic struggles prevent families from properly caring for their fragile homes.

In 2020, UNESCO surveyed approximately 8,000 of these architectural marvels and restored 78 structures on the verge of collapse.

UNESCO is doing its best to save as many buildings as possible, but it is difficult under the current circumstances.