Yemen: Footbridge across a 300 metre (985 ft) chasm at Shahara, north of Sana'a. Photo by Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA License), 1986. The celebrated Shahara Bridge in Yemen was built across a 300-metre deep gorge in 1620, ostensibly to repel Turkish invasions. Shaharah is a fortified village high in the Yemeni Sarawat Mountains about six hours drive north of Sana'a. Fortified mountain villages are common in Yemen, but Shaharah is the most inaccessible. Incredibly inaccessible, Shaharah has been a thorn in the side of any invading army and a bolthole for retreating imams for centuries.


Size: 5100px × 3463px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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