Manhattan of the Desert Photo

Photographer’s Note

The small town of Shibam was named Manhattan of the desert by english adventurer Freya Stark because of the adobe highrise houses. The town is a Unesco heritage site and the second most popular tourist attraction after Sanaa. Yet I see only one other photo on this site. Taken before sunset from a lookout point. I will add a zoomed out view to WS. It has more tourist oriented souvenir shops than anywhere else in Yemen. Frankinsence trees grow in this area, and nearby parts of southern Oman and Somalia, the only places in the world where it grows. Omani insence is said to be the best quality.

isabela_sor, pastadog, bibiweb, Tue, fayeulle, peter1892, singuanti, carper, Runs, sleon, ChrisJ, kebek, ahmetgedikli, Rossignol, anavazao, PJE, jafadabret, lestans, nerve, banyanman, macondo, AmiBe, rafid76, JasPahal, vagabondtravels has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

isabela_sor (42757) 2006-03-19 15:06

Merhata Yilmaz
I like this panoramic shot, the big depth the good point of view, and the perfect composition!Amazing earth's colors!
All the best
Selamlar
Isabela

Emmie76 (2009) 2006-03-19 15:07

Hi Tan,
I love the colors of the town that fits perfectly with the landscape in the background. I understand why this town is a Unesco heritage site. From what I can see from your picture, it looks beautiful.
Emma

Tue (25608) 2006-03-19 15:40

Hej Tan,
Great view over all those houses. It seems as if they are just built in the middle of the desert. Well composed with fore- and background. Well done, thanks for sharing!
Hilsner,
Lars

toni_al (15476) 2006-03-19 15:41

Salut Tan
Voila une architecture originale, mais ça reste des bâtiments a forte concentration d'habitation, très compact on a l'impression qu'il n'y a pas des ruelles. Joli cadrage
Toni

gilou530 (35984) 2006-03-19 16:20

salut tan
une photo grandiose de cette cité aux portes du désert, l'architecture est assez spéciale, belle composition bravo
amitiés
gilbert

Gerrit (36553) 2006-03-19 16:36

Hi Tan,
impressive place and qwl catched in its uniformity. The clay used for building is very well shown on the left.
I like this crop with the vegetation in the valley, the mountains and the blue sky better than the other versions.
Thanks and regards, gerrit

ndb1958 (9249) 2006-03-19 16:49

Wow, this looks really interesting and even beautiful. Great colours of the town. Seems a bit unreal ... never saw such a town inside a landscape like this.
Great capture.
Nino

peter1892 (1681) 2006-03-19 17:08

Wow, it's almost like a toy town! A miniature in the desert...

Good POV, colours & DOF.

singuanti (15240) 2006-03-19 22:37

Hi Tan. That's funny this place is called Manhattan. I've seen the real Manhattan and I'm afraid their buildings are taller than these! ;) By including the cliff in the background we have a sense of place. Good one Tan.

rabdelnoor (2973) 2006-03-19 22:50

Hi Tan,
Given the dimension of the surrounding mountains and the vast desert, the city looks like a miniature. I really liked the architecture of this town and for sure will be a place for me to visit in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Ricardo

carper (66132) 2006-03-20 0:46

it's a very nice place Tan,
You made a very good photo of it, the composition is nice, the parts of colour are good, maeby a little bit more contrast but farther I like it, good job.
gr. jaap

rbcy1974 (20746) 2006-03-20 2:06

Hello Tan
I had heard a lot about this place ad your picture does it justice,
excelent choice of time to take the photo, and very well captured details
well done
Regards
Daniel

sleon (9352) 2006-03-20 2:07

Hi Tan
This looks like a model city - the buildings are so uniform in style and colour and I can't see any people or signs of life! Your POV shows well the city's location against the mountains - looks like a fascinating place to visit.
Regards, Susanna

pastadog (12821) 2006-03-20 3:26

Hi Tan, this town in a-ma-zing, are these buildings modern or centuries old? The photo is superb (compo, colors, sharpness). Your crop is very dramatic, IMO definitely the best choice for a post, emphasizing the superb buildings. And it can also look like an "urban oasis" in the desert (see for example my workshop). Thanks for sharing your recent travel. Daniel

[workshop] [compare] +

bibiweb (8) 2006-03-20 3:28

Hi Tan,
The adobe architecture has always impressed me through the photos I've seen. This is really a place I'd like to visit one day.
Your POV is perfect here to give us an overall view of the place and you benefitted from a beautiful end of afternoon light. A very sharp shot and good composition with the mountains in the background.
Have a nice day.
Brigitte

Henryk_Bilor (20375) 2006-03-20 3:37

Hello Tan
What an interesting place! Great capture of the buildings well contrasting to the mountains in the background.
Regards

lucinka (9920) 2006-03-20 5:08

Tan, it looks like you've made very same trip I had in my mind. Yemen is absolutely unique place and your photos are just great proof of it. Well done. L.

donluicu (24001) 2006-03-20 6:11

Hi Tan
excellent picture with this big contrasts between the buildings and the huge desert...
thx for sharin

loic

ChrisJ (70521) 2006-03-20 7:01

Hi Tan

An exotic scene from Yemen. Looks like the wall of the grand canyon or Monument Valley in the bg. Good work!

Cormac (26461) 2006-03-20 10:33

This is the first shot I've seen of this place, so right off the top I think you for showing some lesser known areas. This is a good shot because it contrasts the wall of the man made buildings with the natural wall of the mountains in the distance. Also, the colour and contrast are great (you've really learned to get some amazing results with your new camera!). Great work Tan!

Paolo (40763) 2006-03-20 11:26

Hi Tan, wonderful view of that small Manhattan.
the dobule colored facades are wonderful and well took froma great POV.
the range on the bakcground is really beautiful.
excellent shot!!
thanks, ciao

kebek (5434) 2006-03-20 11:28

Serwus Tan !
Impressive vista. What is the most striking for me here is the colorsetting of the buildings so amazingly corresponding with the tones of distant mountains. Desert' greenery make a nice division between the nature and urbanistic. Fantastic capture in great quality.
Thank You and be well,
Mat

ahmetgedikli (22245) 2006-03-20 13:04

Merhaba Tan,
Harika bir panaromik fotoğraf. Derinlik, açı, netlik, görünüm süper.
Selamlar, saygılar.
Ahmet

Rossignol (2289) 2006-03-20 15:01

Great shot, Tan. There's great contrast in form between the soaring mountains and arid landscape in the distance and very formal and blocky buildings in the foreground - so densely packed together there hardly seems to be room for streets in between the blocks.
Good work, well seen and captured.
Peter

anavazao (5592) 2006-03-20 19:19

Hi,
It's a little place but beautiful! Nice perspective with great colours, details and composition!
Good POV and note!
Thanks Ana:)

PJE (19575) 2006-03-20 19:55

Tan nice capture of this city and its background. Excellent point of view in this scene including the desert backgruond. Nicely done Tan!

markstaples (15670) 2006-03-21 4:07

Another successful shot with many levels of interest. The image is crystal clear thanks to it's sharpness and the colours are lovely and natural. Nice work and thanks for sharing.

jemaflor (39871) 2006-03-21 12:29

Hi Tan,
Another great shot, impressive landscape with these original buildings, good light and a lovely background, well done.

jafadabret (40651) 2006-03-21 13:53

Tan, c'est une architecture remarquable qui n'est pas une copie de celle de nos grandes villes il y a une unité qui se dégage agréablement de l'ensemble. La photo fait ressortir la beauté de cette architecture.
Jacques

vagabondtravels (6115) 2006-03-21 21:42

Great POV. Well captured image of a under visited place. Nice work. I would like to visit Yemen this May. Any tips or contacts would be appreciated!

lestans (15550) 2006-03-22 3:14

Very interesting shot of a fairy tale place, and a good note.
Your composition helps us to undersstand the place: well done to devide in horizontal stripes the picture: sky, mountain, desert, and town with "skyscrapers". Perfect work.
Livia

jbweasle (9294) 2006-03-22 14:48

Hello Tan, this is a fascinating place, I would love to visit there myself. I like the low afternoon light here is pulls out the shapes of the buildings and details in the architecture well.

hayzen (983) 2006-03-24 23:07

Great shot of the Hadramaut, congrats!

jjbach (9111) 2006-03-26 4:48

Wonderful and very interesting composition from a great point of view, in order to show us this unique view. The contrast is really impressive!! Splendid work!

Regards John

nerve (10216) 2006-03-27 5:02

Yemen çok ilginç bir yer hakikaten, fotografın harikulade bilgi veriyor, hem imajla hem notun ile..Net ve çok temiz bir kompozisyon.

devimeuxbe (56532) 2006-04-01 9:25

Hi Tan
tres belle image du Yemen. Ces maisons sont extraordinaires, comme des maisons en Lego. Je rêve d'aller là bas.
Tres belle image
Amicalement
BErtrand

banyanman (7739) 2006-04-07 12:31

I am getting through your Yemen photographs gradually, Tan, and they are all absolutely fascinating. I am so disappointed I didn't manage to get there earlier this year. The height of these adobe houses is just incredible. It looks like one has collapsed on the left though. Great composition and technically excellent in all respects. Thanks for including the workshop pic - that was very interesting to see and get a better perspective of this town - but your crop above makes the best image from a composition perspective. Cheers . . . David

macondo (13345) 2006-04-13 4:05

Amazing subject. The photo is very stark and striking, with the strip of green adding interest to the colouring. What a strange place.
Andrew

AmiBe (6042) 2006-04-18 17:26

Hi tan,
Yemen is a fascinating country for me.
The citadels are so beautiful.
I like this "sandwich" compo, the mountain, the plain and the city.
Well done

sebinho342 (18808) 2006-05-30 4:11

Hi captain POV, again you found the good "lookout point", that permits us to see this "manhattan" before this desert just after ... Yemen, sounds far ... sounds exotic, i've read travel books on this destination, i would love to go there, to go to the old moka, and to eat the best "miel" (don't know the word in english, the thing made by bees) ;)
Have a good day
PS : i've seen the WS you let on "watching movie", 3 texans watching sea ... so funny ;))

rafid76 (2611) 2006-09-10 3:19 [Comment]

Show Comment

doubay (5059) 2006-12-03 7:42

Very nice.
Andreas

pady (4800) 2007-01-11 14:09

It's a very great place and these houses are very particular.
Great architecture. When was it built ?
Great contribution
Pierre-André

Bruno40 (6442) 2007-04-17 1:08

Tan
This is what TE is all about. Knowing the Earth!!
Looking forward to visit this place.
The zoomed in version make the city look like a Lego toy, like a miniature city.
The colors and DOF are fantastic
TFS
Jorge

erhan1958 (4141) 2007-06-25 4:31