Old Ma'rib rises from the plain as a pile of mud-brick towers on a low hill, a reminder that the city has been inhabited, abandoned and reborn many times. The ancient city was the capital of Saba, the kingdom that built its wealth on the incense trade and on the irrigation of the oasis. Here, the caravans bearing frankincense and myrrh from the coast of Hadramawt and Dhofar turned north toward Petra and Gaza, and the toll collected from them paid for temples, walls and an extensive water system.
Within the circuit of the old city, the remains of Sabaean walls, towers and houses can be seen, while the medieval mud-brick buildings stand on top of earlier ones. Tall houses with narrow windows and decorated parapets, like those of Sana'a and Shibam, grew here out of the same tradition of building with earth. The hill was abandoned in the twentieth century when the families moved to newer homes below, and the old town gradually decayed, leaving silent lanes and half-collapsed upper floors. Archaeologists have found Sabaean inscriptions in the stones of later buildings, a sign of how every age reused the one before.
The story most people carry in their heads is that of the Queen of Sheba, who in the Bible and the Qur'an visits Solomon with a caravan of gifts. Whether she lived in Ma'rib is a matter of tradition rather than proof, but the ruins give weight to the legend, and local people still speak of Bilqis with pride.
The reality of today must be stated plainly. The Ma'rib area has been affected by the war that began in 2014, with front lines nearby, and many displaced families now live in camps around the city. Travel advice from foreign governments is against any visit. The old city, with its fragile mud buildings, has suffered neglect and damage, and anyone considering the region should rely on up-to-date reports rather than old guidebooks.
In better years, a morning wandering the lanes, followed by tea in the new town, was a classic part of a trip from Sana'a. Fuel and food were available in the new town, and the roads from the capital crossed barren mountains with some grand views.