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Barakish -

Pictured are the ruins of the historic town of Barakish. The director-general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, expressed outrage after the destruction of the pre-Islamic walled city, known to the Greeks and Romans as Athlula, or Athrula.

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Al Qahira Castle - The 10th-century Al Qahira Castle, located on the slopes of Mount Sabr in Taiz, was severely damaged during a 2015 airstrike. Yemen's cultural capital has endured conflict and siege since the 2011 Yemeni uprising.

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Queen Arwa Mosque -

Built between 1056 and 1111 by order of Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi, this is one of the oldest Yemeni mosques in existence. It's located in Jibla, a town included on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

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Old City of Sa’adah -

Another ancient town languishing on UNESCO's tentative list, Sa’adah saw several of its historic buildings destroyed after a protracted battle here in 2011.

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Temple of Awwam -

Located near Ma'rib, once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Saba, the Awwam temple complex has been badly neglected since hostilities began.

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Temple of Awwam -

Attached to the temple is a cemetery dating back to the 7th century CE. Around 20,000 burials took place here.

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Old Walled City of Shibam - Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, Shibam's mud-brick constructed high-rise buildings date back to the 16th century.

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Old Walled City of Shibam - There are about 500 of these ancient skyscrapers, and Shibam remains one of the oldest and finest examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction.

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Old Walled City of Shibam -

Known as the "Manhattan of the Desert," the old city has suffered some damage as a result of the war. UNESCO has now listed the destination as "cultural heritage at risk."

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Old City of Sana’a - Of worldwide cultural importance due to the remarkable survival of its medieval architecture, the Old City of Sana’a is deserving of its UNESCO World Heritage status. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Old City of Sana’a - Sana’a is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

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Old City of Sana’a -

But its 2,500-year-old history is in danger of being rewritten in the cruelest way: Sana’a's 103 mosques and over 6,000 houses are under constant threat of Saudi-led airstrikes.

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Old City of Sana’a -

In fact, a number of traditional tower-houses, constructed from rammed earth and distinguished by their decorated geometric facades, have already been destroyed.

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Old City of Sana’a -

Look closely at the elaborate friezes and intricately carved frames and stained-glass windows.

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Old City of Sana’a -

Fortunately, some of these tower-houses had been carefully recorded before the war, and restoration initiatives are already underway to rebuild those flattened by indiscriminate bombing.

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Al-Saleh Mosque - Sana’a's largest mosque was inaugurated in 2008. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Houthi and pro-Saleh forces in December 2017, during the so-called Battle of Sanaʽa.

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Al-Saleh Mosque - After the death of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, for whom the mosque was named, the Houthi-led authorities renamed the building "The People's Mosque."

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Al-Saleh Mosque -

Sana’a's old city stands in marked contrast to the modern Al-Saleh Mosque, which cost US$60 million to build.

What follows next is a list of landmarks that could seen be at great risk due to the conflict.

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Zabid -

Yemen's third UNESCO World Heritage Site has been placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger not because of the consequences of conflict, but due to poor upkeep and conservation.

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Zabid - Sited on Yemen's western coastal plain, the historic town is noted for its houses (constructed from burnt brick) and some 86 mosques, including the Al-Asha'ir Mosque, which dates back to 629 CE.

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Dar al-Hajar Palace -

Perched atop a stone pinnacle, this fantastical-looking building was constructed in the 1930s as a summer residence for an Islamic spiritual leader named Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin.

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Al-Muhdhar Mosque -

Located in the ancient city of Tarim is this historical Yemini mosque, crowned by a mud minaret measuring 48 m (151 ft), the highest in the country. Tarim itself is notable for a collection of palaces constructed between the 1870s and 1930s, which are among the most intricate and technologically sophisticated mud-brick structures in the world.

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Jabal Bura - The forested area blanketing the mountains near the village of Jabal Bura is under consideration for inscription in UNESCO's list of sites that have "outstanding universal value."

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Cisterns of Tawila - Carved out of the volcanic rocks of the Shamsan mountains, near Aden, about two millennia ago, this impressive system of tanks was used to store drinking water and prevent floods.

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Seiyun - Sitting in the middle of the tropical Hadramaut Valley is Seiyun, which is characterized by a collection of high-rise mud-brick towers.

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Sultan Al Kathiri Palace -

Seiyun's outstanding landmark is its palace, also constructed from mud and brick. It's a relatively modern structure, dating back to the 1920s.

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Shaharah -

This remote mountain village sits at an altitude of 2,600 m (8, 530 ft) in the northwest of Yemen.

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Shaharah -

The region is noted for its 17th-century limestone arch, built to connect Shaharah with a neighboring village across a deep gorge.

See also: World Heritage Sites that could disappear anytime.

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