Shabwa

About Shabwa Governorate

Shabwa sits at the centre of southern Arabia on the borders of desert and sea. On its land rose the archaeological city of Shabwa, capital of the ancient Kingdom of Hadhramaut; near it lies the ancient valley of Bayhan where Timna, capital of Qataban, stood; and on its coast lies Qana (Bir Ali), the port that carried frankincense and myrrh to the ancient world. Inscriptions, routes and ruins reveal an integrated economic system: ports, protected roads, transit tolls, and dams and irrigation channels. Between interior and coast, the modern capital Ataq pulses with contemporary life and a museum introducing the memory of the place.