The Old Walled City of Shibam is one of the earliest and most perfect examples of vertical construction.Shibam, nicknamed ‘The Manhattan of the Desert’, was built on a hill to escape the floods of the wadi Hadramawt. The highest house is eight stories high, 29.15m. The average height is five stories. Most houses date from the 16th century, when Shibam was recovering from a severe flood.