Marib is one of the most famous places in Yemen as a result of supposedly being in former times the ancient city of Bilqis, capital of the Queen of Sheba. Whatever the actual veracity of this, there is no doubt that it has been inhabited pretty much since the dawn of man and grown to be a wealthy city due to its strategic position that allowed it to control the lucrative Incense Route.

While not much remains from ancient times, there is still enough to fire the imagination. The great Ma’rib Dam is justly Yemen’s most famous monument and it provided water for between 30-50,000 people when it was constructed in the 8th century BC. The Bilqis Temple, dating from at least 800BC, was dedicated to the sun god and is the largest of the Sabaean temples. Nearby are the ruins of the old Ma’rib which was built long before the first millennium BC and from which the last families living here only recently moved out.