Seiyum is the area’s main town and has long been the ‘de facto’ capital for the nearby Wadi Hadramawt clans. The town’s museum is located in an impressive palace which was originally a 19th century fort before being converted in the 1920s into a residence for Sultan Al-Katheri.

Not far from Seiyum is the old town of Shibam. This wonderful place has a unique style of southern Arabian architecture – straight from the Arabian Nights – which has survived through the centuries and is now a World Heritage Site. More than 2,500 years old the town is comprised of seven and eight storey towers built entirely from mud. There are more than 500 dwellings packed into a small area.