The Ancient & Mysterious Palace of Ghamdan

The great palace of Ghamdan is celebrated in the Yemen national psyche as an expression of the technical and aesthetic grandeur of pre-Islamic achievement. Its destruction has been variously dated to the time of the third Caliph Othman Bin Affan, or even earlier, by the Abyssinian conqueror Abrahah Al-Hubashi, who also tried to demolish Al-K�abah Al-Mushrafah. It was evidently restored a number of times, and descriptions of the palace can be found in Al-Hamadani�s Al-Iklil.

Ghamdan palace represents the greatness of the Himyari civilization. What remains now is nothing but unrecognizable ruins.

There are several stories, or legends, that tell the story of its construction. One famous story concerns Shem. Shem, Noah�s son, and the founder of Sana�a, then called the city of Shem, was seeking a place for residence when he found Yemen and Sana�a. He decided to build.

First he laid a fine thread in Azdan, in preparation for the foundations, but a bird snatched the thread away and flew off, dropping it in a place close to Nuqum and Ayban Mountain.

The structure of the building is said to have been erected, according to varying accounts, some time in the 3rd, 2nd or even 1st century AD.
�Palace� is the word used in the vast majority of references, though some refer to a �castle�. Its ruins are now described as: �an elevated mound that extends from the east of the Great Mosque to the north of Bab Al-Yemen�.

Dr. Adnan Tarsis said in his book, The Nation of Sheba and the Ancient Arabs, that the Palace of Ghamadan consisted of 20 floors. The height of each floor was 20 Thera�a, a measurement used in Yemen that one Thera�a equals 65 cm.  So each floor was 13 meters high.

The last floor contained the most unique structure. It was built of transparent marble for the king to feel closer to the moon, an object of worship in ancient Yemen. The rooms had a door in each corner, and hollow copper lions through which the wind would blow, producing a roaring sound.

Some sources say that it was during the second century after Christ, that the Himyari king Ely Sharh Yahdhub, who rebuilt the palace.

Al-Hamdani wrote in part of Al-Iklil that the length of the palace equaled its width, meaning its shape was square, not matching the usual design of the surrounding elegant houses. As far as its dimensions are concerned, researchers believe that Al-Hamdani exaggerated many of the palace�s specifications and features, except perhaps for its colored designs.

The building had four faces, one of white stone, another of black, a third of green, and a fourth face of red stone. This according to one Amru Al-Hadrami, who told Al-Hamdani.

At the top of the building was a room with a ceiling coated by an eight-piece marble sheet. This would not be particularly unusual, as ancient Yemeni builders used to use not only ceramic tiles but also precious stones and quartz, together with gypsum powder, basalt and other plastering compounds in their architecture. Even the names of certain palaces west of Sana�a contain references to their colors, such as the White Palace and Black Palace. The description of the highest room in Ghamdan Palace can be found in Al-Hamdani�s two volumes, preserved today by the and British Museum.

Many historians believe the Ghamdan building to be first ever castle or palace on Earth. The historian Mohammed Al-Qazwani described the Palace of Ghamdan as one of the wonders of the Arab World.

The remains of the palace were used in the building of the houses that now surround the ancient location. All that now remains is a gate in a place known today as Qasr Al-Selah.

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