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Perched atop a rock pinnacle at the famous Wadi Dhahr Valley, near the capital city of Sana, Yemen, is Dar al-Hajar, better known as the Imam’s Rock Palace. It is an iconic symbol of Yemen, whose picture can be found on postcards, magazines, bills, water bottles and on and on.
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What makes the building stand out so much is its exemplary Yemeni architecture which seems to grow out of the rocks on which it was constructed.
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Back in the day, Yemen didn’t have a king or a president. Instead, leadership of the country rested on the shoulders of an Imam (Islamic spiritual leader). Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin (1869-1948) became Imam of the Zaydis after his father’s death in 1904, then Imam of Yemen in 1918 and remained in that post until his assassination in 1948.
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The five-story building has lots of rooms and many sets of stairs that seem to take you around in circles. The palace was restored for visitors recently and now serves as a popular museum.
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