
The remote and isolated road to Jabal Shaharah
Jabal Shaharah is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 2.525m (8,284ft) above the sea level, located in the Shaharah District, Amran Governorate of Yemen.
At the summit there’s a fortified mountain village called Shaharah (also known as Shihara or Shehara). It’s one of the most remote and isolated villages on the Arabian Peninsula. Shaharah is still a middle age village. It consists of several old stone houses and a cistern. The area is noted for its limestone arch bridge, constructed in the 17th century by a local lord to connect two villages across a deep gorge. It has been known for being unreachable for so many years. The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Yemen because of the high security threat level in Yemen posed by the ongoing conflict and terrorist activities. It’s the highest village of Yemen.
The road to the summit was paved in 2014. It’s very narrow and steep. The road is winding, in some places only wide enough for one vehicle, and in many places bordered by a drop of hundreds of meters (many hundreds of feet) unprotected by guardrails. Unfortunately, the village is located in Northern Yemen, where the Shia Insurgency turned the region into a de facto war zone. For this reason, foreigners are currently discouraged from visiting the area. While the village itself is considered safe, the roads leading into this region are not.
Pic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/km45/3308555056/