\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs24 Nothing is comparable to the magic of the Yemen. From the coastal belt, the ôTihama,ö the land rises steeply toward the mountai
n plateaus, located at an average altitude of 2000 meters (6500 feet). Through stubborn effort, human beings have rendered the wilderness habitable, hoeing and irrigating vast areas of rocky land and creating a sculptural landscape of undulating lines, f
ormed by huge cultivated terraces. They also constructed a habitat for themselves that was well suited to the natural surroundings, with phantom castles, blending into the rock and stone, that are hard to make out from a distance.\par
