Rakhyah

Rakhyah lies in the western Hadramawt country, where a long wadi winds between rocky highlands. Villages and cultivated plots follow the valley, and mountain passes connect it with Dawan and Shabwa. Ancient stone tombs and the remains of irrigation works at Bir Hamad testify to settlement in the area long before the Islamic centuries. Defensive buildings such as Qarn Muwašša stand on heights above the valley, overlooking routes through this rugged part of southern Arabia.