A beautiful and iconic rock palace, making it one of the most recognised landmark in Yemen. Dar al-Hajar stands atop a protruding rock formation in Wadi Dhahr, a fertile and pleasant valley of small villages and clay-walled orchards. Pictured in many books about Yemen, it has become a symbol of the country itself.

Yemen (2001) 500 Rials (front) 0 The Dar al-Hajar, Rock Palace of Imam Yahya

Imam Yahya (1911-48) built the five-storey palace in the 1930s as a summer residence. Building a palace in such an extraordinary place was not his idea; there were already ruins of a prehistoric building on top of the hill. The well penetrating the rocks next to the house is said to date from then. This summer palace of Imam Yahya is actually a group of palaces famous for its delightful location and its beautiful gypsum ornamentation in the Sana'a style.
Imam Yahya ruled his feudal country as an absolute monarch with a handful of advisers, mostly tribal leaders, religious scholars, and members of his family. Yahya's method of government was simple. He held a daily public meeting (jama'a) seated under an umbrella outside his palace, receiving petitions from anyone who wished to present them, and signing approval or disapproval in Himyarite red ink. He personally supervised tax collections and kept the national treasury in a box under his bed. He sought to preserve Yemen's independence and was determined to keep foreign influences out of the country and to resist change in any form. However, to train an army that would be stronger than tribal levies, he had to send officers abroad for training. Upon their return, they formed the nucleus of opposition to the Imam. In 1948, Imam Yahya was murdered in an attempted coup.

Source: College of Dupage