http://www.english.hadhramaut.info Call for contribution to preserve Shebam Historic Town [The Source: www.sabanews.net - 11/11/2008] Minister of Culture Abu Bakr al-Muflahi has called on international organizations  interested in preserving cultural heritage to contribute to protect the Shebam town and keep its historical identity. The town was among several areas in the Hadramout province hit by heavy rains that affected people, buildings and agricultural lands. Al-Muflahi said the town has been hugely affected by the rains, adding many of its historical building were destroyed and cracked and some others of its historic buildings are threatened with collapse. He stressed the importance of taking quick measures to rescue this historical landmark and rallying efforts to rebuild the affected parts of the town. Shebam is a historic town of mud-brick houses, a 16th-century city in Yemen, which is regarded as one of the earliest examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. Shebam was made up of over 500 tower houses, each one rising 5 to 11 storeys high, with each floor being an apartment occupied by a single family. The city was built in this way in order to protect it from Bedouin attacks. Shebam has the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them being over 30 meters high. It was prescribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007.