The Crow Fortress
Atop a steep hill in the heart of Shabwa Governorate stands the Crow Fortress, towering like a sentinel from another age. Its walls are cloaked in sand, defying time itself. As you approach, it feels as if the stones pulse with stories, and the wind passing through its windows carries whispers from long-forgotten eras.
Legend has it that the fortress was not built with stone alone but with the help of a mysterious hand that aided kings thousands of years ago. It was once known as the City of the Abandoned Crow and served as a hub for incense and gold traders from Hadramaut and Marib, until, it is said, a great betrayal brought a curse upon it.
During the reign of King Dhamar bin Yazan, the fortress housed a formidable army guarding caravan routes. But the king became obsessed with a strange soothsayer, said to have come from a distant land, whose eyes were magical and tongue like fire. She told him that eternal glory would be his if he sacrificed what he loved most on a full moon night within the fortress walls.
On that night, the king ascended the highest tower with his only son. Screams echoed across the city, followed by an eerie silence. At sunrise, the king was found dead, the boy missing, and the soothsayer vanished as if she had never existed. From that day, the city began to wither, and people fled, fearing the “Curse of the Crow.”
Locals claim that the crow living atop the tower has never left. Anyone approaching the fortress ruins after dusk hears a strange sound—a child’s cry entwined with the crow’s caw—followed by a chilling wind that cuts through the lungs. Travelers of the past century recorded that the fortress sometimes glows at night with a faint, underground-like fire.
Yet despite these tales, the Crow Fortress remains a symbol of mystery and beauty. It stands defiantly against time, its leaning walls narrating the stories of kings, lovers, and strangers who once passed through. Guides say that those who stand atop its tower at dawn hear a deep echo whisper: “He who betrays the land will be swallowed by the sands.”
Today, researchers and adventurers visit not to test the curse, but to witness the grandeur of history that has withstood storms and centuries. And with each sunset, when the crow perches atop its tower and gazes over the distant Bayhan Valley, visitors realize that this place is more than ruins—it is a living memory, the spirit of an ancient protector that still watches over Shabwa from its legendary fortress.
