Yemen - Housing

Housing is inadequate; about one-fourth of urban housing units are huts, tents, or other makeshift structures. In the hot coastal region, most dwellings, except those of the ruling classes, are straw huts. In the highlands, the poorer people live in huts of stone or baked brick. Wealthier Yemenis live in large houses whose style is unique to southwestern Arabia: the lower part is generally built of sandstone, basalt, or granite, while the upper part, which may rise from two to eight stories, is usually of baked brick with windows outlined in decorative designs. Often a loggia topped with brass and open on all sides rises from the roof.