The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) threatened Yemen to write off Old Sana'a from its World Heritage list after it was found the state had systematically failed to preserve the archaeological integrity of many buildings, allowing them to fall into decrepitude.
With its history stretching back over 2500 years, Sana'a is associated with the civilization of the Bible and the Quran.

UNESCO described Sana'a as "an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble reflecting the spatial characteristics of the early years of Islam, the city in its landscape has an extraordinary artistic and pictorial quality. Its many-storied buildings represent an outstanding response to defensive needs in providing spacious living quarters for the maximum number of residents within defensible city walls. The buildings demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship in the use of local materials and techniques."

However, a lack of funding, mis-management and 2011 uprising meant Yemen officials were not able to maintain Old Sana'a to UNESCO' standard.

11th century old dwellings were modified by owners as they found hard to accommodate their growing family, often failing to comply with the authorities' construction guidelines.

Harsh weather also is said to have put a strain on the integrity of some buildings, which left uncheck could lead to total collapse.

The Ministry of Finance has apologized for the delay in funding, saying it will endeavor to address all immediate threat to the old city, pointing however that UNESCO failed to adequately fulfill its funding duty toward Yemen. The ministry added it had notified Gulf officials of the severity of the situation and that aid would be allocated promptly.

UNESCO demanded Yemen to provide a full report on Old Sana'a and Zabib, another protected site and address all irregularities.

Yemen Post Staff

Comment:
Yemen is a poor country going through a difficult political transition. It has no money for such demands. If UNESCO would provide the funds for the upkeep (directly, not giving the funds to the government because then we'll see nice villa houses popping up in other areas rather than maintained mud mansions) that might be an idea.

Second idea - open the visa restrictions and let the tourists flood back into Old Sana'a spending lavishly on what they think is a cheap trip.