Throne of Bilqis: Symbol of Power of Yemen's Ancient Kingdom of Saba

The Throne of Bilqis. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Throne of Bilqis. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Throne of Bilqis: Symbol of Power of Yemen's Ancient Kingdom of Saba

The Throne of Bilqis. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Throne of Bilqis. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Temple of Awwam, known as the Throne of Bilqis, is one of the most famous landmarks of the ancient Kingdom of Saba in Yemen.

The landmark was a symbol of power of the Sabaen religious authority, and a pilgrimage site for peoples and tribes that presented offerings in supplication.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the temple, which is viewed as the most important in ancient Yemeni history.

The site lies neglected due to the current conflict and the successive wars that have plagued the country over the decades.

Dr. Abdullah al-Tam, of the archeology department at the University of Saba Region in Marib, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Temple of Awwam was one of the most famous pilgrimage site for ancient Yemenis and non-Yemenis.

The pilgrimage had its own rituals and it was performed during specific times of the year. People could perform a mass pilgrimage or an individual one and each was held during different times of the year, he revealed.

The temple is located in an isolated region so that it could be solely be visited for religious purposes.

The temple may have first been built as a grave before being developed in a massive complex that brings together buildings related to the temple, such as the houses of the clergy, astrology rooms and a cemetery.

Geomorphic studies have revealed that the temple was built on elevated ground, giving it a grander appearance to visitors.

As soon as we arrived at the temple, we encountered a boy of no older than ten years of age manning the gate.

When we asked that he grant us passage, he demanded payment of no more than a dollar, which he said is unofficial payment for guarding the site.

After being allowed in, we approached the temple's eight columns. Despite the beauty of the landmark, we could not ignore the signs of neglect in the area. Ruins were strewn haphazardly and the columns have been marred by graffiti and writings left behind by visitors.

Dr. al-Tam said the temple was constructed so that it would face the rising sun.

It is composed of eight columns that give way to a large rectangular hall and a large wall that leads to outer temples and the cemetery.

Statues of bronze bulls, horses, and humans used to be attached to the entrance gates of the temple. It was decorated with geometrical and figural paintings, sculptures, finely carved inscriptions painted red, and beautiful ornamental friezes on the wall's exterior were meant to impress visitors and fill them with awe in the presence of gods.

An alabaster canal used to pass through the main hall pouring water in a bronze basin that was used for purification.

The temple used to be enclosed by a 757 meter-long wall with a height of 13 meters. Little can be now seen of the wall due to the years of neglect.

The cemetery dates back to the 7th century BC and held around 20,000 graves.

The graves themselves could be built to up to four levels. They were build with limestone and the outer walls would be decorated with friezes, with the face of the deceased sometimes engraved into the stone.



Fireworks, Warplanes and Axes: How France Celebrates Bastille Day

France's President Emmanuel Macron (center-L) and France's Chief of the Defense Staff General Thierry Bukhard (center-R) and French Military Governor of Paris (GMP) Loic Mizon (center-Top) review troops as they stand in the command car flanked by France's mounted Republican Guard (Guarde Republicaine) during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron (center-L) and France's Chief of the Defense Staff General Thierry Bukhard (center-R) and French Military Governor of Paris (GMP) Loic Mizon (center-Top) review troops as they stand in the command car flanked by France's mounted Republican Guard (Guarde Republicaine) during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
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Fireworks, Warplanes and Axes: How France Celebrates Bastille Day

France's President Emmanuel Macron (center-L) and France's Chief of the Defense Staff General Thierry Bukhard (center-R) and French Military Governor of Paris (GMP) Loic Mizon (center-Top) review troops as they stand in the command car flanked by France's mounted Republican Guard (Guarde Republicaine) during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron (center-L) and France's Chief of the Defense Staff General Thierry Bukhard (center-R) and French Military Governor of Paris (GMP) Loic Mizon (center-Top) review troops as they stand in the command car flanked by France's mounted Republican Guard (Guarde Republicaine) during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Swooping warplanes, axe-carrying warriors, a drone light show over the Eiffel Tower and fireworks in nearly every French town — it must be Bastille Day.

France celebrated its biggest holiday Monday with 7,000 people marching, on horseback or riding armored vehicles along the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees, the most iconic avenue in Paris. And there are plans for partying and pageantry around the country, said The Associated Press.

Why Bastille Day is a big deal

Parisians stormed the Bastille fortress and prison on July 14, 1789, a spark for the French Revolution that overthrew the monarchy. In the ensuing two centuries, France saw Napoleon’s empire rise and fall, more uprisings and two world wars before settling into today’s Fifth Republic, established in 1958.

Bastille Day has become a central moment for modern France, celebrating democratic freedoms and national pride, a mélange of revolutionary spirit and military prowess.

The Paris parade beneath the Arc de Triomphe so impressed visiting US President Donald Trump in 2017 that it inspired him to stage his own parade this year.

What stood out

The spectacle began on the ground, with French President Emmanuel Macron reviewing the troops and relighting the eternal flame beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Two riders fell from their horses near the end of the parade, and it was unclear whether anyone was hurt. Such incidents happen occasionally at the annual event.

Each parade uniform has a touch of symbolism. The contingent from the French Foreign Legion was eye-catching, its bearded troops wearing leather aprons and carrying axes, a reference to their original role as route clearers for advancing armies.

The Paris event included flyovers by fighter jets, trailing red, white and blue smoke. Then the evening sees a drone light show and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower that has gotten more elaborate every year.

What’s special about this year

Every year, France hosts a special guest for Bastille Day, and this year it’s Indonesia, with President Prabowo Subianto representing the world’s largest Muslim country, which also a major Asian economic and military player.

Indonesian troops, including 200 traditional drummers, marched in Monday’s parade, and Indonesia is expected to confirm new purchases of Rafale fighter jets and other French military equipment during the visit. Prabowo, who was accused of rights abuses under Indonesia's prior dictatorship, will be treated to a special holiday dinner at the Elysée Palace.

“For us as Indonesian people, this is a very important and historic military and diplomatic collaboration,'' the commander of the Indonesian military delegation, Brig. Gen. Ferry Irawan, told The Associated Press.

Finnish troops serving in the UN force in Lebanon, and Belgian and Luxembourg troops serving in a NATO force in Romania also paraded through Paris, reflecting the increasingly international nature of the event.

Among the dignitaries invited to watch will be Fousseynou Samba Cissé, who rescued two babies from a burning apartment earlier this month and received a last-minute invitation in a phone call from Macron himself.

‘’I wasn't expecting that call,'' he told online media Brut. ‘’I feel pride.''

What’s the geopolitical backdrop

Beyond the military spectacle in Paris are growing concerns about an uncertain world. On the eve Bastille Day, Macron announced 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in extra French military spending in the next two years because of new threats ranging from Russia to terrorism and online attacks. The French leader called for intensified efforts to protect Europe and support for Ukraine.

‘’Since 1945, our freedom has never been so threatened, and never so seriously,″ Macron said. ’’We are experiencing a return to the fact of a nuclear threat, and a proliferation of major conflicts.″

Security was exceptionally tight around Paris ahead of and during the parade.

What else happens on Bastille Day

It’s a period when France bestows special awards — including the most prestigious, the Legion of Honor — on notable people. This year's recipients include Gisèle Pelicot, who became a global hero to victims of sexual violence during a four-month trial in which her husband and dozens of men were convicted of sexually assaulting her while she was drugged unconscious.

Others earning the honor are Yvette Levy, a Holocaust survivor and French Resistance fighter, and musician Pharrell Williams, designer for Louis Vuitton.

Bastille Day is also a time for family gatherings, firefighters' balls and rural festivals around France.