Lying on the Safir road, the ancient and enigmatic ‘Arsh-Bilquis (Bilqis Palace/Bilqis Throne/Temple of the Moon) is the site of the famous five-and-a-half columns often seen in tourist brochures. Although linked to the legend of the Queen of Sheba, archaeologists now believe that the temple predates the queen, and is actually around 4000 years old and was dedicated to the moon.
The temple consists of a square with an open courtyard, at the centre of which lies the old sacred well. Twelve steps lead from the open area to the hall, and there’s a row of fixed marble seats on the western side and a plinth on which a 6m statue of the Sabaean Holy Oxen once stood.
