Wender·Vista
Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileYemen
in the desert outside Marib, in central Yemen

Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba

— — eight pillars still standing in the sand.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Sabaean temple to the moon god Almaqah, outside Marib in the Yemeni desert, known locally as Mahram Bilqis after the Queen of Sheba of tradition. An oval limestone wall, an entrance hall of eight tall pillars, and a sand floor the wind keeps finding again. Closed to most visitors since the war. The pillars still stand.

from the studio
Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba
— bring it home

Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba, known in Arabic as Mahram Bilqis and academically as the Awwam Temple, sits about three kilometres southeast of Marib in central Yemen. It was the principal sanctuary of the Sabaean kingdom, dedicated to the moon god Almaqah and built from roughly the 8th century BC onward. The defining feature is a great oval enclosure wall, eleven metres high in places, with a colonnaded entrance hall whose surviving eight monolithic pillars are the temple's signature. The Sabaeans called Marib the capital of Sheba.

— the stone

The temple is built of large, finely cut limestone blocks laid without mortar. Sabaean masons squared each block tight enough to hold the oval wall for nearly three thousand years. The eight pillars of the peristyle hall stand about eight metres tall, each carved from a single limestone shaft. Inscriptions in the Sabaean script are cut into the stones; they record dedications to Almaqah and the names of pilgrims. The American Foundation for the Study of Man, led by Wendell Phillips, first excavated the site in 1951.

— the visit

Marib lies about 170 kilometres east of Sana'a. Until 2014 visitors could reach the temple by road; since the war in Yemen access has been irregular, and large stretches of the Marib area sit near active front lines. UNESCO placed the Marib archaeological sites, including Awwam, on the World Heritage list in 2023 and on the In Danger list the same year. Local guardianship continues. When the country reopens to travel, the sanctuary will still be standing. It has waited longer than that.

— where
Yemen · Marib, Ma'rib Governorate
— position
15.4083° N · 45.3361° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km NW
Marib
ancient city
2 km N
Barran Temple
Sabaean temple
8 km W
Marib Dam
ancient dam
N
Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba
Marib
Barran Temple
Marib Dam
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It is the Sabaean temple at Marib in Yemen, called Mahram Bilqis in Arabic and the Awwam Temple academically. Sabaeans built it from the 8th century BC for the moon god Almaqah.

The biblical and Qur'anic Queen of Sheba is linked by tradition to the Sabaean kingdom centred at Marib. The historical record confirms a wealthy Sabaean state at this site; the queen herself remains a matter of tradition.

The moon god, chief deity of the Sabaean pantheon. Most major Sabaean temples, including Awwam at Marib and the smaller Barran nearby, were dedicated to him. Cattle were the principal offering.

Construction began in roughly the 8th century BC and continued in phases for centuries. The great oval enclosure wall and the eight-pillar entrance hall are the surviving signature features of the complex.

Access is restricted because of the ongoing war in Yemen. UNESCO inscribed the Marib archaeological sites on the World Heritage list in 2023 and placed them on the In Danger list the same year.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Mahram Bilqis is among the most resonant places in pre-Islamic Arabian memory. For someone from Yemen, or a scholar of the ancient Near East, a Small with a handwritten studio note carries weight.

The desert ochres and limestone whites sit well with Mediterranean-modern rooms, North African and Levantine palettes built around terra cotta and olive, and Minimalist interiors that need a single warm anchor.

A single Large carries most sofa walls. Above a longer console a 4-tile Mural reads better at distance, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a full feature wall.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes resist scratches and tolerate moisture, so a backsplash, shower wall, or vanity surround installs the same as a hallway.

Microfibre cloth with water. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so it does not lift or fade with regular cleaning. Avoid abrasive pads.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, hand-finished in-house. No licensing, no third-party reproductions.

— if this one stayed with you

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