Qasr al-'Ishshah is one of the largest of the merchant palaces built in Tarim by members of the al-Kaff family, who made fortunes in Singapore and the Dutch East Indies in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Constructed by Umar bin Shaikh al-Kaff, it combines a traditional Hadrami courtyard plan with imported European and South-East Asian decoration — coloured glass, ironwork, and stencilled ceilings unlike anything else in the region.
The palace was used as a hotel and museum in different periods of the 20th century. As with many Hadrami heritage buildings, mud-brick construction is fragile and requires constant maintenance, and the war has interrupted conservation. Worth seeing from outside even if access is limited.