Shibam is a single, compact subject — a few hundred mud-brick tower houses pressed inside a defensive wall on the floor of the Wadi Hadramawt. The right way to see it is twice: once from inside, walking the narrow shaded lanes between the towers and looking up at the gypsum-banded windows and carved wooden doors; and once from outside, from the low ridge across the wadi where the silhouette of the whole city reveals itself against the canyon walls.
A full visit takes half a day. Most travellers pair it with the larger Hadrami towns of Sayun and Tarim, an hour or so further up the valley, and with the cliff-perched village of Hajarayn to the south. The walled city is small enough that you can lose yourself in it without ever being more than a few minutes from a recognisable landmark.
Note: Yemen has been in a state of severe conflict since 2015 and travel to the Hadramawt is currently impractical for almost all visitors. The information here is preserved for when the situation changes — and because Shibam deserves to be on the record.