Since the outbreak of Yemen's civil war in 2015, residents of many cities have been forced to flee to rural areas to start a new life, leaving some urban areas almost deserted.

While fighting may swiftly move from one village to another, cities like Taiz and Hodeidah have found themselves in a stalemate for years, stifling any hopes of development.

Cities are still seen as the most important places for the warring parties to seize - the location of public institutions, ministries, palaces, military camps and other major institutions - with neither side willing to give way. 

However, with the exodus to the countryside, some officials have started to practice their work from safer rural areas, many of which have become increasingly urbanised and offering many of the services found in the city.

It is estimated that more than 3.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Yemen since the start of the conflict in 2015, according to the UNHCR.

According to an official government report issued in 2016, in 2010 more than 70 percent of Yemen's population lived in rural areas, distributed in more than 130,000 villages and localities.

Around 29 percent were urban dwellers, living in 3,642 centres.

The continuing fighting means there are no recent figures, but the shift to the relative safety of the countryside has had profound effects.

New clinics, institutes and shopping centres can be found in what were once rural backwaters, with large numbers of displaced people working on further construction.

As the price of land has spiralled along with demand, many villagers have given up their farming and sold their land to developers.

The influx of displaced people has also led to tensions in the traditionally closely knit communities, with new arrivals often labelled as "strangers".