Yemen Portal
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Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in the southern part of West Asia. Including the Socotra Archipelago, mainland Yemen is located in southern Arabia; bordering Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, Somaliland and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,503 square kilometres (175,871 square miles), with a coastline of approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula by area, and the second-largest by population.
Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arab Muslims, which is estimated to be greater than that of Saudi Arabia. It is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Owing to its geographic location, Yemen has been at the crossroads of many civilizations for over 7,000 years. The Sabaeans formed a thriving commercial kingdom that influenced parts of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 275 AD, it was succeeded by the Himyarite Kingdom, which spanned much of Yemen's present-day territory and was heavily influenced by Judaism. Christianity arrived in the fourth century, followed by the rapid spread of Islam in the seventh century. From its conversion to Islam, Yemen became a center of Islamic learning, and Yemenite troops played a crucial role in early Islamic conquests. Much of Yemen's architecture survived until modern times. For centuries, it was a primary producer of coffee, exported through the port of Mocha. Various dynasties emerged between the 9th and 16th centuries. During the 19th century, the country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires. After World War I, the Kingdom of Yemen was established, which in 1962 became the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) following a civil war. In 1967, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) gained its independence from the British Aden Protectorate, becoming the first and only communist state in the Middle East and the Arab world. In 1990, the two Yemeni states united to form the modern Republic of Yemen, with Ali Abdullah Saleh serving as the first president until his resignation in 2012 in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Since 2011, Yemen has been enduring a political crisis, marked by street protests against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and President Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate the presidential term limit. By 2015, the country became engulfed by an ongoing civil war with multiple entities vying for governance, including the Presidential Leadership Council of the internationally recognized government, and the Houthi movement's Supreme Political Council. This conflict, which has escalated to involve various foreign powers, has led to a severe humanitarian crisis. (Full article...)
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South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until its unification with the Yemen Arab Republic in 1990. The sole communist state in the Middle East and the Arab world, it comprised the southern and eastern governorates of the present-day Republic of Yemen, including the islands of Perim, Kamaran, and the Socotra Archipelago. It bordered the Yemen Arab Republic to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Aden to the south. Its capital and largest city was Aden.
South Yemen's origins can be traced to 1874 with the creation of the British Colony of Aden and the Aden Protectorate, which consisted of two-thirds of present-day Yemen. Prior to 1937, what was to become the Colony of Aden had been governed as a part of British India, originally as the Aden Settlement subordinate to the Bombay Presidency and then as a Chief Commissioner's province. After the establishments of the Protectorate and Federation of South Arabia amidst rising Pan-Arab and anti-colonial sentiment, an armed rebellion began in 1963 that was led by the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) against British colonial rule. The Federation and Protectorate of South Arabia were overthrown to become the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (PRSY) on 30 November 1967. (Full article...)
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Ahmed Fadhl Al-Abdali (1881–1943), commonly known as "al-Qumindan", was a Yemeni poet, composer, and military figure belonging to the "Al-Abdali" family that ruled the Sultanate of Lahej during the British occupation of southern Yemen. Additionally, he was a historian and played a pivotal role in the agricultural renaissance of Lahij. Some even considered him as faqih. al-Qumindan played an active role in the establishment of the Arab Literary Club in Aden in 1925, holding various leadership positions over time. He is regarded as one of the most celebrated poets of the Yemeni dialect, with his oeuvre enjoying considerable popularity in Lahij and the surrounding regions. As a composer, he is regarded as the founder of modern Lahij music, which is regarded as one of the principal musical styles in Yemen, alongside Sanaani and Hadrami music.
One factor that contributed to his renown was the introduction of the phonograph in Aden, which facilitated the dissemination of his music to a wider audience. However, his work was subject to competition from Indian and Egyptian songs that enjoyed considerable popularity at the time. Furthermore, certain religious scholars in Aden and Lahij issued fatwas that prohibited music, specifically condemning al-Qumindan's songs. Nevertheless, this did not significantly impede the dissemination of his music. (Full article...)
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The Himyarite Kingdom at its height in 525 AD (from History of Yemen)
Current (January 2025) political and military control in ongoing Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)Controlled by the Government of Yemen (under the Presidential Leadership Council since April 2022) and allies(from History of Yemen)
Bridge at Shaharah in the western highlands, with terracing at top right (from Wildlife of Yemen)
Slave-market in the town of Zabid in Yemen. Illustration from the 1237 Maqamat al-Hariri produced in Baghdad by al-Wasiti (Arabe 5847) (from History of Yemen)
Zaidi State under the rule of Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il (1675) (from History of Yemen)
Saint Mary's Garrison church in Aden was built by the British in 1850 and is currently abandoned. (from History of Yemen)
Rasulid Kingdom around 1264 AD (from History of Yemen)
Old Walled City of Shibam, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Himyarite King Dhamar Ali Yahbur II (from History of Yemen)
Protest in Sanaa, 3 February 2011 (from History of Yemen)
The Madrasa Amiriya of Rada, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
A funerary stela featuring a musical scene, 1st century AD (from History of Yemen)
The Qadi of Sa'dah, Yemen, in 1200-1210, according to the Maqamat al-Hariri (BNF 3929) (from History of Yemen)
Jibla and its surroundings, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Old City of Zabid, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Map of Yemen and its environs on the eve of World War I (from History of Yemen)
Old City of Sana'a, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Tahirids in light green and Zaydi imams in dark green (from History of Yemen)
Queen Arwa al- Sulaihi Palace (from History of Yemen)
Mocha was Yemen's busiest port in the 17th and 18th century. (from History of Yemen)
Arabian boduis farm couple, possibly Yemeni (Códice Casanatense, c. 1540) (from History of Yemen)
Jabal Haraz, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Ruins of The Great Dam of Marib (from History of Yemen)
Flag of the Colony of Aden. (from History of Yemen)
Sabaean gravestone of a woman holding a stylized sheaf of wheat, a symbol of fertility in ancient Yemen (from History of Yemen)
Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din's house in Sanaa(from History of Yemen)
Al-Qahyra (Cairo) Castle's Garden in Ta'izz, the capital of Yemen during the Rasulid's era (from History of Yemen)
Zurayid Kingdom and the neighbouring polities (from History of Yemen)
Postage stamp of the Kathiri state of Sai'yun with portrait of Sultan Jafar bin Mansur. Kathiri is Kingdom of Hadhramaut Protected/Controlled British Empire. (from History of Yemen)
Interior of the Great Mosque of Sanaa, the oldest mosque in Yemen (from History of Yemen)
Ruins of Thula fortress in 'Amran, where al-Mutahhar ibn Yaha barricaded himself against Ottoman attacks. (from History of Yemen)
Balhaf/Burum coastal area, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
The Historic City of Thula, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Hawf, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
The critically endangered Arabian leopard (from Wildlife of Yemen)
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Hawf (Arabic: حوف), officially known as the Hawf District (Arabic: مديرية حوف), is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate in south-eastern Yemen. As of the 2004 Yemeni census, the district had a population of 5,143 inhabitants. The Hawf Area was nominated as a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2002. Currently, it is listed as a tentative World Heritage Site. The town of Hawf itself is 12.7 kilometres (7.9 mi) southwest by road from Sarfait, and 163 kilometres (101 mi) southwest by road from Salalah, one of Oman's largest cities. (Full article...)
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- A bronze statue of Dhamar Ali Yahbur II, a Himyarite Kingdom king who probably reigned in late 3rd or early 4th century AD. Displayed in the Sana'a National Museum.
Temple of Awwam in Marib.
Al Saleh Mosque in Sana'a.
Jews of Maswar, Yemen, in 1902
Bronze lion with a rider made by Qatabanians the circa 75-50 BCE.
A Griffon from the royal palace at Shabwa, the capital city of Hadhramaut- Ruins of the Great Marib Dam (1988)
Seiyun Palace was the royal residence of the sultan of Kathiri, located in the town of Seiyun in the Hadhramaut region, Yemen. It is one of the world’s largest mud-brick structures.
A Yemeni Jambiya- dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in Socotra
Barran Temple in Marib.
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