Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the Red Sea to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south, sharing maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 528,000 square kilometres (203,861 square miles), with a coastline of approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arab Muslims. 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 civilisations for over 7,000 years. In 1200 BCE, the Sabaeans formed a thriving commercial kingdom that included parts of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 275 CE, 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. Yemenite troops played a crucial role in early Islamic conquests. 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 coup. In 1967, the British Aden Protectorate became the independent People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), the first and only officially socialist state in 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...)
The Bab-el-Mandeb (Arabic: باب المندب, lit. 'Gate of Lamentation', Tigrinya: ባብ ኣል ማንዳብ), the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Tears, is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean. (Full article...)
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Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Khalid Karman (Arabic: توكل عبد السلام خالد كرمان, romanized: Tawakkul 'Abd us-Salām Khālid Karmān; Turkish: Tevekkül Karman; born 7 February 1979) is a Yemeni journalist, politician, and human rights activist. She co-founded and leads 'Women Journalists Without Chains', a group established in 2005 to advocate for press freedom and human rights. She became the international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that was part of the Arab Spring movement. She was often referred as the 'Iron Woman' and the 'Mother of the Revolution" in Yemen. She is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work". She became the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Karman gained prominence in Yemen after 2005 as a Yemeni journalist and an advocate for press freedom, particularly following the denial of a license for a mobile phone news service in 2007, after which she led protests. After May 2007, she organized weekly protests advocating for broader reforms in Yemen. In early 2011, she shifted the protests to align with the broader Arab Spring movement, inspired by the Tunisian revolution that overthrew the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. She was a vocal opponent who called for the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime. (Full article...)
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Balhaf/Burum coastal area, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
The Qadi of Sa'dah, Yemen, in 1200-1210, according to the Maqamat al-Hariri (BNF 3929) (from History of Yemen) -
Queen Arwa al- Sulaihi Palace (from History of Yemen) -
Ruins of Thula fortress in 'Amran, where al-Mutahhar ibn Yaha barricaded himself against Ottoman attacks. (from History of Yemen) -
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Current (November 2021) 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 alliesControlled by Ansar al-Sharia, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantControlled by Southern Transitional Council(from History of Yemen) -
Zaidi State under the rule of Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il (1675) (from History of Yemen) -
Jabal Haraz, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
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Arabian boduis farm couple, possibly Yemeni (Códice Casanatense, c. 1540) (from History of Yemen) -
Ruins of The Great Dam of Marib (from History of Yemen) -
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Mocha was Yemen's busiest port in the 17th and 18th century. (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) -
The Himyarite Kingdom at its height in 525 AD (from History of Yemen) -
Flag of the Colony of Aden. (from History of Yemen) -
Protest in Sana'a, 3 February 2011 (from History of Yemen) -
Interior of the Great Mosque of Sana'a, the oldest mosque in Yemen (from History of Yemen) -
Bridge at Shaharah in the western highlands, with terracing at top right (from Wildlife of Yemen) -
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Al-Qahyra (Cairo) Castle's Garden in Ta'izz, the capital of Yemen during the Rasulid's era (from History of Yemen) -
The critically endangered Arabian leopard (from Wildlife of Yemen) -
The Historic City of Thula, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
Sabaean gravestone of a woman holding a stylized sheaf of wheat, a symbol of fertility in ancient Yemen (from History of Yemen) -
The Madrasa Amiriya of Rada, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
Old City of Sana'a, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
Himyarite King Dhamar Ali Yahbur II (from History of Yemen) -
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Old City of Zabid, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
A funerary stela featuring a musical scene, 1st century AD (from History of Yemen) -
Tahirids in light green and Zaydi imams in dark green (from History of Yemen) -
Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din's house in Sana'a(from History 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) -
Hawf, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in 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) -
Jibla and its surroundings, UNESCO Tentative Site (from Tourism in Yemen) -
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Rasulid Kingdom around 1264 AD (from History of Yemen) -
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Old Walled City of Shibam, UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Tourism in Yemen)
Hajjah (Arabic: حَجَّة, romanized: Ḥajjah) is the capital city of Hajjah Governorate in north-western Yemen. It is located 127 kilometres northwest of Sana'a, at an elevation of about 1800 metres. As of 2003, the Hajjah City District had a population of 53,887 inhabitants. (Full article...)
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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. -
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 -
dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in Socotra
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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.
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A Yemeni Jambiya -
Barran Temple in Marib. -
Temple of Awwam in Marib. -
Ruins of the Great Marib Dam (1988)
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Jews of Maswar, Yemen, in 1902 -
Al Saleh Mosque in Sana'a.
Asida (Arabic "عصيدة", Maghrebi "Ġsydë" [ˈʕæs(ˁ)iːdə]) is a common dish in the Arab world. It is a lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey. Similar in texture to fufu, it is eaten mainly in Middle East and African countries. It is considered one of the most popular desserts and traditional dishes in many Arab countries. (Full article...)
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