Yemen has established itself as a tourist destination, attracting travelers with its
striking scenery and spectacular Islamic and pre-Islamic
architecture. Yemen boasts hugely varied
landscapes, from magnificent
mountains to lush fruit-growing
valleys to semi-arid
plains and wide
sandy beaches. The towns and cities hide
souks and spice markets,
mosques and ancient city walls.
To the
Romans, Yemen was Arabia Felix, whose mountains and
fertile areas distinguished it from the barren desert of the rest of the
Arabian peninsula. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Yemen came into the seventh century under the influence of
Islam. It remained within the orbit of various regional powers until, in the 15th century, it became a flashpoint in the struggle between the Egyptians and the
Ottoman Empire. During the early 17th and early 19th centuries, the struggle for control was between the Europeans and the Ottomans. Split in two by political and civil warfare throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Yemen was finally reunited in 1990 under Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The country is home to numerous significant
archaeological sites, while
adventure travelers can enjoy camping and trekking in the unique
Socotra archipelago, which counts over 270 endemic species among its enormous range of
wildlife and
plant life.
GeographyThe Republic of Yemen is bordered in the northwest, north and northeast by Saudi Arabia, in the east by Oman and in the south by the Gulf of Aden. To the west lies the Red Sea. The islands of Perim and Karam in the southern Red Sea are also part of the Republic. Yemen is predominantly mountainous, supporting terraced agriculture. The Hadramaut is a range of high mountains in the center of the country. Highlands rise steeply in central Yemen, ranging in height from approximately 200m (656ft) to the 4,000m (13,123ft) peak of Jabal Nabi Shauib. In contrast is
Tihama, a flat semi-desert coastal plain to the west, 50 to 100km (30 to 60 miles) wide. Surface water flows down from the mountains through the valleys during the rainy season and the area is cultivated for cotton and grain. In the east, the mountains drop away to the
Rub al-Khali or ‘Empty Quarter’ of the Arabian Peninsula, a vast sea of sand. The arid coastal plains are fringed with sandy beaches.
Next Page »
