Safety Tips in Yemen

This was just report on July 2nd 2007 by Associated Press Writer

" SAN'A, Yemen — An al-Qaida suicide bomber drove into a convoy of Spanish tourists visiting an ancient Yemeni temple, officials said, killing seven Spaniards and two Yemenis less than two weeks after a U.S. terror warning about the area. Witnesses said the bomber drove a car through the gate of the temple compound, and the vehicle exploded near the structure, which was built about 3,000 years ago and dedicated to the Queen of Sheba. Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, said seven dead and five wounded — one seriously — were Spaniards when the bomber drove into the middle of the Spanish convoy.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack in the central Marib province, about 85 miles east of the capital San'a, but authorities linked the suicide bomber to al-Qaida. Police said they received information last month about a possible al-Qaida attack.

Less than two weeks ago, the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid the area. On June 23 in the neighboring Shabwa province, a Yemeni guard opened fire on a group of foreign oil workers shortly after they landed at a company airstrip, killing one and wounding five — including an American.

Yemen was a haven for Islamists from across the Arab world during the 1990s, but after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it declared support for the U.S. campaign against international terrorism.

Its crackdown on militants has suffered a number of setbacks, however, such as the February 2006 prison breakout of 23 convicts — some of whom had been jailed for al-Qaida-linked crimes.

Foreign interests in Yemen often face low-level threats and tourists are frequently kidnapped by tribes seeking to win concessions from the government, either better services or the release of jailed relatives. Most of the hostages have been released unharmed."

This was reported in the the Guardian." Please contact your Embassy before you travel outside of Sanaa

Yemen has been labeled a "dangerous" destination; travel warnings do exist. The main reason so far were kidnappings of tourists/expats on a regular basis with a peak in the mid-nineties. Unruly tribes tried to gain concessions from the central government with hostages as leverage. The number of kidnappings is on the decrease since then. In the last two years though, there were an increasing number of attacks against tourists or foreign embassies, with several victims killed or wounded. In consequence, ad hoc travel limitations were issued in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. Each case is tragic - no doubt about that - yet statistically, given how many people travel to Yemen each year, these are still are exceptions and it boils down to a matter of bad luck and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But it cannot be denied that in 2008 there has been a dramatic increase of incidents. Compared to the situation two years ago, after speaking with several expats my impression is that the overall security situation is now worse than before, so you have to weigh the risks against the benefits. For the moment, though I am sad to say it, I would monitor the news closely and postpone Yemen travel till the security situation stabilizes again.

If you should decide to go to Yemen, there are still a few a number of pro-reasons:
1. The government issued the death penalty for abductions and at the same time encouraged involvement of the local tribes in tourism (as guides, secuirty guards, drivers etc.).
2. Most tourists travel with organized tours, so the tour operator will avoid areas with a volatile security situation. That means, mainly Marib and Shabwa provinces + Saada area(occasional civil warfare & abductions) to the north.
3. The kidnappings took mainly place in the provinces of Marib and Shabwa which can be avoided altogether. If you want to visit the Hadramaut, take an inland flight from Sanaa instead of driving through the Marib.
4. Sanaa - as a major city - is quite safe. Expats who worked there for a long time confirmed that theft let alone robbery, violent crime etc. is completely uncommon, even if you walk the streets in the evening or get lost in the Old Town. I felt much safer than in many major cities in Europe.
5. Unlike other destinations, you will most certainly not be harrassed by hawkers or agressive youths. As a female traveller, you will likely be stared at even when you are modestly dressed, but it is highly unlikely that you will experience sexual harrassment, flirting or else.

4 more images

The receptionist in my Sana’a hotel saw me taking photos of women walking by from well inside the lobby entrance. He said “They will kill you” in a mixture of resignation and friendly concern. I am not sure how accurate he may have been and I suggest you do not try and find out. Women are always in the veil here. If you want to take photos, then do so out of your hotel window or very discretely from your waist so it looks like you are not taking photos. Considering just about every man has a Jambiya, or huge dagger, on them you may be in fear of your life if caught.
In photo no. 3 here you can even see 2 men waving 2 women out of the way so I could take a photo of a school class visiting a museum. It can be frustrating when you want to take photos of the local culture, but it’s their rules here. With a bit of creativity you can probably get better photos than I did.

Hi Thanks for the post really interesting,
I am from the UK been living in dubai for 7 years although its a great place for trade and business its lost the magic of arabia become too modern and european. I am planning to take a long trip to yemen and see the old sites part of old arabia maybe have a chance to visit the empty quarter, my only concerns are the british goverment warning travels to yemen as its supposed to be a terror hotbed very dangerous and lots of tribal issues and kidnappings of foreigners is there any truth to this or is it safe to travel to yemen and any tips as to the easy way to have a great experience

Many of the very picturesque highland villages in Yemen, have wires and cables hanging down across the front of the old houses spoiling the "traditional hundreds of years old house" photograph. It's very irritating - just when you get a glimpse of the perfect shot of a village you have to take it from another angle to try and minimise the wires in the shot.

Yemen is not suitable for the Traveller who has trouble walking up steps.
Apart from the coastal towns of Aden, Mukalla and Zabid all towns, villages, palaces and most dwellings and museums have many steps to climb. Due to the age of the places most of the steps are worn and crumbling, as are the paths in and up to the villages. You have to be very careful where you put your feet as it is very easy to fall.
There is no point in staying at the bottom as you will miss the essence of most places. If you can’t do steps – you can’t see Yemen!

Travelling to Yemen? Hope you are not afraid of needles! You need some immunizations before you go. At the least I would recommend these for travel in Yemen:

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B – for longer journeys
Tetanus
Typhoid

The full list is here of every possibility worldwide, but includes some immunizations you should have had as a child:

Cholera
Diphtheria
European tick borne Encephalitis (not Yemen)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Japanese Encephalitis (not Yemen)
Measles
Meningococcal meningitis (not Yemen)
Poliomyelitis
Rabies
Rubella
Tetanus
Typhoid
Yellow Fever (not Yemen)

Yellow Fever is only if you are travelling into affected areas in yellow-fever-infected counties in Africa or the Americas

There is a high incidence of rabies from stray dog bites in Yemen, be careful.

BE SAFE: See your doctor before you go! I’m no medical expert, just a safe traveller.

If there are any rules of the road in Yemen, they are ignored by the vast majority of drivers, making the traffic and driving in the country some of the most chaotic I have ever seen. Drivers aggressively tailgate cars ahead of them, coming to within mere inches, and constantly sound their horns (or flash their headlights at night), in order to try to force the other cars out of the way. (I had problems sleeping during my first night in Sana'a, one of the reasons being the constant blaring of horns all night long).

In some of the major cities, there are traffic signals which no one seems to see. Drivers routinely drive right through red stop lights, and on-coming traffic, which should have the right-of-way, has to yield. Everyone who approaches an intersection seemingly has the right-of-way, and drivers are constantly pulling into the path of on-coming vehicles. Laughably, there are traffic police posted at some of the busiest intersections in the cities, and no one pays them any heed at all.

Marked lanes on the roads are completely meaningless as drivers pass each other and jockey for position. As an example, if there are two marked lanes on a road, there might be four or five lanes of traffic. Outside of the cities, drivers pass other vehicles, pulling out into the lane of on-coming traffic. Somehow the on-coming drivers move over enough to avoid a head-on collision.

In the cities, pedestrians walk right out into the traffic and seem to have no fear. I would not have the nerve to cross some of the busy streets in Yemen. Unbelievably, there seem to be few accidents involving pedestrians or between vehicles. And despite the apparent craziness of the driving, traffic flows, and I never experienced traffic jams such as are common in the West.