Yemen Travel Guide

Almost all men in Sana'a. with an age above 14, wear a Jambiya or Yemeni dagger. They are beautiful and not expensive at all.

In this tent men come together to masticate Qat. It reminded me the Opium secret places in China.For your information, chewing Qat in Arabia, Jordan and other strict Muslim countries is penalized with seven years imprisonment, but in Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen, is free.

I was travelling with a few friends, from France and Spain. We spent a lovely day in an oasis with a natural pool where we could swim!

In those times when there were two Yemen, there were many Russian tanks on the beach. Today there are a few, all abandoned.

Socotra people are different from Yemen mainland. Many of them do not even speak Arabic, but only their own language. Soqotri language can be said that is only spoken in Socotra Island, since Socotra women are forbidden to leave the island.

Or visit at least the most remarkable palaces. Do not miss Al Kaf Palace. You have to pay a small fee and is worht the visit. Some of them shelter pretty furniture.

The usual Friday great mosque for Tarim. Behind this mossque is the worl renowed al-ahgaf manuscript Library.

Tarim is famous for its innumerable palaces - a collection of approximately thirty mansions constructed between the 1870s and 1930s. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hadhramaut’s merchant families grew rich from trade and investments abroad. The al-Kaf family was considered the most influential. Many members of the family were...

Apart from the Sultan Palace it is worth to visit other places in Say'un, scuh as the local market, in downtown, where you can buy fruits.

If you run low on something. The souqs in Sayun are the place to get it. They seemed to have a little bit of everything here. After visiting the Sultan's Palace to get the lay of the land these are great places to wander about. They say some of the best honey in the world comes from around here. You will see it in the souq in shops that specialize...

Since the shooting of the Spanish tourists in May 2007, Brits have been advised not to go to Marib. Other European tour groups do go though, and there is a police escort along the road (see getting to Marib tip)I went anyway, without my group and with a driver, as I was desperate to see it and came back to tell the tale. I had the sites to myself...

You can take a day trip to Marib from Sana’a. The drive is between 2.5 to 3 hours each way. Many tours then continue across the empty quarter to Hadramaut. I took the trip from Sana’a there and back in a day as Brits were advised not to go to Marib so I got a driver to take me. The tourist vehicles travel in a convoy with a police escort, meeting...

The Southern Arabian language dates from Sabaean times (Queen of Sheba) and had 29 letters, all in upper case. Inscriptions were mostly carved into stone and used to describe administrative and commercial achievements, battle victories and building work. The oldest found so far is from the 9th century BC, the most recent from the 2nd century BC.At...

It is a tradition to be nice in Yemen and never refuse a smile or a conversation. These children were very curious because rarely a foreigner visit Zabid.

The city retains much of the low defensive wall and also some of the original gates, including Bab an-Nakhi.

Zabid is a town named after Wadi Zabid the wadi to its south, is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, it was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century and a center of the Arab and Muslim world due in large part to its famed University of Zabid and being a center of Islamic education. Zabid has been declared a World Heritage Site by the...

While walking around Shibam I paid attention to the houses and its doors. Many of them were very original.

To get here you can either drive from Sanaa via Marib or Al Mukalla as I did or if you are pressed for time you can fly Yemenia into Sayun and it is a 15 min or so drive from the airport.I would suggest driving in and flying out if time is critical. Shibam sits in the middle of Wadi Hadramawt which is basically a huge canyon full of small...

Yemen being on the coast of the Arabian Sea is a seafood town. The tuna here would make any Japanese person salivate.

On the coast road from Mukalla to Aden you will pass Yemen's most important ancient port, where the Frankincense was shipped from in Sabaean times. In ancient times it was called Qana. The Sabaeans traded with Oman, Persia and India but Qana was destroyed in the 2nd century AD and now it is a small village called Bir Ali. Also along the route is a...

The coast road from Mukalla to Aden is said to be safer than the old road. Some of the tribes along the route are hostile to the present government. Under the socialist regime they were supported financially and didn’t need to work. Now they are not given state support. They sometimes ambush and kidnap people travelling along the road from Mukalla...

Al Mahwit is a capital city of Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen. It is located in the elevation of around 2000 metres.

West of Mahwit in the Haraz mountains, Manakah was an important stopping place in Ottoman times for caravans travelling between Sana’a and Hodeidah. Close by is Al Khutayb, an Ismaili Shi’ite region and Hatim Ibn Ibrahim al-Hamdani is a 16th century Ismaili shrine and tomb. It is 6km from Manakah on top of a hill. Pilgrims travel from as far as...

The architecture of Al Mahwit is typical of the Central Highlands and mixes the old and the new successfully. It is quite run down in parts but this adds to its charm. The older houses, which are between 300 and 600 years old, are made from blocks of mountain stone and have attractive shuttered windows.

Like elsewhere in the Central Highlands men will just start to dance, even without particular reason.

I second what is said under "Aggressive sales people". The shopkeepers have ruimed it for themselves as far as I'm concerned. Besides, there's nothing there you couldn't find in Old Sana'a for less. Go see the town, or skip it and see Hababah (see there). Go to the souq area of Old Sana'a for your jambiyas, shawls or whatever takes your fancy.

Thila is a small fortified town with seven ancient gates not far from Sanaa (about 90 minutes drive) and worth a day trip for its superb architecture. It is a mountain town built at the foot of a steep, rocky outcrop. The houses are all old and the vast majority are tower houses built with stones taken from the mountain behind. A perfect blend. In...

Al-Ashrafiya Mosque constructed in 628 with beautiful twin minarets located at end of old town in Ta'izz.

Qalat-al Qahira, the old citadel and the governor's palace that rests on top of a mountain spur 450 metres above the city centre.

Wadi al Dhbab weekly market is a rural market and it is very crowded with animal traders selling goats, camels, cattle, sheep and donkeys as well as stalls of spices, garlic, baskets, hats, pottery and textiles and fruit and vegetables. This area grows very large papayas which are delicious!The country people are very colourful with bright orange...

An important stronghold during the Turkish occupation of lower regions of the Yemen, Kawkaban served to protect the town of Shibam below. It is built at the summit of a 350-metre cliff and the town's inhabitants were often evacuated there during times of crisis. Kawkaban is about an hour's walk from Shiban, by means of a paved footway, starting...

Once you are done hiking down the cliff it is time to eat in the town below..Shibam. My yank butt go to dine solo since I was by myself but the food was hot and plentiful. for $5-7 it was enough food to feed 3-4 people. There was a honey cake that was a tasty treat to snack on. When they cook a chicken here and elsewhere in Yemen they chop it up...

Here's the drill. Any guide you hire will take you up to the town/mesa. You walk around and take your photos but don't buy anything from the local yo yo's selling trinkets since you can get it cheaper in Sanaa anyway. When you are done clicking the camera and shooting the sh.. with the locals if you can speak arabic..you hike down the trail that...

Close to Hababa at Zakati is Bukur , an 800 year old ruined castle on the steep mountainside with stunning and scary views off the edge of a plateau with the mountains behind.

There is no shopping in Hababah! Do your shopping for 'antiques' and other souvenirs in Thula - or better yet in the Old City of Sana'a. No restaurants, nightlife either...but also no tourist traps or dangers. Just friendly folks.

Thula has become a bit overbearing. It is beautiful and clean, but its population is starting to go the wrong way in their commercialization of the place. Slightly less picturesque, because it does not have the mountainside location, Hababah is worth a visiti nevertheless: it is full of old houses and its cistern with semi-circular round housing...

Shaharah has been known for being unreachable for so many years and half the battle is just getting there! I have travelled on some bad mountain roads in my life in Pakistan, India and Nepal but nothing compares to the road from Wadi Qabi to the actual village of Shaharah. If you are afraid of heights or terrified of a driver that doesnt speak...

Travellers beware that when you travel from Wadi Qabi to Shaharah your driver ( A local from the wadi) will probably pick up some of his buddies along the mountain route who are just looking for a ride up into their villages for free and to be honest I dont blame them because I wouldnt walk or hike those mountain passes everyday either! The men...

Shaharah and the surrounding area has to be one of the most stunning landscapes not only in Yemen but the entire Middle East. Travellers are far and few between here and the locals are not used to mass tourism but they all know that you are going to Shaharah to see the incredible bridge. The first glimpse of the bridge is quite dramatic because you...