Yemen Travel Guide - Top Things To See

Traditional windows - the wood is caved and painted
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Wander through Sana'a, the modern capital and long an important citadel along the trade route between Aden and Mecca. The citadel, Qasr al-Silah, was rebuilt after the arrival of Islam in the seventh century and is still intact.

• See the Great Mosque of Sana'a, the oldest and largest of the mosques in Sana'a and one of the oldest in the Muslim world, constructed in the lifetime of the Prophet and enlarged in AD705.

• Tour the National Museum in Taherir Square in Dar al-Shukr (Palace of Gratefulness); it contains engravings of pre-Islamic times, bronze statues, a beautiful mashrabia (cooling place for water) and several examples of folk art. 

• Visit Rawdha, some 8km (5 miles) north of Sana'a, a garden city famous for its sweet grapes, the mosque built by Ahmed ibn al-Qasim and the Rawdha Palace, now used as a hotel. 

See Amran, lying on the edge of the fertile basin of al-Bawn. The city is surrounded by the old clay city walls of pre-Islamic, Sabean origin. 

Discover the city of Ta'izz, which lies in the south at an altitude of 1,400m (4,590ft). The old city has been all but swallowed up by the fast-growing modern city around it but beautiful old houses and mosques remain within the line of the 13th-century city wall, which is still intact along the southern side.

• Visit the modern Red Sea port of Hodeida and see the fish market, where fishing boats have been built from wood in the same way for hundreds of years.

• Tour the walled city of Sa'dah. The al-Hadi Mosque is still an important institution for education in Zaydism. It is possible to walk along the top of the city walls, which offer good views of the city.
 
• Step back in time and see the ancient Mareb Dam, used thousands of years ago to irrigate the surrounding land. The stonework is impressive, measuring 600m (1,968ft) wide and 18m (60ft) deep.

• Visit the port of Aden with its biblical history and fine museums. Crater, the oldest part of the city, lies in the crater of an extinct volcano and is where the most ancient constructions in Aden may be seen.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.




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