Portal:Yemen
Yemen Portal


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 south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,503 square kilometres (175,871 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 colonized 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. From its conversion to Islam, Yemen became a center of Islamic learning, and Yemenite troops played a crucial role in early Islamic conquests. Much of Yemen's architecture survived until modern times. For centuries, it became a primary producer of coffee exported in the port of Mocha. 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.
Yemen is one of the least developed countries in the world, facing significant obstacles to sustainable development, and is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2019, the United Nations reported that Yemen had the highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid, amounting to about 24 million individuals, or nearly 75% of its population. As of 2020, Yemen ranked highest on the Fragile States Index and second-worst on the Global Hunger Index, surpassed only by the Central African Republic. As of 2024, Yemen is regarded as the world's least peaceful country by the Global Peace Index. Additionally, it has the lowest Human Development Index out of all non-African countries. Yemen is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change and among the least prepared to handle its effects. (Full article...)
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The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada) followed the initial stages of the Tunisian revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions and corruption, as well as against the government's proposals to modify Yemen's constitution. The protesters' demands then escalated to calls for the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mass defections from the military, as well as from Saleh's government, effectively rendered much of the country outside of the government's control, and protesters vowed to defy its authority.
A major demonstration of over 16,000 protesters took place in Sanaʽa, Yemen's capital, on 27 January. On 2 February, Saleh announced he would not run for reelection in 2013 and that he would not pass power to his son. On 3 February, 20,000 people protested against the government in Sanaʽa, while others protested in Aden, a southern Yemeni seaport city, in a "Day of Rage" called for by Tawakel Karman, while soldiers, armed members of the General People's Congress and many protesters held a pro-government rally in Sanaʽa. In a "Friday of Anger" on 18 February, tens of thousands of Yemenis took part in anti-government demonstrations in Taiz, Sanaʽa and Aden. On a "Friday of No Return" on 11 March, protesters called for Saleh's ousting in Sanaʽa where three people were killed. More protests were held in other cities, including Mukalla, where one person was killed. On 18 March, protesters in Sanaʽa were fired upon, resulting in 52 deaths and ultimately culminating in mass defections and resignations. (Full article...)
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The Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilqis in Arabic and as Makeda in Geʽez, is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for Solomon, the fourth King of Israel and Judah. This account has undergone extensive elaborations in Judaism, Ethiopian Christianity, and Islam. It has consequently become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in West Asia and Northeast Africa, as well as in other regions where the Abrahamic religions have had a significant impact.
Modern historians and archaeologists identify Sheba as one of the South Arabian kingdoms, which existed in modern-day Yemen. However, because no trace of her has ever been found, the Queen of Sheba's existence is disputed among some historians. (Full article...)
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Jabal Haraz (Arabic: جَبَل حَرَاز, romanized: Jabal Ḥarāz) is a mountainous region of Yemen, between Sanaa and Al-Hudaydah, which is considered to be within the Sarat range. In the 11th century, it was the stronghold of the Sulaihid dynasty, many of whose buildings still survive today. It includes Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb, the highest mountain in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. (Full article...)
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Bint al-sahn (Arabic: بنت الصحن, romanized: Bint as-Saḥn, lit. 'daughter of the plate'), also known as sabayah, is a Yemeni pastry made from a dough, which is prepared by mixing white flour, eggs, yeast and clarified butter, known as samn (سمن). It is baked in multiple layers and typically served with honey and sprinkled with habbat as sowda (Nigella sativa, black cumin). (Full article...)
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