Yemen - Yemen

	ATTENTION:Avoid travel to Yemen and if you already repatriate them quickly, in 2019 it is still subject to bombings and various guerrillas; for further information in real time consult Viaggiare Sicuri - portal of the Farnesina

Yemen is a state of the Middle East, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and to the east with theOman and to the north with theSaudi Arabia.

To know

Geographical notes

The borders with Saudi Arabia have only recently been precisely defined, as they are largely uninhabited territories.

The Hanish islands and the island of Zuqar, the island of Kamaran and Perim, all in the Red Sea, belong to Yemen, while the Yemeni island of Socotra it is located in the Arabian Sea.

The coastal plains called Tihāma (hot lands), they are very arid. Despite this, there are several lagoons, including unhealthy ones, which are infested with malaria-carrying insects. The Tihāma they end abruptly at the foot of the western highlands.

The central highlands are located at a height of over 2,000 m. The highest mountain in the Yemeni plateau is the 3760m Jabal Nabi Shuab.

When to go

On the coast, summers are very hot and humid, temperate in the highlands. The best times to visit the highlands are March-April and October-November. On the coasts the most suitable period is from December to February.

Background

Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world.

Between the 9th century BC and in the sixth century, several kingdoms developed in Yemen: Saba, Awsan, Minei, Qatabanici, Ḥaḍramawt and the Himyarite, and others that controlled several important commercial centers.

Yemen was known to the ancient Romans as Arabia Felix due to its lucrative trade.

In the 16th century, Yemen became part of the Ottoman Empire until the 20th century. The North of Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and in 1962 the Arab Republic of Yemen was proclaimed there. In 1839 the British Empire had occupied the port of the city of Aden and he had made it into a colony, surrounded by some protectorates over which he exercised effective influence. In 1967 the British, under the pressure of insurrectionist forces fomented above all by theEgypt, withdrew and here in 1970 the communist regime of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, also known as South Yemen, was established. After a few years of negotiations, on May 22, 1990 the two Yemeni states reunited into a single state, the current Yemen.

Spoken languages

Although the national language is theArabic, today's Yemeni descendants use a language very similar to the Semitic languages ​​ofEritrea andEthiopia, which are however largely in the minority and mostly used on the island of Socotra and in the interior of the coastal region of Ḥaḍramawt.

The number of people who speak theEnglish in Yemen it is low when compared to that of other Arab countries, such asEgypt, the Lebanon or theSaudi Arabia.

Culture and traditions

Yemen is almost exclusively inhabited by citizens of Arab ethnicity. In Yemen the most practiced religion is Sunni Islam and the millennial Jewish presence in the state ended in 2009 when the last members of the community, threatened by both Al Qaeda and Shiite rebels, emigrated to Israel and the United States.

Suggested readings

• F. Sabahi, History of Yemen, Bruno Mondadori, 2010

Territories and tourist destinations

Urban centers

How to get

Entry requirements

The entry visa for tourist reasons is not issued to individuals but only to those who have signed up for a trip organized by a Tour Operator.

By plane

The only international airport is that of Sana'a.

How to get around

By plane

The other airports in the country, in addition to the international one, are Hodeidah Airport, Taiz Airport, Aden, Riyan Mukalla Airport, Seiyun, the Airport of Socotra, and Mukalla Airport.

By bus

In the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, and in other inhabited areas there are public and private companies that manage urban, suburban and interurban transport by bus.

What see

What to do

Currency and purchases

The national currency is the Yemeni riyal (YER) Here are the links to know the current exchange rate with the main world currencies:

(EN) With Google Finance:	AUDCADCHFEURGBPHKDJPYUSD
With Yahoo! Finance:	AUDCADCHFEURGBPHKDJPYUSD
(EN) With XE.com:	AUDCADCHFEURGBPHKDJPYUSD
(EN) With OANDA.com:	AUDCADCHFEURGBPHKDJPYUSD

At the table

Tourist infrastructure

Events and parties

Safety

To cross the desert, you need the guide of the Bedouin which, moreover, costs very expensive (200/300 dollars a day in August 2007) but only in this way will you be sure not to run the risk of being kidnapped (at the expense of what they say on television or in other media).

Health situation

Respect the customs

How to keep in touch

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Yemen
• Commons contains images or other files on Yemen
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or about Yemen
• Wikinews contains current news on Yemen
  

Draft : the article respects the standard template and has at least one section with useful information (albeit a few lines). Header and footer are correctly filled out.