The arid country of Yemen is still a blank spot on the map for most travelers, even those who has already traveled half the world. Getting a visa here is sometimes not easy, but even without this there are few who want to visit a country that can hardly ensure the safety of its guests. Too bad — there are a lot of interesting things here.
Interesting facts about Yemen
- Yemen ranks 49th in the world both in terms of population and area.
- This country is one of the oldest centers of civilization on the planet. These lands were inhabited by people about 1.65 million years ago. Scientists know about at least 6 ancient kingdoms that arose in this area.
- For the past few years, an armed conflict has continued in Yemen between government forces and the Islamist group Ansar Allah. Despite the intervention of a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, it is not possible to end the civil war (interesting facts about Saudi Arabia).
- Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. GDP per capita in this state is only 2.5 thousand dollars, among Arab countries this figure is lower only in Mauritania and Sudan (interesting facts about Sudan).
- The ancient city of Shibam, standing in the Yemeni desert, is sometimes compared to Manhattan, as it is built up with skyscrapers made of clay. It was built in the 16th century and is one of the oldest cities whose builders chose to build tall rather than wide houses.
- The capital of Yemen, Sana’a is one of the oldest cities on Earth. More than a hundred mosques and thousands of residential buildings built before the 9th century have been preserved here. Locals believe that the city was founded by one of the sons of Noah immediately after the Great Flood.
- On the coast of the Red Sea, there is another attraction of Yemen, the city of Zabid – the university of this ancient capital for several centuries was the main educational center of the Islamic and Arab world.
- The Socotra archipelago in Yemen is famous for its flora and fauna: 37% of native plants and 90% of reptiles are found nowhere else in the world. The archipelago is also home to a special type of dracaena, which has become the heroine of an ancient legend. According to legend, a long time ago a bloodthirsty dragon lived on the island and ate elephants. Once a particularly heavy elephant fell on him and crushed the monster. The blood of the victor and the vanquished mixed, and then the same dracaena grew on the site of the battle.
- Yemenis rarely eat cheese, butter and other dairy products. The only exception is buttermilk, which the villagers eat almost every day.
- The national Yemeni dish, salta, is made from meat, fenugreek, and a special sauce that includes peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and greens.
- Yemeni coffee is considered one of the best in the world. Mocha coffee grows only in this country, everything else is a fake.
- Sanaa remained within the walls that surrounded the capital in antiquity until the 1960s.
- The Great Mosque of Sanaa one of the oldest in the Muslim world. It is believed that it was built during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Not far from the Yemeni city of Marib, back in the 8th century BC, a dam 600 meters long and 18 meters high was erected, which for more than a thousand years allowed local farmers water the crops from the resulting reservoir.