Yemen... unraveled facts about my beautiful homeland
What do you know about Yemen besides being a land in turmoil which has been covering the news headlines? What else do you know besides what you heard about it being the poorest country in the Arab world, the Arab Peninsula Al-Qaeda's base, the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden, its people are heavily armed and chew Qat?
Let me tell you a few facts about my country which you probably didn't know:
Yemen is the one of the oldest civilizations in the world and it's history dates back to the first millenium B.C and was commonly known as"Arabia Felix" meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. A name which was given to it by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. It acquired this name because of its high mountains which attracted rain, making it more fertile than most of the Arabian peninsula.
Four of the world heritage sites are in Yemen, in Sanaa, Shibam, Socatra and Zabid. The capital Sanaa, itself is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.
Many do not know that Yemen was ruled by two queens. Prior to Islam Yemen was ruled by Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, mentioned in both the Bible and the Quran and after Islam by Queen Arwa bint Ahmed Al-Sulaihi (1048- 1138)who ruled Yemen for fifty-five years.
Once Yemen used to be famous for it's coffee and was the center of the world's coffee trade. It was in fact one of the first countries to introduce coffee to Europe. Four centuries ago, it began to export its own coffee brand out of the port of Mocha, a town on the Red Sea and so the coffee became known by the name of this port: Mocha.
Yemen is best known for its variety and high quality of honey. Sidr Honey from Wadi Doan in Yemen is considered one of the finest and most expensive honeys in the world.
The unique architecture of Yemen is what distinguishes it from any other country. The Qamariya is a symbol of Yemeni architecture, it is the distinctive and decorative multicolored stained-glass windows that adorns Yemen’s buildings.
Yemenis, contrary to what had been portrayed by the media are among the most friendly and hospitable people. The massive marches that marked Yemen's revolution is a testimony to how peaceful the people are. Despite the continuous crackdown and violence by security and military forces they continued to march peacefully demanding a regime change and hoping for a better future.
Finally, Yemen is rich with beautiful, spectacular scenery and is famous for it's high mountains and green valleys, it also offers adventure tourism. I hope you visit and see for yourself ... one day.
Four of the world heritage sites are in Yemen, in Sanaa, Shibam, Socatra and Zabid. The capital Sanaa, itself is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.
Many do not know that Yemen was ruled by two queens. Prior to Islam Yemen was ruled by Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, mentioned in both the Bible and the Quran and after Islam by Queen Arwa bint Ahmed Al-Sulaihi (1048- 1138)who ruled Yemen for fifty-five years.
Once Yemen used to be famous for it's coffee and was the center of the world's coffee trade. It was in fact one of the first countries to introduce coffee to Europe. Four centuries ago, it began to export its own coffee brand out of the port of Mocha, a town on the Red Sea and so the coffee became known by the name of this port: Mocha.
The unique architecture of Yemen is what distinguishes it from any other country. The Qamariya is a symbol of Yemeni architecture, it is the distinctive and decorative multicolored stained-glass windows that adorns Yemen’s buildings.
The oldest sky skyscrapers in the world are in Yemen in Shibam in the Hadramut province and consist of 500 mud-built tower houses, some of them reaching 11 floors high. Shibam is often called "the Manhattan of the desert" and is a UNESCO world heritage site.
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Yemen is also famous for it's ethnic silver jewelry which is handmade, has timeless designs and also made with rare and genuine beads which are highly collectible items.
Yemenis, contrary to what had been portrayed by the media are among the most friendly and hospitable people. The massive marches that marked Yemen's revolution is a testimony to how peaceful the people are. Despite the continuous crackdown and violence by security and military forces they continued to march peacefully demanding a regime change and hoping for a better future.
Finally, Yemen is rich with beautiful, spectacular scenery and is famous for it's high mountains and green valleys, it also offers adventure tourism. I hope you visit and see for yourself ... one day.
This is an open invitation for you to visit Yemen.
Peace
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