Yemen Travel Guide

Once divided into North and South, Yemen is now a united country with a traditional atmosphere. It does not have the oil production of many of its neighbors, and as a result is poor but culturally thrilling. A word of caution – Yemen does have a reputation for an inordinate number of kidnappings, although most of those are resolved peacefully. San’a has an old town that is perfectly preserved with buildings that are sometimes over 400 years old. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, surrounded by high walls and contains over 6000 houses, some reaching as high as eight stories. Other highlights within the old town include the ancient Great Mosque, the traditional Salt Market (which also sells goods other than salt), and the Yemen Wall. Yemenis like building towns high up in the mountains. Two examples of this include the town of Shihara - noted for its location on top of a tall (8500 ft) mountain, and the village of Shibam – located near the top of another tall mountain. Another nice natural sight involves the village of Shararah, which is known for its stone bridge over a deep gorge.