Sights in Yemen
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Old San'a
All these galleries are very nice, but let's be honest, on their own they're not worth traipsing halfway around the world for. However, the Unesco-protected old city of San'a is a different matter altogether. It would be fair to say that old San'a is one of the most beautiful cities anywhere on Earth and nothing is likely to prepare you for the moment you first pass through the gates of the Bab al-Yaman.
Most people spend days wandering without aim through this enormous work of art and that's certainly the best way to absorb this city. A compulsory activity for tourist and local alike is to climb to the top of one of the tower houses and relish the ravishing views over…
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National Museum
Not really a museum at all, but more the petrified palace of Imam Ahmed, the NationalMuseum preserves the life and times of its previous and slightly peculiar owner. Among the exhibits – which are intriguing, bizarre and comical in equal measure – are a large collection of gifts and purchases from Europe, including an Etch-a-Sketch, hundreds of bottles of eau de cologne (in which the imam apparently bathed), a personal cinema (despite TV and films being banned under Imamic law) and an electronic rocking bed that must be the envy of Hugh Hefner. Among his many quirks, the imam claimed not just to have magical powers that protected him from all evils, but also to be…
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Souq al-Milh
At the heart of Old San'a is the Souq al-Milh. Though the name indicates that the sole product is salt, this is something of a misnomer. Everything from mobile phones to sacks of sultanas is available here. It's almost impossible to point to individual buildings, souqs or sights, but the qat market, in the centre of the old town, is frenetically busy around lunchtime.
The spice souq is every oriental fantasy brought to life and the small cellars where blinkered camels walk round and round in circles crushing sesame seeds to make oil is a glimpse into a bygone age. For many the abiding memory of the city is likely to be of the topsy-turvy, icing-cake houses and the dreamy…
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Shibam
Lying 2300m (7546ft) above sea level, at the foot of Jebel Kawkaban (2800m/9186ft), is the ancient village of Shibam. Dating from the 2nd century AD, it became an important capital for the local Yafurid dynasty in the 9th century, when its grand mosque - one of the oldest in Yemen - was built.
Apart from the mosque, also worth a peek is the old town gate, and the souq, which is the site of a very colourful Friday market. that attracts people from all around.
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Gold Mohur Club
If you're desperate for a dip – or a drink – the Gold Mohur Club, part of the Sheraton Gold Mohur Hotel, provides refreshment in both ways on a private but muddy beach. Admission buys you free use of the shower and changing facilities, as well as access to the hotel's restaurants. You can also put your sea legs on and head out in a boat (per boat half-hour/hour YR6000/8000) to view Aden the way it should be seen.
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National Museum
Claiming to be the largest museum on the Arabian Peninsula, the National Museum is certainly one of the best. The ground and 1st floors contain a breath-taking collection of statues, figurines and other artefacts from the pre-Islamic Kingdoms of Saba and Hadramawt. The 2nd floor concentrates on the medieval Islamic period while the top floor features a slightly less rewarding mishmash of stuffed lions and re-creations of the souqs of San'a.
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Great Mosque
The mosques in San'a are open only to Muslims, but you can often get a fleeting glimpse inside through a doorway and the majestic minarets are there for all to enjoy. Out of the 50 mosques still standing, the Great Mosque is the most significant. For centuries it served as an important Islamic school and centre of learning, and attached to it is a library containing the largest and most famous collection of manuscripts in Yemen.
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Old San'a
In 1984, Old San'a in its entirety was declared a Unesco World Heritage site. The town is so perfectly preserved, it is said that you can walk a square kilometre without encountering a single new building. The old city is famous for its 14,000 'tower houses'. Reaching six or eight stories high, they have been called 'the world's first skyscrapers'.
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Sultan's Palace
Originally built as a 19th-century defensive fort, the Sultan's Palace was converted into a residential palace by the Sultan Al-Katheri in the 1920s. The Sultan wasn't a subtle man and his house, containing a mere 90 rooms, towers over Sayun like an exaggerated wedding cake. It now houses one of the best museums in the country.
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Hammams
At least 20 hammams dot the city and they are among the best places to mingle with locals and, should you speak Arabic, catch up on the latest gossip. Not all hammams are keen to take foreigners, so ask your hotel to recommend one locally. Most charge around YRI300 and are open from 06:00 to 19:00. Men and women always bathe separately.
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Military Museum
The ground floor contains Sabaean overflow from the National Museum, which means the Military Museum is more interesting than it sounds. After that the displays revert to the standard death and guns of military museums the world over, though this one also includes some incredibly graphic photos of executions during the Imanic era.
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Shaharah
This village boasts one of the most spectacular vistas in the country. Shaharah is most famous for its 17th-century stone bridge (which is smaller than it appears on brochures and posters) - both the limestone brick construction and its mountainous position over a deep gorge are magnificent. You could be standing in Middle Earth.
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Aden Minaret
Among the town's mosques that are worth a peek are the Al-Aidrus Mosque , built in the mid-19th century on top of 600-year-old ruins, and the strange little Aden Minaret, which is all that remains of a mosque built in the 8th century. Non-Muslims won't be allowed inside either.
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National Handicrafts Training Center
The gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the National Handicrafts Training Center. This former samsarah (resting/storage house for merchants using the old incense trading routes) also houses a series of other shops selling silverware, woodwork, and semi-precious stones etc.
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Mukalla Museum
Occupying part of the elegant former Sultan's Palace, the MukallaMuseum contains displays relating to the sultan and to the town's history. Most explanations are in English, but the huge white building is probably more arresting than its contents.
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Tourist Harbour
The Tourist Harbourand its pier is a colourful place for a stroll, especially early or late in the day when boats, which range from traditional sambuqs (local boats) to giant supertankers, are coming and going in greater numbers.
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Museum of the Peoples' Customs & Traditions
The 3rd floor of the Sultan's Palace houses the Museum of the Peoples' Customs & Traditions which contains staid examples of traditional Hadramawt arts and crafts. Don't leave without a visit to the roof of the palace: there are great views across the town.
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Mosques
Mosques to look out for include the 17th-century Qubbat Talha Mosque, with its unusual minaret; the decrepit mid-16th-century Al-'Aqil Mosque to the north of Souq al-Milh; and the Salah ad-Din Mosque, due east of Al-'Aqil Mosque, built in the 17th century.
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National Art Centre
Housed in a traditional tower house, the National Art Centre is good not just for checking out the local art scene, but also for a spot of shopping. In addition to pieces by local artists there are lots of interesting photos of San'a taken in the 1920s.
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Dar al Hayas a Sanania
This renovated old tower house is the newest museum in the city, the Dar al Hayas a Sanania. It has been spruced up to reveal something of the life and times of a traditional San'a home. It comes with rooftop views and a small craftshop.
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National Museum for Antiquities
Not exactly overwhelming is the recently renovated National Museum for Antiquities, which has exhibits dating from prehistoric times to the early Islamic period. The highlights are the wonderful range of Sabaean relics.
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Andad Souq
As well as the atmospheric old town qat souq, there's a much bigger one further east, near the ring road, and another, the Andad Souq, just to the west of the dry wadi (now a road) that runs through the western fringe of the old city.
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Museum Of Traditional Arts & Crafts
The Museum Of Traditional Arts & Crafts was closed for renovations at the time of research but promises to re-open soon. When it does, prices and opening hours are likely to remain the same as above.
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Atelier
The Gallery Al-Bab and the Atelier are both found inside the gates of Bab al-Yaman. The Gallery Al-Bab also offers the chance to clamber up onto the walls of the Bab al-Yaman for memorable views.
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Gallery Al-Bab
The Gallery Al-Bab and the Atelier are both found inside the gates of Bab al-Yaman. The Gallery Al-Bab also offers the chance to clamber up onto the walls of the Bab al-Yaman for memorable views.
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