Yemen: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Yemen is a country at the south-western corner of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman, and it has coasts on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It also includes the island of Socotra, far out in the Arabian Sea. The capital named in its constitution is Sanaa, a city high in the mountains.

Yemen is known for its ancient tower-house cities, terraced mountains, coffee history and the strange trees of Socotra. On the globe you can find Dar al-Hajar, the 'Rock Palace', a palace built on top of a tall rock in Wadi Dhahr near Sanaa, and the umbrella-shaped dragon's blood trees of Socotra.

Geography and nature

Western Yemen is mountainous and greener than most of Arabia, because monsoon rains fall there in summer. Farmers have built terraces on steep slopes for centuries. Jabal an-Nabi Shu'ayb, about 3,666 metres, is the highest point on the Arabian Peninsula. To the east lie deserts and the long valley of Hadhramaut. Socotra, an island far out to sea, has so many unusual plants and animals that it is sometimes called the most alien-looking place on Earth; its dragon's blood trees grow nowhere else.

People, languages and culture

Arabic is the official language, and on Socotra people also speak Soqotri, an ancient language. Almost all Yemenis are Muslim. Old cities are famous for tall houses made of mud brick or stone, decorated with white patterns around their windows. Many men wear a curved dagger called a jambiya at their belt. Saltah, a bubbling meat-and-vegetable stew, is the national dish, and Yemeni honey from the sidr tree is highly prized. Coffee has deep roots here.

History in a nutshell

Thousands of years ago, kingdoms such as Saba, often linked with the Queen of Sheba, grew rich from the trade in frankincense and myrrh, and built the great Ma'rib Dam. The Romans called the region 'Arabia Felix', or 'happy Arabia'. Islam arrived in the 600s. Later, the north was ruled by imams and the Ottomans, while Britain controlled the port of Aden in the south from 1839 to 1967. North and South Yemen united on 22 May 1990. A long war that began in 2014 has caused great hardship for millions of people.