What makes Yemen so unique?

Yemen is an ancient land, rich in history and sacred to many, with its roots stretching back to biblical times. Long before it was recognised by the major monotheistic religions of today, it was home to thriving civilisations such as the Kingdom of Saba, which once ruled over these lands. Yemen is also renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the iconic mud-brick skyscrapers of Shibam, which will be a highlight of our Mainland Yemen Tours. Although the historic capital city of Sana’a remains inaccessible to tourists for now, its cultural significance endures.

Over the centuries, many empires and kingdoms have left their mark on Yemen, from early civilisations to the Ayyubids, Ottomans, and later, the British. Each has contributed to the rich history of Yemen.

Many of us have heard about Yemen on the news in the recent decades. The catastrophe is that big that it is barely being broadcasted anymore. However, the Yemeni are resilient people, and despite their disadvantageous start, certain regions of the country are slowly opening up again and welcoming small groups of tourists.

End of British colonialism

The people and country’s past has been rather unstable ever since the independence it received from the British. They left behind the Mandate of Aden during their period of decolonisation in 1967, after the Yemeni people fought a guerilla war against them for years. In the same year, the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen was founded.

The Cold War and its consequences

The North of Yemen was already a state since 1962 and was heavily supported by the Americans and Egyptians, but South Yemen had become an own state, as the predecessors of the British were fierce communist, following a firm Marxist-Leninist ideology – backed by the Soviets.

In 1990 a unification took place after the Soviet and most of the communist regimes in the world started crumbling to pieces. However, not just the Communist South was going through tough times, but so did the North. And let’s just say this didn’t unfold well, as the harsh disagreements about what the rule of newly and reunified Yemen should look like. As a result, in 1994 a civil war broke out, which was won by the North. President Saleh of the North now controls both territories in ‘his’ unified Yemen, but the grievance in the south never vanished.

Authoritarian figures

Ali Abdulleh Saleh was a firm dictator. During his time as president of North Yemen, he received disproportional amounts of money from the West, mainly the U.S., in both ‘foreign aid’, such as military and economic; to counter the Communist South, as well as ‘development aid’, such as USAID. However, most money went to Saleh’s own pockets, and his net worth is estimated somewhere between 32 and 64 billion dollars.

In addition to money laundering, Saleh was known for his iron grip as an authoritarian leader. With the growing challenges of Houthi Rebellions and Al-Qaeda in the region, and the Arab Spring in 2011, Saleh was eventually forced to step down and leave office in 2012.

In 2014 the country exploded into a brand-new civil war, and the Houthi Rebellions from the north finally managed to take over a big chunk of the nation, seizing the capital Sana’a in 2014, which led to a broader conflict in the country. As the Houthi’s are now in control of most of Yemen, Saudi Arabia is afraid of stark influence of its biggest adversary: Iran. Therefore, they decided to intervene in 2015, leaving the country in a stalemate; an unresolved conflict in a still divided Yemen, where citizens are the victims.