 | | | Official name: | -Al-Jomhuriya Al-Yamaniya (Republic of Yemen). | | Head of state: | President Ali Abdullah Saleh. | | Area: | The total area is approximately 527,968 square km. | | Population: | 18, 28 millions growth -3.4 per distributed among 19 governorates in addition to the capital Sana'a. The over all population density for the republic is 31 people per square km. | | Capital: | Sana'a | | Languages: | Arabic is the official language, with English as the second language. | | Currency: | The country's currency is the Yemeni Riyal (YR). Bank notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 are in circulation and have English and Arabic numbers. Foreign currencies can be exchanged at banks, hotels and the curency converter offices... The rate of exchange varies. Credit cards: Major credit cards are accepted in international hotels and a limited number of retailers. Shopping requires cash. | | Exchange rate: | YR 199 Per Us $ / YR 280 per Euro | | Time Zone: | Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) + 3 hrs. | | Religion: | Islam (including Sha'fi, Sunni, and Zaydi Shiite) 99%, Jewish, Christian, Hindu 1% and almost all Yemeni are Moslems. | | Legal System: | Based on Islamic and English common law and local tribal customs. | | Country Phone Code: | 00967. | | Location: | The Yemen Republic is located in the south-west corner of the Arabian Peninsula (Southwest Asia). It is situated between the 12th and the 20th northern latitude and between the 41st and 45th eastern longitude. The Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia in the North, by the Arabian Sea and from the Gulf of Aden in the South, by the Sultanate of Oman in the East and by the Red Sea in the West. | | Constitution: | The constitution was ratified on 16 May 1991.
Legislative powers are vested in the 301-seat House of Representatives. The House of Representatives elects the president. The president governs with the help of his prime minister and council of ministers. Voting eligibility: 18 years. | | Physical divisions: | Due to its topographical structure, the Republic of Yemen is divided into five regions: 1- Mountain region with heights ranging between 1000-3660 m high 2-The Highland region 3- The Coastal area 4-The Empty Quarter 5-The Yemeni Islands. | | Electricity: | The voltage in Yemen is 220v, 50-60 Hz. Five star hotels provide both options i.e. 110v or 220v. | | Air access to Sana'a: | Following airlines fly to Yemen: - -Yemenia from Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, Madrid - Lufthansa from Frankfurt - Emirates from Dubai - Royal Jordanian from Amman - Egypt Air from Cairo - Gulf Air from Bahrain & Abu Dhabi. | | Airports: | Sana'a International: 15 km from city centre. Flight information Tel. No. : 250 812. -International & domestic airports in Taiz (Al-Ganad), Aden, Al- Mukalla (Al-Rayan), Al-Hodeidah. -Airport taxes are included in all rates (subject to change). | | Official holidays: | January (New Year) •1 May (Labor Day) •22 May (Unity Day) •26 September (National Day) •14 October (National Day) •30 November (National Day), Weekend: Friday. | | Moveable public holidays: | Islamic New Year: 15 March, 2002 | | Business hours: | Government hours are 8:00 to 15:00, five days a week, excluding Thursday and Friday, the weekly holiday. • The Private Sector works two shifts: 8:00 to 13:00, and 16:00 to 19:00. • Banks: Sat. to Thu. 08 to 13 • Shops: Everyday, all day until late. | | VISA: | Entrance visas for Yemen are available very easily from all Yemeni embassies or consulates in your home country on payment of certain fees. You need a passport which is valid for six months after your application and two photos. Where Yemeni diplomatic missions do not exist, visitors should apply for a visa through Yemeni tour operators in combination with a booked tour. Every official visitor to Yemenis receivesd immediately after arrival a permition to stay one month. Maximum stay is one month.
Price depends on the kind of visa and your nationality: 25 -39 US$ for a tourist visa single entry. Your visit to the country has to be done within three months of your application. Following passport holders may get the visa directly on the port of entrance: EU - countries, USA, Canada, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. | | Entry ports and places | It is possible to enter Yemen through all the international airports of Sana'a, Aden, Al-Hodeidah, Al-Rayan and Taiz. Furthermore someone may enter through the seaports of Al-Hodeidah, Al-Makha on the Red Sea, Aden on the Gulf of Aden and Al-Mukalla and Nashtun on the Arabian Sea. Also it is possible to enter through the three places of entrance: Haradh and Al-Buq? In the North (border to Saudi Arabia) and Habrut in the East (border to Oman). | | Health and welfare: | Any vaccinations is not prescribed, but precautions against some tropical diseases such as malaria or hepatitis are recommended. You should drink mineral water (no tap water).Health care in Yemen is notoriously underdeveloped. Polluted drinking water, inadequate vaccination, and a shortage of medical personnel and facilities have contributed to the quick spread of numerous diseases. These conditions have also given Yemen a high infant mortality rate and a much lower rate of life expectancy than in other countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Over the past two decades, Yemeni leaders have made greater efforts to provide social welfare for the nation’s inhabitants. With the help of foreign aid, new training and treatment facilities have been set up, and new health-care programs are implemented in some rural areas. | | Photography: | Yemen is an interesting, beautiful and extremely picturesque country. Therefore it is recommended to bring enough films - especially slide films – with you. It is only possible to buy films (slide films only in Sana’a) in the big cities. You should never take photos of women without their consent. In military areas photographing is not allowed. | | Agriculture: | Accounts for 21 percent of the GDP (1991); products sorghum, wheat, maize, potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, grapes, pulses, tobacco, coffee, cotton; livestock dairy products, poultry, meat, eggs, wool, hides; not self-sufficient in grain. | | Industries: | Crude-oil production and petroleum refining; building materials, food and beverage processing, tobacco, chemicals natural resources. Petroleum, natural gas, salt, marble; small deposits of copper, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum; fish, fertile soil in west. | | Exports: | Crude oil, cotton, hides, fish, rice, coffee, raw materials, livestock. Major trade partners for exports: United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Cuba, Saudi Arabia. | | Imports: | Textiles, manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other food and livestock, machinery, transport equipment. Major trade partners for imports: Saudi Arabia, France, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia. | | Family: | Housing in Yemen varies from region to region. In the Tihamah, near the Red Sea, people live in circular reed dwellings. Residents of the highlands, many of them are farmers, sometimes live in stone or mud-brick houses with a few floors, often intricately decorated with alabaster or stained glass. City dwellers also reside in houses of this type, or in modern-style houses or apartments. | | Clothing: | You should avoid clothing with short sleeves or sleeveless. It is recommended to cover the upper arms and legs (especially women). It is advised to have some headwear to protect against sunshine and dust as well as for visiting mosques. In the winter months, during night and in the early morning the temperatures in the mountain areas are relatively cold. Therefore, a pullover or a jacket should be included in your bag. | | Traditional dress: | Yemeni tribesmen are known by the jambiyya, or curved dagger, carried in a scabbard on a wide belt at the front side of the body. Men often wear one of several types of skirts rather than pants, and a straw hat or head cloth. The clothing of Yemeni women includes colorful robes, shawls, and veils whichvaries greatly from region to region in style and pattern. | | Diet and eating: | The Yemeni diet includes rice, bread, vegetables, fish, and lamb. A spicy green stew called Salta is one of Yemen’s most popular mails. | | Alcohol: | Yemen is an Islamic country and alcohol is prohibited. Tourists should avoid drinking alcohol in public places, (Sana’a - Sheraton Hotel, Aden - Mövenpick Hotel, Taiz - Marib Hotel, Hodeidah - Ausan Hotel, Ambassador Hotel and Bristol Hotel). | | Social life: | Women in Yemen tend to live secluded from men who don't belong to the family, although this has now changed a little under the more relaxed conditions in the countryside and former South Yemen generally. The most distinctive and important Yemeni social institution is the "qat session," a relaxed but ritualized afternoon gathering in which men and women socialize separately and chew the mildly narcotic leaves of the privet-like qat, or khat, plant. Most men and many women "chew qat" at least twice a week. | | Ramadan: | Ramadan is the 9th lunar month during which Muslims fast all along daylight hours. Muslims are supposed to respect those fasting by refraining from eating, drinking and smoking . Office and shop working hours change during this month. Opening hours are prolonged in the evening. Ramadan is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of peurification for their spiritual lives. There are as many meanings of Ramadan as there are Muslims. The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. In between -- that is, during the daylight hours -- Muslims (Submitters) totally abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex.The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal (suhoor) before dawn and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset.Ramadan nights' celebrations are old traditional practice during this month of fasting. It is a tradition we inherited from a period of approximately 1400 years from our first Muslim ancestors, generation after generation. Even the visitor will get the impression of the Arabian Nights because the nightlife in the urban places will go on until sunrise. Visitors are recommended not to drink, to eat and to smoke in the public. But the hotels and the local restaurants and guest houses will provide all services unlimited for the traveler's need. | | | | | | |
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ABOUT YEMEN 
