Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

6.5: Culture

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    151340

    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Learning Objectives

    In this section, you will be able to:

    • Learn about Yemen, its Geographical location, famous cities, its most famous artifacts, and its traditional food and clothes.

    Yemen

    • Official Name: The Yemeni Republic- جمهورية اليمن
    • Capital: Sanaa - صنعاء
    • Population: 34.2 million
    • Currency: The rial
    • Continent: Asia
    • Official Lagrange: Modern Standard Arabic -اللغة العربية الفصحى الحديثة

    Watch this movie and learn about Yemen.

    Yemen is considered one of the oldest centers of civilization in the ancient world located in Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, at the entrance to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean (via the Gulf of Aden) and is one of the most active and strategic shipping lanes in the world. It borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. Yemen's climate is subtropical, dry, hot desert, with low annual rainfall and very high summer temperatures.

    Yemen location
    Yemen map; public domain

    The flag of Yemen (Arabic: علم اليمن Alam al-Yaman)

    fig-ch01_patchfile_01.jpg
    Yemen flag

    Yemen is one of the most natural places in the world that has not been touched by civilization yet. Yemen is distinguished by its ancient cities with beautiful architecture and exceptionally attractive cultural areas, as well as sand beaches and mountains. One of the most heritage sites in Yemen are: Old Walled City of Shibām Ḥaḍramawt, Old City of Sana'a, Historic Town of Zabid, Socotra Archipelago. And the biggest Cities in Yemen are: Sana'a, Aden, Taiz, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Ibb, Dhamar, Sahar, Sayyan, Ash Shihr.

    Historical places in Yemen
    Historical Places Video
    Shibām Ḥaḍramawt
    Shibām Ḥaḍramawt; CC BY-SA 3.0
    Sana'a
    Old city of Sana'a; CC BY 4.0
    Town of Zabid
    Zabid; CC BY-SA 3.0
    island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean
    Socotra Archipelago; public domain

    Sana'a

    Clothes

    • Headdresses in Yemen are very important accessories for men.
    • The most popular are the "turban" and the "Alqaweq". (Al-Amama "turban" is a head covering and is in the form of a long piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head, and sometimes it is covered with a cover called the "qawiq" made of cloth, straw or bamboo, and worn by older and wealthier Yemeni.)
    • "Thoob" is a loose ankle-length garment with long sleeves. Thoobs are white, beige, or brown.
    • "Futa" is a wrap-around male skirt. It is an informal type of clothing.
    • Traditional Yemeni shoes are made mostly of leather. The shoes of Yemeni men can be slippers or low shoes (with the back part).
    • "Jambiya" is a ceremonial dagger. It is placed vertically at the center of a wide, ornate belt. "Jambiya" usually has a very beautiful sheath with exquisite carving, gems, precious metals, and ornamentations.
    • The Yamani women's traditional clothing is bright, with a lot of jewelry, and embroideries.
    • The most popular clothing is the "Sana'ani" curtain-style dress. It is a brightly colored square-shaped cotton cloth wrapped around the body.

    Activities:

    Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)
    Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)
    Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)
    Activity

    Plan a trip to Yemen during summer break. List the cities and historical places you want to visit, ad the famous dishes you want to eat.

    This page titled 6.5: Culture is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Hana Kassas, Layla Bahar Al-Aloom, Sameera Murtada, Maysaa Toma, and Roula Aoneh (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .