Sanaa Yemen

Description: Sanaa, also spelled Sana’a and Sana, is the capital and largest city of Yemen and the capital of the Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governorate but forms the separate administrative district of ʾAmānat al-ʿĀṣimah (أَمَانَة ٱلْعَاصِمَة). According to the Yemeni constitution, Sanaa is the capital of the country, although the seat of the Yemeni government moved to Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, in the aftermath of the Houthi occupation. Aden was declared as the temporary capital by then-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Population: 2,746,941

Demographics: Ethnic Arab and Afro-Arab. The black al-Muhamasheen ethnic minority does not belong to any of the three main Arab tribes. It has been estimated to comprise 2-5 per cent of the population, though some community estimates put the proportion at closer to 10 per cent.

History: According to Islamic sources, Sanaa was founded at the base of the mountains of Jabal Nuqum by Shem, the son of Noah, after the latter’s death. The name Sanaa is probably derived from the Sabaic root ṣnʿ, meaning “well-fortified”. The name is attested in old Sabaean inscriptions, mostly from the 3rd century CE, as ṣnʿw. In the present day, a popular folk etymology says that the name Sanaa refers to “the excellence of its trades and crafts (perhaps the feminine form of the Arabic adjective aṣnaʿ)”. The 10th-century Arab historian al-Hamdani wrote that Sanaa’s ancient name was Azāl, which is not recorded in any contemporary Sabaean inscriptions. The name “Azal” has been connected to Uzal, a son of Qahtan, a great-grandson of Shem, in the biblical accounts of the Book of Genesis. From the era of Muhammad (ca. 622 CE) until the founding of independent sub-states in many parts of the Yemen Islamic Caliphate, Sanaa persisted as the governing seat. In 1173, Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, sent his brother Turan-Shah on an expedition to conquer Yemen. The Ayyubids gained control of Sanaʽa in 1175 and united the various Yemeni tribal states, except for the northern mountains controlled by the Zaydi imams, into one entity. The Ottoman Empire entered Yemen in 1538, when Suleiman the Magnificent was Sultan. Under the military leadership of Özdemir Pasha, the Ottomans conquered Sanaa in 1547. With Ottoman approval, European captains based in the Yemeni port towns of Aden and Mocha frequented Sanaa to maintain special privileges and capitulations for their trade. In 1602, the local Zaydi imams led by Imam al-Mu’ayyad reasserted their control over the area, and forced out Ottoman troops in 1629. In 1904, as Ottoman influence was waning in Yemen, Imam Yahya of the Zaydi imams took power in Sanaa. In a bid to secure North Yemen’s independence, Yahya embarked on a policy of isolationism, avoiding international and Arab world politics, cracking down on embryonic liberal movements, not contributing to the development of infrastructure in Sanaa and elsewhere and closing down the Ottoman girls’ school. As a consequence of Yahya’s measures, Sanaa increasingly became a hub of anti-government organization and intellectual revolt. In the 1930s, several organizations opposing or demanding reform of the Zaydi imamate sprung up in the city, particularly Fatat al-Fulayhi, a group of various Yemeni Muslim scholars based in Sanaʽa’s Fulayhi Madrasa, and Hait al-Nidal (“Committee of the Struggle.”) By 1936, most of the leaders of these movements were imprisoned. In 1941, another group based in the city, the Shabab al-Amr bil-Maruf wal-Nahian al-Munkar, called for a nahda (“renaissance”) in the country as well as the establishment of a parliament with Islam as the instrument of Yemeni revival. After the end of the civil war in 1970, Sanaa began to expand outward. This was a period of prosperity in Yemen, partly due to the massive migration of Yemeni workers to the Gulf states and their subsequent sending of money back home. At first, most of the new development was concentrated around central areas like al-Tahrir, the modern centre; Bi’r al-Azab, the Ottoman quarter; and Bab al-Yaman, the old southern gate. However, this soon shifted to the city’s outskirts, where an influx of immigrants from the countryside established new neighborhoods. Following the unification of Yemen, Sanaa was designated capital of the new Republic of Yemen. It houses the presidential palace, the parliament, the supreme court, and the country’s government ministries. The largest source of employment is provided by governmental civil service. Due to massive rural immigration, Sanaa has grown far outside its Old City, but this has placed a huge strain on the city’s underdeveloped infrastructure and municipal services, particularly water.

Elevation: 2250 m

Climate: Mid latitude desert climate. Average annual temperature in Sanaa is 21 C (70 F), the average for July is 26 C (8 F), the average for January is 22 C (72 F).

Attractions: Old City, Dar El Hajar, Bab Al Yemen, Great Mosque, Souk Al Milh, Al Khair Mosque,

Airports: Sanaa El Rahaba International Airport SAH

Distance To City Centre: 15 km

Commute Length: 30 min

Average Cost: 35 USD

Traffic Hours: 7 am – 9 am, 4 pm – 8 pm