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The West & Southwest
TA’IZZ: The city of Ta’izz lies in the south at an altitude of 1400m (4590ft). The old city has been all but swallowed up by the fast-growing modern city around it but beautiful old houses and mosques remain within the line of the 13th-century city wall, which is still intact along the southern side. To the north, only the gates of Bab Musa and al-Bab al-Kabir remain. The southern wall offers a splendid view of Ta’izz. Al-Qahera, within the city walls, is the fortress and the oldest part of the city. Al-Ashrafiya and al-Mudhaffar are two of the most beautiful mosques in Yemen. The museum in the Palace of Imam Ahmed contains the personal effects of the last Imam, and has preserved the spirit of Yemen from before the beginning of the Republic. The Salah Palace, to the east just outside the city, is another museum of the royal family. The Souk Ta’izz sells a variety of goods, including silverware and carpets. Mount Saber is 18km (11 miles) from Ta’izz and offers a breathtaking view of the city and the Ta’izz basin. A heavy-duty vehicle is needed to drive to the top. The mountain rises to an altitude of 3000m (9840ft) and the weather can be very cold.
THE RED SEA COAST: Mokha is an old Himyarite port on the Red Sea. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Mokha enjoyed a boom period exporting coffee, which was becoming fashionable in Europe (particularly Venice and Amsterdam, where the first coffee houses were opened). Coffee was later cultivated elsewhere and Mokha fell into decline. In recent years, the Government has improved the harbour and communications within Mokha in an attempt to resurrect this once-prosperous city. Hodeida is reached via the mountains of Manakha. A modern city port on the Red Sea, the harbour itself was completed in 1961. There is little here of historical interest apart from the fish market, where fishing boats have been built from wood in the same way for hundreds of years.
ELSEWHERE: The Tihama in the west has a negligible rainfall and is predominantly hot, humid and sparsely populated. The road south from Sana’a to Ta’izz runs through extremely mountainous countryside and passes the towns of Dhofar, the ancient capital of the Himyarites (115 BC–AD 525), and Ibb, a once-important stopping point on the Sana’a to Ta’izz road. Remains of the city walls and an aqueduct can still be seen. The Sumara Pass, at an altitude of 2700m (8860ft), gives a spectacular panoramic view over the Yarim and Dhamar basins.
Along another route, running roughly parallel to the Red Sea coast, Beit al-Faqih, 60km (37 miles) inland from Hodeida, has a good craft market. Manakha, once a road station for the Ottoman Turks, is situated on a saddle of the Haraz Mountains. Traditional Ismaeli villages lie to the east. This area is exceptionally good for hiking.
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