Hadhramout Governorate

[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

HADHRAMOUT GOVERNORATE

Hadhramout is the Governorate with the largest territory in The Republic of Yemen with diverse relief divided into coastal plains comprising of many enchanting beaches on the Arabian Sea, Mountains and hills reaching 2000m above sea level and extensive areas of the Empty Quarter. There are also many wadis, the biggest of which is Wadi Hadhramout and its many tributaries. Wadi Hadhramout runs nearly 165 km into Saihout in Mahara Governorate.

Hadhramout lies in the southeast of Yemen bordered by Mahara on the east and Shabwa on the east. It extends northwards deep into the Empty Quarter with its southern coasts overlooking the Arabian Sea and is 777km away from Sana’a, accessible by a paved road via Marib and Attaq to Mukalla.



Climate
The Climate in Hadhramout is hot and tropical in summer. Temperatures reach 40oC in the interior, where a dry tropical climate prevails. In coastal areas, the temperature is 36oC due the humid monsoon. In the winter it tends to be moderate, 20-24 oC in the coast and 17- 20oC in the interior.



Hadhramout (A Historical Introduction):

Hadhramout in Heritage Books is A’ad, ad Ahqaf in the Holy Koran, the place which god bestowed with prophets of whom are Hood and Saleh peace upon them. According to Genealogists it was name Hadhramout after it was a home for Amir Bin Qahtan, who was told that once he attended a war he multiplied slaughtering and thus used to say that if he attends then Death attends with him.

Hadhramout in the ancient history of Yemen is one of the ancient Yemenite states whose prosperity at the onset of the first millennium BC was on the Valley Banks between the chains of Mountain and the desert of the Empty Quarter the east of Yemen. Through the ancient Yemenite inscriptions discovered up to date it is possible to say that Hadhramout in its ancient times was a vassal state of the Sabean Dynasty which was the biggest and most powerful ancient State in Southern Arabia.

During a consequent period Hadhramout Dynasty became an ally of Sheba. Hadhramout was in possession of the land that used to grow Ollibanum in its eastern and easternmost parts like Dhofar (Currently in Oman) and dominated the north towards the Empty Quarter till Al Abr. In addition to its original location in Wadi Hadhramout it controlled the Hadramite Coasts overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Ollibanum at the time was an important of extreme importance and expensive sought after commodity and was much sought after at the capitals of the ancient world where it used to be used for many purpose like religious Rites, Funerals, Presents and the honorary occasions including medical purposes at times. The procedures of Ollibanum care was so much surround with strange legends and the ancient port of Qana on the coast of Southern Arabia one of the causes for the flourishing of Hadhramout.

Qana did not only receive Ships from Hadhramout merely but received ships from the Indian Ocean which carried to Qana various products of which are the gold, Silk and condiments. From the Capital Shabwa during the 4th Century BC he was announced as the King of spices as per the Greek annals-Independent Dynasty of Hadhramout.

Thus did the neighboring entities and that happened during a period of weakness underwent by Sheba. On the Bank of Wadi Armah at the western head of Hadhramout at the fringes of Sabean Sand dunes, Shabwa Was the Capital of Hadhramout and its biggest city receiving caravans of camels laden with the different products from the gate allocated for caravans and it is eastern gate so that the camels would pay one tenth of which they carry and this levy was allocated for the temple priests. A ratio of that tenth used to be spent on the guests of the capital during some seasons of the year. The temples of Goddess “Sean” , The Banquet Host”(Dhul-iam). The temples amounted to 60 temples as recounted by Bilinius in Shabwa only for the temples moon” Seen” in a number of other Hadramite cities like Maifa’ah, Qana, Madhab near Huraidah in Wadi Doa’an, Rayboon in he southern part of Doa’an valley, Saboonah, Mashghah in Wadi Adam and other Hadramite townships.

The valleys of Hadramout were much attended to for from the studies conducted in the area of Rayboon the area is considered an example for what has been achieved in the history of ancient Hadramout of advance in the engineering of dams, irrigation and water distribution and drainage systems. From excavations in many historical locations, a lot of artifacts, statues and inscriptions were collected and the visitors of the Museum in ////////////////////////////// and Mukalla can witness them discern the extent of civilization reached by ancient Yemenites during the Hadramite Dynasty which was afflicted with what befell other ancient Yemenite states in Eastern Yemen after incense was forbidden in Christian churches and after the sailing vessel abandoned the Hadramite Port of Qana and began the new Maritime line between the Indian Ocean and the North of the Red Sea. Hadramout the ancient Yemenite Kingdom demised at the last quarter of the third century AD at the hands of the Himyarite king the epical personality “ Shammar Yahra’ash” King of Sheba. Dhi Raidan, Hadramout and Yamanat.

Hadramout remained part of the Himyarite State which ruled most of greater Yemen. Then it fell under the Abyssinian Occupation. Before Islam, the state of Kindah has adopted Damoon as its Capital in Tarim at Wadi Hadramout for sometime, before the Tribe of Kindah immigrated to the north. After the advent of Islam the Yemenite Hadramites were like other Yemeni brethren partisans of the new religion.

The Mikhlafs of Yemen then become subordinate of the Khilfate of which is Hadramout till the Yemenite vassal states became independent, Hadramout included. Thus many Hadramites began their immigrations of 700 years ago to many parts of Asia and Africa and at their hands Islam spread in many parts of the Indian Peninsula, Southern Asia and the East of Africa, the civilization contact did not suspend in Hadramout as is the case in the other Yemenite areas. Then Shihir replaced the ancient with the Medieval and Islamic ports.

The ancient dwellers of Shabawah left it and settled in Shibam Hadramout. As for Tarim it became the destination for religious learning like Zabid, Sa’dah, Sana’a and Jiblah..etc.

In Hadramout the civilization contact has been always in touch and thus kept the gist of ancient Yemen, its arts, skills and those acquired from other civilizations to form what we see today in the Minarets of Tarim and the Manhattan of the desert” Shibam Hadramout”.

We also see the handicraft ateliers in Mukalala and Shihir besides those ancient locations Hadramout contains many of the Historical Towns archaeological sites and Tourist areas whether in the coastal part of Hadramout or in the inner parts.



The Current Status for the Archaeological ,Historical and Tourist Sites:

Mukalla

The capital of Hadramout and one of Yemen’s ports on the Arabian Sea. It was known as Khaisa or Bandar Yakoub and has been called Mukalla only recently.

Fishermen were the first to settle in Mukalla, having immigrated from adjacent regions, In this city, the first Princedom of Al-Kasad was established in the 18th 19th century AD, This prosperity gave this city the architectural style of Coastal cities which lie on the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea such as Aqaba, Jeddah, Hodeidah, Mokha, Luhayya, and Aden. All these cities lost their original style, which may now be seen only in the old ‘downtown’ of Mukalla city. It is a style combining the features of Arabian and south-east Asian architecture.

Mukalla’s Prominent Features Ma’een Palace, which was built by Sultan Omer Bin Awadah Qu’aiti. Mukalla Archaeological Museum now occupies a part of this palace.

- Ghuwaizi Fort: Built at the entrance of the city as a guard post and which was built in 1884AD.

[YemenihoneY]

Thank you ....

[عيون اليمن]

Thank doctor Ahmmed about gave us this information around hadhramout
THE HAPPY

[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

Thanks everybody!