After a short sleep at the Hawta Palace Hotel in Seiyun, Yemen after our arrival, I awoke buzzing with excitement. We had just arrived the night before, but apart from buying our clothes at the local market, we hadn’t seen or done anything yet. I couldn’t wait for what the day had in store. I got up early and took a walk around the grounds. Because it had been dark when we arrived the previous evening, this was the first time I saw the light hitting the mountains and the flowers on the trees. It was like a beautiful oasis. I had a morning cigar and drank coffee while I waited for John and Doc to join me.
Our guide and driver arrived, and we drove to Mukalla, the main city of the Hadhramaut region on the Gulf of Aden. This was our first real glimpse of Yemen, and it made a great first impression. The city was bustling. It lacked the chaotic crowds of major cities in India or Africa, but it was still incredibly lively. People were going to and from the markets and shops, and children were out in the streets playing football and pool.
Most people looked at us with some degree of curiosity, but no one gave us the kinds of glances I’ve experienced in other cities—where people look at you with disdain or subtle hostility. Everyone we interacted with seemed friendly. Of course, those people were strictly men and children. There were women out on the streets, but they were entirely covered, including their faces, and they did not greet or acknowledge us. The men were friendly and the children were curious. John and Doc kicked a football around with the kids in an alleyway while I took some pictures and watched goats wander between the buildings.
The liveliest part of the city was along the waterfront. A river ran through the city, and it was filled with people on boats flying flags high and playing music. Yemen has two flags: one for the South and one for the North. The people here were flying the Southern flag. Additionally, some people and children were carrying pictures of figures I understood to be leaders or notable political and military figures of Southern Yemen. You know how kids love to carry around pictures of famous politicians and military figures? Maybe it’s a Yemeni thing.
The political history of Yemen is far too complicated for me to explain here. Go read a book. In short, though, Yemen used to be part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1918, the region became independent but was split into two halves: North Yemen was an independent state, while South Yemen became a British protectorate and, later, a British colony. The UK left in 1967. The two halves were briefly unified, but a series of wars broke out between them until 1990, when the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) and the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) officially united to form the Republic of Yemen.
Unfortunately, the fighting has not stopped. The region operates, effectively, as two separate countries: the North and West are controlled by the Houthis, while the South and East are held by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and southern factions. Skirmishes and bombings are ongoing, mostly concentrated in the northwest. All of this fighting has created extreme poverty and food insecurity across the country, a crisis compounded by the fact that most Western nations maintain strict sanctions against Yemen.
The view from the harbour was absolutely beautiful, with whitewashed, boxy buildings clustered together along the shore. The water shifted between different shades of turquoise, and everything was framed by the dry desert mountains. It was the sort of place I wished I could have wandered around on my own. It certainly felt safe enough to do so, but that is simply not how things are done there, so we stuck close to our guide as he led us through the city markets before we stopped for lunch.
The restaurant we went to (I don’t know the name, but it was a place we would visit more than once on this trip) seated us in a private room separated by a curtain. We sat shoeless on layers of carpets. In the middle of the floor was a blanket layout holding all the plates of food, which we ate largely with our hands. The thing that always amused me about these meals was that it wasn’t just shoes lined up by the door; various handguns and weapons were also set aside on the carpet just long enough for everyone to eat. Shoes off, guns down. Time to eat.
After lunch, we visited a fruit, vegetable, and fish market, which is always delightful. I don’t know what it is about seeing food sold in other countries, but it never ceases to amaze me. Mangoes stacked up in slightly different ways than they are back home? Fascinating! Truthfully, it is just interesting to see how different people go about their daily lives, and a local market is a great way to experience that.
[Update December 2025: Mukalla was such a pleasant city to visit and seemed so safe, but in late December of 2025, the port was bombed by Saudi forces targeting unauthorized weapon shipments. It serves as a stark reminder that things can seem safe—and may actually be safe for a period of time—but in volatile parts of the world, realities can change instantly. In short: go when you can, because you never know when a window will close.]
Later in the afternoon, just before sunset, we made our way to a new accommodation: the Ramada Mukalla Hotel. It felt more like a standard western hotel compared to our last stop. My room was adequate, and the property featured a massive lobby cafe where the staff had no issue with me smoking cigars indoors. I did quite a bit of that during our down times.
One of the things I quickly realized on a tour like this is that you have quite a bit of down time. The mornings start a little late, the evenings wrap up a little early, and there is always time for a rest in the afternoon; plus, there is a lot of eating. It was a bit too much food for my liking, but I certainly can’t complain about being well taken care of.
It was a perfectly pleasant day visiting Mukalla, followed by a quiet evening at the hotel. The next day, we would head toward even better sights as we left the city and ascended into the valley to experience village life.
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