Sana'a

Sana'a, Yemen

Early morning sun illuminates the multi-storey mud-brick tower houses and geometric windows of the Old City of Sana'a.

Sana'a's Old City is a living walled town of decorated tower houses, but check current travel advice before you plan a trip.

The place

Sana'a is the capital of Yemen and its largest city, home to about 3 million people. It stands on a broad plain, the Haql Sanaa, at about 2,150 metres above sea level, so the air feels thinner than on the coast and the nights are noticeably cooler. The city has two faces. Inside its old walls, the streets are narrow and wind between multi-storey tower houses, whose upper floors carry geometric patterns and tall, narrow windows with carved frames. Outside the walls, the newer city spreads across the plain with wide roads, traffic and modern offices. Bab al-Yaman, the main gate into the Old City, is the usual starting point, with the souk and several eateries close by. Mountains including the Sarawat range rise around the plain, giving the city its sweeping horizons. The political situation shapes everything. Since the Houthi takeover of the capital, the internationally recognised government has operated from Aden, and the city has been difficult for foreign visitors, with access and movement often restricted. Current advice from foreign governments should be checked closely before any trip is planned.

Its story

Sana'a began as a secondary capital of the Kingdom of Saba, which kept its main seat at the oasis of Marib to the east. Inscriptions in the Sabaic language attest to the city's name, which probably means something like "well-fortified". A folk explanation links it instead to the excellence of the local trades and crafts, and both ideas suit a settlement on a defensible plain that drew skilled workers. Sabaean rulers used the city as a base for campaigns against Himyar to the south. Royal texts boast of triumphant returns to Sana'a after war, and they mention the Ghumdan Palace, a building later writers remembered as a symbol of the city. Under the last Himyarite king, Yousef Athar, also known as Dhu Nuwas, Sana'a became the capital of the Axumite viceroys, which placed it within a wider regional order. The plain it sits on, Haql Sanaa, is ringed by mountains, and the high ground gave the city its defensive character for centuries. In more recent times Sana'a has been at the centre of national conflict. The Houthis took the city from the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, which then moved its seat to Aden, the former capital of South Yemen. Hadi declared Aden the temporary capital, and that arrangement has shaped the city's position ever since.

What to see

Culture

Sana'a has a strong musical life, and its best-known tradition is al-Ghina al-San'ani, often translated as the song of Sanaa. It is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage and is found elsewhere in Yemen, but it is most closely linked to the city. A typical performance has a singer, a qanbus, which is a Yemeni lute, and a player who strikes a copper tray called a sahn nuhasi, balanced on the thumbs and played with the other fingers. Songs mix classical Arabic with Yemeni Arabic and are prized for their wordplay and emotional content. The music belongs to social life: it features at the samra, the evening wedding party, and at the magyal, the daily afternoon gathering of friends. Those gatherings are private as much as public, so an invitation matters. Dress modestly, ask before photographing anyone, and wait to be invited before joining a wedding or a family gathering.

What to wear

Traditional dress in Sana'a is shaped by conservative norms and by a dry, high-altitude climate. Men have long worn a wrap-around cloth, often with a long shirt, and a curved dagger, the jambiya, worn at the waist as a mark of identity and status. Women's clothing traditionally includes long, loose dresses and head coverings, and many women in the Old City wear a dark cloak over their clothes when out. Textiles are mainly cotton and wool, with embroidery and woven borders on the older garments. Today the city mixes styles. Many men wear Western trousers and shirts, with the wrap and the jambiya kept for formal occasions, while women's outfits vary widely by family and background. A visitor should wear loose, long trousers or skirts, sleeves that cover the shoulders, and a scarf to carry for mosques. Closed, sturdy shoes suit the uneven streets and steps of the Old City, and a light layer suits the cool nights at altitude.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. October–November, when the temperatures are mildest and the high plain is at its most pleasant. Summer days are warmer, and winter nights are cold at this altitude.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Sana'a International Airport, which has daily commercial flights from Amman operated by Yemenia, the national carrier. Buses run from other major Yemeni cities, but overland travel needs a travel permit.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources