Al Luḩayyah (also known as Luhayyah, Loheia, Luhaiyah, or Loheiya) is a town on the

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...

coastal plain,

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

. It is located at around . The port lies 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Al Luḩayyah, partially protected by the offshore island of Al-Urmak.

History

According to local tradition the town was founded at the dawn of the 15th century by a holy man, Sheikh Ali az-Zayla'i, a member of the Zayla'i family from the famed town of

Zeila Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Bibl ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. The interest in the local saint (who is buried in the local mosque) quickly attracted new settlers, and within a century, the unassuming town developed from around the mid-15th century into a bustling town, and a substantial center of the export trade in coffee. By the end of the 18th century, the az-Zayla'i family was still regarded as a holy family and Al Luhayyah was a walled and well-fortified town. It was under the direction of the Emir Farhan when an expedition from Denmark visited the city and described their reception. From about 1800 onwards Al Luḩayyah was a part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, and in 1912 suffered damage during the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

. It was captured in 1918 in a joint attack by the British Navy and forces loyal to the Idrisi rulers of

Asir The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...

, under whose control it remained until 1925 when it again came under Yemeni authority. It was seized in spring 1934 by the

Saudis Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...

, who returned it however in the same year under the Treaty of

Al-Ta'if Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...

. The town was formerly a trading centre of significance but has declined in the last two centuries, especially as seaborne traffic has moved to more modern facilities at Ahmadi, the port of

Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...

. The population is estimated at under 3,000.Luhayyah, Al-." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010

Notes

External Links

Photos of al-Luhayya
at the

American Center of Research The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Luhayyah Populated places in Al Hudaydah Governorate Populated coastal places in Yemen Port cities and towns of the Red Sea History of Yemen