Al Mahrah ( ar, ٱلْمَهْرَة '), or simply Mahra, is a governorate (''

muhafazah A ' ( ; ) is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated to "governorate", and occasionally to "province". It comes from the Arabic roo ...

'') of

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 Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Situated in the area of the former

Mahra Sultanate The Mahra Sultanate, known in its later years as the Mahra State of Qishn and Socotra ( ar, الدولة المهرية للبر وسقطرى ') or sometimes the Mahra Sultanate of Ghayda and Socotra ( ar, سلطنة المهرة في الغيض� ...

, its capital is

Al Ghaydah Al Ghaydah ( ar, الغيضة) is the capital city of Al Mahrah Governorate in south-eastern Yemen. Transport The city is served by Al Ghaydah Airport. Climate Al Ghaydah has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification The Köppen ...

, and it has international borders with

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

Languages and people

A sizeable part of the Mahrah population does not speak Arabic as their primary language. Non-Arabic-speakers primarily speak Mehri or Mahri, which is a

Modern South Arabian The Modern South Arabian languages (MSALs), also known as Eastern South Semitic languages, are a group of endangered languages spoken by small populations inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen and Oman, and Socotra Island. Together with the ...

language, similar to the adjacent

Dhofar Governorate The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Go ...

. The people that speak Mahri call themselves 'Mahris', and are presumed to be descendants of the ancient people of 'Ad.

Geography

The geography of Al-Mahrah is similar to that of neighboring Dhofar in Oman. Rigid peaks rising to around , and the Empty Quarter Desert lies to the north. Along its coast near the border with Oman, Al Mahrah is affected by the seasonal

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

, or

Khareef ''Khareef'' ( ar, خَرِيْف, Kharīf, autumn) is a colloquial Arabic term used in southern Oman, southeastern Yemen, southwestern Saudi Arabia and Sudan for the southeastern monsoon. The monsoon affects Dhofar and Al Mahrah Governorates f ...

. The mountains become water-soaked and the atmosphere becomes moist and foggy as vegetation turns the barren coast into lush valleys and forests. Hauf National Park is located in Al-Mahrah. The mountains here are referred to as either the "Mahrat" or "

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

History

Yemeni Civil War

The governorate has remained out of sight of the civil war in Yemen which began in 2014. On 10 September 2016, Three militants in the Al Mahrah governorate declared the formation of a new wilayat belonging to the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) via Social Media. Official ISIL media did not acknowledge the declaration. From 2015 to late 2017, Al Mahrah was under the control of the Yemeni 123rd and 137th Mechanized Brigades. From mid-November 2017 onwards, Saudi Arabia began increasing its presence in the governorate, taking control of facilities, Nishtun port, the Sarfit, and Shehen border crossings, and al-Gaydah Airport while establishing military outposts around key infrastructure and coastal areas. On 27 November 2017, Mohammed Abdullah Kuddah, the Governor of Mahra, was replaced by Rajeh Said Bakrit, following his objections against Saudi influence.

Districts

Al Mahrah Governorate is divided into the following 10 districts. These districts are further divided into sub-districts, and then further subdivided into villages: *

Al Ghaydah District Al Ghaydah District ( ar, مديرية الغيضة) is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the south ...

Al Masilah District Al Masilah District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, 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 ...

Hat District Hat District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, 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 b ...

Hawf District Hawf District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 5,143 inhabitants. The Hawf Area was nomination to be a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or a ...

Huswain District Huswain District ( ar, مديرية حصوين) is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern ...

Man'ar District Man'ar District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, 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 ...

Qishn District Qishn District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, 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 ...

Sayhut District Sayhut District is a district of the Al Mahrah Governorate, 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, an ...

* Shahan District * Rimah District

References