Balhaf is an industrial port town and an oasis in an area of coastal dunes in the Burum Coastal Area 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 north and Oman to the northeast and ...

. It has palm trees and white sand, which gives way to fields of black lava and to the fishing port of Bir-Ali. Qana, a major point of departure of the ''Route I'Encens'', was the main port of the ancient kingdom of

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 ...

, and is dominated by a hill, Husn al-Ghurab, or remains of the ancient vestiges. A I'écart is located on an extinct volcano, a crater lake with turquoise waters. The "Corniche" road leads to the coastal port of Burum. Burum, a typical fishing port, is an old village surrounded by a gypsum kilns. Close by, one can see the large bay of Mukalla, whose wetlands are populated by migrant birds from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

or Africa.

Location

Balhaf belongs to

Shabwa The ancient city of Shabwa ( Ḥaḑramitic: , romanized: , ; ar, شَبْوَة, translit=Šabwa) was the capital of the Kingdom of Hadhramaut at the South Arabian region of the Arabian Peninsula. The ruins of the city are located in the nort ...

of Yemen, located about 150 km from

Mukalla Mukalla ( ar, ٱلْمُكَلَّا, ') is a seaport and the capital city of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Aden, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, about east of ...

-the capital of Hadhramaut (48.1802°E 13.9854°N).

History

Balhaf was the capital of the Sultanate of Wahidi Balhaf, one of several Wahini states which in the 1880s became part of the British

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...

. In 1902 the fort at Balhaf was demolished by troops from the British

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

HMS ''Perseus'', in response to pirate activities by the locals.

World Heritage status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Tentative List on 08/07/2002, in the mixed (cultural and natural) category.

Importance

Balhaf is now considered one of the main ports of Yemen, particularly after the success of

Yemen LNG Yemen LNG (also called YLNG) is the first natural gas liquefaction (LNG) project in Yemen. The LNG plant is located in Balhaf. History Yemen LNG Company was incorporated in 1995 to develop the LNG plant. In 1997, the development was halted becau ...

project for constructing a

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the vol ...

plant in 2006.

Notes

References

{{coord, 14, 00, 20, N, 48, 10, 46, E, display=title, region:YE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Geography of Yemen Oases Populated places in Shabwah Governorate Populated coastal places in Yemen Towns in Yemen