Ataq ( ar, عتق), alternately spelled Attaq, is a small city and the capital of

Shabwah Governorate Shabwah ( ar, شَبْوَة, Šabwa) is a Governorates of Yemen, governorate (province) of Yemen. Its main town is Ataq. During the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Yemeni Civil War in 2015, the province became a battleground. The battle, kno ...

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 an ...

. Ataq is 458 km south east of

Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Go ...

. The difference in elevation of the city is about 70 m with generally partially flat topography with altitudinal variation in the range of 1120–1190 m.a.s.l. Its population was around 37,315 according to a 2004 census. On May 24, 1994, Ataq was seized by northern Yemeni forces. According to the

Geo Names Database GeoNames (or GeoNames.org) is a user editable geographical database available and accessible through various web services, under a Creative Commons attribution license. The project was founded in late 2005. The GeoNames dataset differs from ...

, Ataq is located at an altitude of 1146 metres. It is served by Ataq Airport; the landing strip is located to the north of the town. Armed forces loyal to exiled president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi captured Ataq from the Southern Transitional Council in August 2019.

Landmarks

Ataq is described by

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

as "not at all like an inland Yemeni town"; other publications have described it as Beau Geste in appearance and "completely different" and surrounded by desert. It contains the

Shabwa Museum 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 north ...

, and an old souk and the Banata Specialist Hospital are located to the south-eastern part of the town which geographically stretches from the northwest to the southeast. Dubai Hotel and Suites has a hotel in the town centre. Military camps are located in the western part. Approximately 50% of the buildings in Ataq have two storeys and the population is spread across 70-80% of the city area.

Shabwa Museum

Ataq contains the regional museum of the Shabwah Governorate, the Shabwa Museum. The museum contains important items related to the prehistoric heritage of the area and contains many items unearthed by

M. L Inizan ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respec ...

. In particular it contains relics from the ancient city of

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 north ...

, the capital 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 S ...

and items unearthed from the archaeological sites of the ancient Qataban and Osan kingdom. The airport contains a technical tower, electricity station and fire brigade building.

Urban development

In order to improve and create sustainable development conditions in Ataq city, in respect of water and wastewater aspects the Yemen Government launched a project to meet population growth projected to 2025, with funds provided by International Development Agency (IDA).

Climate

Ataq has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: BWh).

References

{{Yemeni cities Populated places in Shabwah Governorate