Balhaf () is an industrial port town and an oasis in an area of coastal dunes in the Burum Coastal Area of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. 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 ( ; ) is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi A ...

, 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, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

or Africa.

Location

Balhaf belongs to Shabwa of Yemen, located about 150 km from

Mukalla Mukalla, officially the Mukalla City District, is a seaport and the capital city district of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut Governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the South Arabia, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of A ...

-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 ( ') was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January ...

. 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 operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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 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 to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

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