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Yemen is situated on the southern point of the Arabian Peninsula, and sharing borders with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden. Yemen has had a anxious current history with civil wars and tribal conflicts predominating. Yemen's province includes over 200 islands, the biggest of which is Socotra, about 415 kilometers (259 miles) to the south of Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. Yemen is the only nation on the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is a tough country to get around, but the plunder for the perseverant tourist are a memorable incident, populated with very gracious and open hosts. In spite of being adjoining to Saudi Arabia and on the same peninsula as the United Arab Emirates, Yemen is certainly a place apart.

Talk: Arabic is the authorized language. While many locals will at least try to correspond with non-Arabic speakers in other languages, any visitor will almost certainly need at least some Arabic, predominantly if traveling to locations outside the capital. Weather: Mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extremely hot, dry, harsh desert in east. The weather can be chilly in areas where the elevation is high. Narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and Rocky Mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula.

Eat & Drink: The famous dish is Salta, a meat-based stew spiced with fenugreek and usually served at the end of the main course. The flavor is quite unlike any Western dishes, which may take newcomers by shock, but it is a taste well worth acquiring. Yemeni honey is mainly famous throughout the region, and most desserts will feature a liberal serving of it. Of particular note is bint al-sahn, a sort of flat dough dish which is drenched in honey. Other sweet foods well worth the trying are Yemeni raisins. Yemen is officially a dry country; however non-Muslims are entitled to bring up to two bottles of any alcoholic beverage into the country. These may only be drunk on private property, and venturing outside while under the pressure is not a sensible decision.

Work: Work in Yemen is hard to obtain as a foreigner. The collections of young men behind you in public areas and by the roadside seeking for work do not imitate a lack of jobs. Rather, it reflects that many Yemenis do not have enough education to work in non-manual jobs. Learn: Particularly in Sana'a, there are institutes offering instruction in Arabic. The benefits of learning the language in Yemen are that the dialect spoken is often quite close to Classical Arabic, and also that languages other than Arabic are much less commonly spoken than they are in nearby countries. Buy: Necklaces and jewelry are also common souvenirs, and many of these will in fact be made of the semi-precious stones the souvenir sellers claim. However, a healthy grain of salt should be added to any belief that one is actually purchasing a necklace of lapis lazuli or anything like that. Bargaining (even with village children) is predictable and advisable.