Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen. A country located on the southwestern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, which was formed in 1990 as a result of the unification of the Democratic People’s Republic of Yemen and the Arab Republic of Yemen. It is bordered to the north by Saudi Arabia, to the east by Oman, to the south by the Gulf of Aden and to the west by the Red Sea.
From the 27 of January of 2011 thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The protesters call for stability and fight against chaos. The protests have been uninterrupted since February 12.
Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world. [1] In addition, the Saleh regime is exposed to the continuous actions of Al Qaeda, which has bases in this country, an attempted secession from the south and a Shiite rebellion in the north of the country that acts sporadically.
Demography
In Yemen, where just 1% of the area is irrigable, the economy remains very archaic. Within the agricultural sector it is convenient to mention the cereal crops (millet, sorghum, wheat) and coffee. Yemeni livestock is quite important, especially with regard to the sheep herd. The recent findings of Petroleum have made this country a producer state.
The subsoil contains notable reserves of natural gas. It also has industries related to the manufacture of plastic materials, such as the manufacture of pipes and accessories; There are also food, textile, wood, chemical, tobacco, and paper products industries.
Its main trading partners are Thailand, China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
It should be noted that Yemen is the poorest country of all the Arab countries, as it has a GDP per capita of $ 889 (2006).
Unlike other residents of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomadic or semi-nomadic, Yemenis are, for the most part, sedentary. They live in small towns and villages scattered along the coast or in the mountains.
residents: 20,727,063 (July 2005 est.), 20,024,867 (July 2004)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.5% (men 4,905,831; women 4,727,177) 15-64 years: 50.8% (men 5,364,711; women 5,172,811) 65 and over: 2, 7% (male 274,166; female 282,367) (2005 est,)
Population growth rate: 3.45% (2005 est,)
Birth rate: 43.07 births / 1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 8.53 deaths / 1,000 population (2005 est,)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants / 1,000 residents (2005 est,)
Distribution by sex: at birth: 1.05 men / women under 15 years of age: 1.04 men / women 15-64 years: 1.04 men / women 65 and over: 0.97 men / women total population: 1.04 men / women (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.28 deaths / 1,000 live births (2000 est,)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 61.75 years Men: 59.89 years Women: 63.71 years (2005 est.)
Fertility rate: 6.67 children born / woman (2005 est.)
Ethnic groups: Predominance of Arabs; although there is also Afro-Arab. European
Religions: Muslims, including Shaf’i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi’a), small groups of Jews, Christians and Hindus.
Languages: Arabic
Literacy: definition: people 15 years of age or older who can read and write total population: 50.2% men: 70.5% women: 30% (2003 est.)
Culture
According to thereligionfaqs.com, Yemen Culture is the result of the influence of many Middle Eastern civilizations, such as the ancient Sheba civilization.
Gastronomy
The Gastronomy of Yemen is one of the cuisines of the Middle East that is characterized by the diversity of ingredients and the use of spicy spices. Yemen was formerly known as ‘South Yemen’ and ‘North Yemen’ and in 1990 they merged into the so-called Republic of Yemen.
Ingredients Zhug is a well-known hot sauce in Yemeni cuisine made with various spices, such as: cardamom, caraway, coriander, etc. This sauce is usually eaten on flat bread (a staple food in Yemen). Another staple food is hilbeh, which is often served in the south, while its northern variant is called hulba.
Chicken and lamb are often found as ingredients in dishes very frequently, often more than beef, which is more expensive. Fish is also generally served in coastal areas. Cheese, butter, and other dairy products are less common in the Yemeni diet. Buttermilk, however, is highly prized and easily found. The use of oil in cooking is used in main dishes, and semn (سمن) (clarified butter) in pastry recipes.
Dishes Yemen’s national dish is saltah (سلطة) which has slight regional variations throughout the territory. The base of the dish has its origin in a Turkish meat stew called maraq (مرق), it is accompanied by a fenugreek paste, sahawiq (سهاويق) or sahowqa (a mixture of chillies, tomatoes, garlic and various minced herbs in a sauce.) rice, potato, scrambled egg, and various vegetables. It is usually eaten with flat bread.
Other well-known dishes are: Aseed, Fahsa, Thareed, Samak Mofa, Lahm Mandi, Fattah, Shafut, Bint AlSahn, Jachnun.
Drinks Tea is a traditional drink among Yemenis, who usually drink it after chewing qat. The most common varieties are milk tea, black tea (with cloves, cardamom or mint). Coffee varieties such as Qishr, Qahwa, and infusions such as Karkadé are also drunk.
Although coffee and tea are consumed throughout Yemen, coffee is preferred in Sana’a, while tea is preferred in Aden and Hadramaut. Tea is taken at breakfast, after lunch (often accompanied by sweets and pastries) and during dinner. Cloves, cardamom and mint are usually added.
