South Yemen Hadhramaut Tour

Saturday 20th February – Cairo, Egypt – Seiyun, Yemen – Hawta

• Arrive at your convenience into Cairo – the capital city of Egypt which is well connected with flights from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
• Group members will meet at 7:45am at Cairo International Airport to check into the Yemenia Airways flight bound to depart at 10:45am and arriving in Seiyun at 3:15pm. Flight schedule is subject to change and will be confirmed closer to the tour.
• Upon arrival, the group will go through customs and immigration. Our local guide will meet us as we exit the terminal.
• Seiyun is the largest and most important city in southern Yemen. Legend has it that it started as a resting point for travellers and was named after a woman called Seiyun who worked in a café. Depending on our time of arrival, we will do a brief walk around the city, head to a viewpoint in the late afternoon to enjoy a magnificent sunset, or simply make our way to our hotel – located in a traditional building and boasting a swimming pool!
• Dinner and overnight in Hawta.

Sunday 21st February – Seiyun – Al Mukalla

• Breakfast at hotel
• Embark on a 5 hours journey to Al Mukalla, a major port city located at the Gulf of Aden, on the shores of the Arabian Sea. The trip is a good opportunity to see the beautiful landscape of the region, as we exit the wadi (valley) and drive down to the coast.

Afternoon

• Al Mukalla was previously controlled by Al-Qaeda at the beginning of the civil war and was not accessible for tourists. It has only recently re-opened again for foreigners.
• Tour highlight – Upon arrival in Mukalla, we’ll head to the Old Town and the port. The signs from the civil war are still present in the city: you’ll hear more about this during your visit. You’ll also see that the city is as alive as ever, with numerous pool tables scattered around so that people can play on the street!
• Visit the Old Market of Mukalla, an interesting mix of shops selling goods from all over Yemen and a good spot to experience local life. This is the perfect opportunity to buy local Yemeni clothes and to experience daily life in Yemen.
• Dinner and overnight stay in Mukalla.

Monday 22nd February –  Mukalla – Wadi Doan – Haid Al-Jizil

• Breakfast at hotel
• Before departing, we’ll head back to Mukalla to explore the lively fish and vegetable market located right on the coast.
• We’ll also visit the Mukalla Museum, located in the Palace of the Sultan. It served as the residence of the ruling Sultan of the Qu’aiti Sultanate until the 1967 revolution.
• See the Khoor Mukhalla and Al-Ghawizi Forts, some of the oldest fortresses not only in Yemen but on the Arabian peninsula.

Afternoon

• We’ll have a local lunch in the area and begin our drive to Wadi Doan. This is one of the most picturesque places within the region and a hidden gem that is rich in history, culture, and natural beauty.
• For a panoramic view of the area, we’ll take you to the Haid Al-Jizil Hotel, which will also be our hotel for the evening.
• We’ll continue with a one-hour hike down the canyon, to the villages of Hawfah and Bugshan. The latter is a beautiful village famous for its coloured palace, a truly curious building that was built at the end of the 19th century and is now one the landmarks of the region. There’s also a mosque with locals visiting during prayer times.
• We head back to Haid Al-Jizil hotel just before sunset so we can soak in the view.
• Dinner and overnight stay in Haid Al-Jizil.

Tuesday 23rd February – Haid Al-Jizil – Wadi Doan – Shibam – Hawta

• Breakfast at hotel
• We will head back to the village of Bugshan and spend more time visiting it. We’ll have the chance to climb to the top of an eight-stories abandoned hotel, said to be the highest mud-building in the world. This will give you a beautiful view of the village and of the Colourful palace.
• Drive to the town of Ribat Ba-Ashan. From here, we will walk to Qarht Bahumaish, a picturesque small village. Most of the villages we’ll see today are so small that they are either not on maps, or abandoned. This is truly uncharted territory!
• We drive further down in Wadi Doan. Along the way we make various stops at small villages and towns to experience the local life in the valley. Among them, we’ll see the photogenic village of Musainah. We’ll also stop at Qarn Majid, where we can see the unmistakeable Husn Fort, built in 1812, that towers above the village, balanced atop a gorge.

Afternoon

• In the afternoon we’ll visit Al Khuraiba, a beautiful town and a great place to break up the journey for lunch.
• As we continue on we stop at a truly unique site, the former palace of the Osama Bin-Laden family. If the guardian is here, he may open the door so we can visit the garden.
• The journey continues with rest and tour stops at Sif and Hajjrain villages – this is one of the best ways to see daily local life in Yemen.
• We’ll continue to Shibam, in Wadi Hadhramaut, in time for another gorgeous sunset. This is the perfect postcard-picture of your Yemeni trip, and one of the most incredible sunsets in the world.
• Dinner and overnight stay in Hawta.

Wednesday 24th February – Hawta – Shibam – Seiyun – Aynat – Tarim

• Breakfast at hotel
• Trip highlight – Head to Shibam, best known at the “Manhattan of the Desert”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its towering mudbrick skyscrapers built over 500 years ago.
• We’ll have a city tour of Shibam, which will include all the must-sees of the town, as well as the mud towers that are the trademark of the city. We’ll climb one of the houses and see the area from the top for a stunning view.
• We’ll return back to Seiyun and on arrival we’ll stop at the Sultan Palace Museum, that was the royal residence of the sultan of Kathiri. It is one of the world’s largest mud-brick structures and resembles a giant sand castle. We’ll also see the Falas Fort, built to fortify the city.
• Continue the city tour which includes the main mosque, town centre, as well as the Al-Handal Souk – a great place for souvenirs and bargain hunting. We will also check out the local fruit and vegetable market, a place filled with friendly locals. We recommend buying locally grown cashew nuts, dates, or coffee – Yemen is famous for its mocha coffee beans, named after the city of Mocha.

Afternoon

• Continue on towards Aynat, a small village in Eastern Yemen famous for its shrines.
• Our very last stop of the day is Tarim, a historical village where all buildings are made of mud. It is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad anywhere in the world.
• We’ll explore the main sites which includes the beautiful Al-Muhdhar Mosque, crowned by a mud minaret measuring approximately 53 metres, the highest in Yemen.
• For our last night of the tour, we’ll head back to Hawta where our local guides have arranged a traditional Yemeni farewell.
• Overnight stay in Hawta.

Thursday 25th February – Hawta – Seiyun 

• Morning departure to catch the flight back to Cairo with Yemenia Airways’ flight departing at 3:30pm and arriving in Cairo at 6:15pm. Depending on the flight schedule, we may have time to head back to the city centre for last-minute shopping. Flight schedule is subject to change and will be confirmed closer to the tour.
• Tour concludes on arrival into Cairo.