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| Yemen Social Profile |
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Food & Drink
Hotel restaurants serve both Western and Oriental dishes, particularly Chinese and Indian. There are a few independent restaurants serving Arab and international cuisine.
Seafood is strongly recommended, as is haradha (a mincemeat and pepper dish). Also hanid (lamb meat cooked in typical oven with spices), marag lahm (meat soup) and kabsa (rice with lamb meat) should not be missed.
Alcohol is generally not available but may be served in hotels. It is illegal to purchase alcohol for a Yemeni citizen. Tourists are advised to respect Muslim traditions and customs.
Nightlife
Nightlife is generally centred on the major hotels.
Shopping
Souks (markets) are fascinating places to shop and buy handicrafts. Purchases include scarves (woven with gold thread), amber beads, leather goods, foutah (national costume), jambia (daggers), candlesticks, brightly coloured cushions and ceramics.
Other interesting items include gold and silver work, perfume, spice, bukhur incense with charcoal and pottery containers in which to burn it, coloured mats and sharks’ teeth.
General shopping hours are from Sunday to Thursday 8.00 am to 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm.
Social Conventions
Traditional values are still very much part of everyday life and visitors will be treated with traditional courtesies and generosity. Many of the population work in agriculture, with several 1000 dependent on fishing. The rest live and work in towns and there is a small nomadic minority who live along the northern edges of the desert.
Guns become more conspicuous further north, slung over the shoulder and carried in addition to the traditional jambia. In towns the women are veiled with black or coloured cloth, while in the villages such customs are not observed.
Yemenis commonly chew qat, a locally grown shrub bearing shoots that have a stimulant effect (similar to caffeine), chewed in markets and cafes but more fashionably sitting on cushions in a guestroom or mafrai at the top of a multi storeyed Yemeni house.
For the visitor, conservative casual clothes are appropriate, visiting businesspeople are expected to wear suits. Men should wear a jacket and tie for formal occasions and in smart dining rooms. Women are expected to dress modestly and beachwear and shorts should be confined to the beach or poolside.
Restrictions
It is polite for foreigners not to smoke, eat or drink in public during Ramadan (smoking is forbidden during Ramadan).
Tipping
The practice of tipping has become more common. Waiters and taxi drivers should be tipped 10 to 15 %. |
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