The Governorate of Sa’adah lies in the north of the Republic of Yemen, bordering Saudi Arabia, 243 km from Sana’a. It has a variety of topography: high mountains to the north and west such as Khawlan, Baqim and Razeh mountain, 2800 km above sea level, which are linked to the Huma’aeh range of mountains. In Razeh mountain range, Jabal Huram has the highest peak, with Jabal Al-Nadheer, Jabal Qal’a Sahar and Jabal al-Sama’a the next highest peaks (on Sama’a there is a castle built by Imam Ahmad which is located parallel to al-Sinarah Castle to the west). The Hamdan ben Zain mountains range between 2,000-2,800 meters high. The mountain ranges are intersected by a number of Wadis, the most important of which are wadi Saqain, Nushour, Badr, Dhamd and Alaf as well as Wadi Abdayayn at khaniq Strait, where there are remains of the Himyarite Khaniq Dam built in the 9th century AD and still in existence today.

Sa’adah flat land (Qa’a):
The flatlands of Sa’adah are amongst the most fertile in Yemen with farmers growing black grapes, pomegranate, peaches, apricots, figs and other fruits at high altitudes (1800 meters above sea level), one of the highest flatlands in Yemen. The area is enclosed by Juma’a and Ghamar mountains from the north and west and Sahar mountains from the south, while from the east, there are the Hamdan mountains.

Eastern Sa’adah:
High mountains and desert characterize this part of the governorate, with a number of valley streams flowing through to the Empty Quarter Desert.

Climate:
The climate of Sa’adah is generally moderate in summer with the temperature ranging from 16-26 degrees C and cold during winter with temperatures ranging from 16-0 degrees C during the night and early morning.

Population activities:
Most of the inhabitants of Sa’adah are engaged in agriculture and raising livestock with a minority working as craftsmen and traders.
Handicrafts:
Sa’adah is famous for its good-quality iron, traces of which can be seen in various parts of the governorate. Some of its people still work in the mining of iron-ore from the mountains. They melt it in primitive furnaces to make tools, due to its high-quality, and despite the availability of imported iron in the markets. Dagger blades from Sa’adah were sought after. The iron is also used in the manufacture of ploughs and leather tanning tools. Other handicrafts include: leather goods and ornaments. Sa’adah is an important center for silver jewelry. Sa’adah is also famous for domestic utensils made from palm leaves and clay. The residents of Sa’adah are very skillful in the making of kitchen-ware from stone extracted from the Razeh quarries. Such stones are called Harradh and the utensils made from these stones are very popular and called “al-Maqla al-Sa’di, al-Hardha al-Sa’diyya” meaning Sa’adah frying pan.

Markets:
There are a number of weekly markets held in different parts of the governorate on different days, the most important being al-Talh, 10 km to the north of Sa’adah, which is held every Saturday and is one of the biggest markets in Yemen.

Architectural style:
Sa’adah architecture is unique to the city and the surrounding area and is dominated by the adobe structures. Al-Hadi mosque, dates back to the 9th century, is one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in Yemen. It contains tombs and domes, the most important of which is the tomb of al-Hadi Yahia Bin al-Hussain, founder of the al-Zaidi dynasty in the 9th century. Al-Hadi and other mosques in Sa’adah are used for theological studies, which give the city an academic aura comparable to that of Sana’a, Zabid, Tarim, Dhamar and Djibla. In the mosque there are several references talking about the history of the region and Islam.
Sa’adah Muslim graveyard, located close to the city’s gate, is unique in that the stones are engraved with the names of the deceased, the date of death, his virtues, prayers and verses from the holy Qura’an and sometimes some poetry.

Surrounding area:
Scattered around Sa’adah and in parts of Qa’a al-Sahn and Sa’eed Qa’a Sa’adah there are beautiful villages with the same architectural patterns as Sa’adah and are rich in grape-vines, gardens, pomegranate and other fruits. Worthy of a special mention are the villages of al-Talh, al-Abdeen and Rahban.

Rock Drawings and Primitive Paintings:
Sa’adah is an area which boasts a large collection of ancient paintings and signs dating back to the Hunter Gathers Society. In the mountain area many of the caves and rocks are full of inscriptions and paintings of goats, hounds, cows, snakes, plant and geometrical shapes. The two areas, rich in such drawings and paintings, are Al-Khaza’in, 15 kms to the north-west of Sa’adah at Om Laila and Musalhaqat 5 kms further on.

Al-Khaza’in, Rocky Graveyards:
Fifteen km to the north-west of Sa’adah is the Rocky Graveyard. This graveyard is carved in the mountain and resembles a vault. It has a square door leading to rooms, each about 20 square meters. The rooms are similar to those at Shiban Kawkaban, Dhafar al-Malik, Wadi Dhafar and Shibam al-Gharras. At al-Khaza’in there is a reservoir eight meters deep and 4 meters wide.
Other places worth visiting are Haidan, Baqim, Wadi Nashur, Razeh, Saqin, Wa’ela, Sahar, Ghuraz and Al-Buqa’a.

Customs, Traditions and Folklore
Sa’adah is rich in its art, folklore dances and music, with some of its residents having traditions found nowhere else. For example, the male residents on the outskirts of Sa’adah wear wreaths of flowers around their heads and their hair is grown down to their shoulders. This part of Sa’adah has retained a life-style which has not been affected in time.
Al-Buqa’a, a crossing point for Saudi Arabia, is located to the north-east of Sa’adah.

Forts and Castles of Sa’adah:
Sa’adah has always been an important point on the trade route: the frankincense camel cravens from the As’ad rout, or the proprietors of the elephant route which passed by a series of towns and hills during the pre-Islamic era, and is also a route for pilgrims during Islam. The construction of forts and castles, therefore, seemed necessary to protect the travelers. Some were built close to Sa’adah such as al-Sinarah, Sama’a fort, Tulmus fort and Alba fort. The most important of the forts and castles is “Om Laila”, located 60 kms to the north-west of Sa’adah at Baqim and Juma’ah.

In the Jumhuria Hospital of Aden, Specialized Consultant Doctor, Abdulhameed Ali bin Ali Shukri successfully carried out a historic operation on an 8-day-old Yemeni baby boy. The operation’s objective was to split and remove a huge tumor suspending through a hole in the skull and containing brain liquid and Encephalcele components. Little Hameed Taleb Mohamed suffered for eight days from the tumor, which was larger in size than the head, and which was attached to the skull of the baby since birth.
Yemen Times was there in the operating room during the delicate process of removing the tumor from the skull, and witnessed the happy ending of the successful operation and the waking up of the baby happy and healthy afterwards.
A few days after the day of operation, Yemen Times met Dr. Abdulhameed who said with a smile, “Thanks to God, we are delighted that the operation was successful. This type of operations has a success rate of 76% averaged throughout the world. The operation was carried out with the participation of Dr. Noshad Sraryu, and we are happy to tell you that the baby is steadily improving since the operation. I continue to monitor the case of the baby up close and make sure there are no complications or deviation in the nervous system after the operation.
This medical operation is only second to a similar operation carried out by completely Yemeni medical team, which was able to perform the operation in Aden Hospital more than a year ago.
On another level, Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Othman, a consultant doctor specialized in operating on the brain and nervous system added to the earlier remarks of Dr. Abdulhameed, “We thank God for the great success of the operation, which indicates that we indeed have qualified Yemeni doctors who can rise to the occasion and successfully operate such difficult cases. There are many Yemeni doctors with high skills and knowledge and have the potential to rank high in the world only if they were given a little more encouragement and support from the government. I do however thank Yemen Times for its noble role in following up our successful operation, hoping that it would continue to do so in the future, and would serve as an example for other newspapers to follow.”
Finally, the joyful father of the baby, Taleb Mohamed said, said “I thank all the doctors who participated in the operation, as they have done their utmost to ensure the safety of my son. I also believe that my son wouldn’t have stayed alive if it was not for God’s mercy first and the great efforts of the doctors second. I call upon the government to honor those doctors for their noble roles and distinguished efforts.”
Yemen Times
Aden