Contact Admin. During the Italo-Ottoman War of —12 the city was shelled by Italian warships lying offshore. By the s many modern buildings had also been constructed.
The old port at the city site was an open roadstead; ships had to unload their cargoes into small dhows and lighters. Whereas the new port can handle several 10,ton ships at once, the capacity of the old port was estimated at only — tons per day. Grain silos were constructed in the new port for the secure storage of grain supplies for the population. This road was built by Chinese engineers. Imports include raw and processed foodstuffs, machinery and metal goods, and consumer goods.
Principal exports are coffee , cotton, khat a mild stimulant used widely in the Middle East and East Africa , and hides and skins.
A small cotton-ginning plant and soft-drink plants are in operation. Thank you for your feedback. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Start Your Free Trial Today. Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Yemen , country situated at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
It is mostly mountainous and generally arid, though there are broad patches with sufficient precipitation to make agriculture successful. The people speak various dialects of Arabic and are mostly Muslims see Islam.
