City Information

If you have evidence of travel to Israel stamped on your passport, you cannot apply for, and will not be issued, a visa to visit Yemen.

Sana'a can be quite warm in the summer, and winters are generally cool and enjoyable. Summers are also quite dusty and dry, and your clothes can soon turn an annoying shade of beige as you traverse the city. Hot also means you will be more prone to exhaustion, and you might be tempted to try a locally prepared unhygienic drink just out of immense thirst, with grave consequences. In short - it is better to avoid Sana'a in the summer months. Unfortunately, it seems, the largest annual festival in Sana'a, one that is held especially to welcome tourists to the city, is held during the whole month of June. This offers perfect insight into the life and culture of the residents. If you love a city for its festivals, its people, and their sense of communal fun, then summer months would be the ideal choice for you to visit the city. Otherwise, it is better to visit the city any time during September-February. The hordes of tourists will be dying out, the city will be cleaner, cooler, and more accessible, and you can get to explore more of local life rather than bumping into a foreigner on every other corner.

Location: Sana’a, Yemen Dialing code: +967 01 X (where +967 is the international code for Yemen, 01 is the regional code for Sana’a, and X is the local number) Emergency numbers - Fire Brigade 191 - Water Problems 171 - Telephone enquires 118 - Accident (traffic) 194 - Foreign Affairs 202544/7 - Inter-City Bus Co. 262111 - Red Crescent 203131

The currency used is the Yemeni Riyal (YER). Banknotes are present in denominations of 10, 20, 50,100, 500, 1000, and 5000 Rupees. Coins are also used for 1, 2, and 5 Rupees.

Religious (subject to appearance of moon): Islamic New Year (1 Muharram) Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal) Eid al-Adha (10 Zilhaj)

January: low temperature: 6.9 °C high temperature: 19.8 °C precipitation: 0 mm

Just like the architecture and the infrastructure have survived over the centuries in their somewhat original form, the society itself within Sana'a has witnessed a minimal change. People are as welcoming and hospitable to visitors as they used to be during the ages of caravan travel. You will be greeted with delight, and people try to help out with subtle gestures wherever you go. A basic knowledge of the Arabic language is a bonus, as it helps you to mingle with the locals in a variety of contexts.

Sana'a is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the world, one that has continuously been inhabited over the centuries through times of drought, famine, war and major upheavals in social trends resulting from changes in its political and religious scenarios.

Sana'a is the capital and the largest city of Yemen, home of the Sana‘a Governorate. It is also the world’s fastest growing capital city, and is not immune to the social and technological problems faced by rapidly developing third world capitals. Sana'a contains around 1.7 million residents.