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Aden:
is a city in Yemen, 105 miles (170
kilometers) East of Bab-el-Mandeb.
 Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in
the crater of an extinct volcano which
now forms a
peninsula, joined to the mainland by a
low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay,
was first used by the ancient Kingdom of
Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries
BC. The modern harbour is on the other
side of the peninsula. Aden now has a
population of about 590,000[1] and is
located at 12.779444° N 45.03667° E. |
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Aden
consists of a number of distinct
sub-centers: Crater, the original port
city; Ma'alla, the modern port; Tawahi,
known as "Steamer Point" in colonial
days; and the resorts of Gold Mohur.
Khormaksar, located on the isthmus that
connects Aden proper with the mainland,
includes the city's diplomatic missions,
the main offices of Aden University, and
Aden International Airport--the former
RAF Khormaksar. On the mainland are the
sub-centers of Sheikh Othman, a former
oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned
by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha'b,
the site designated as the capital of
the South Arabian Federation and now
home to a large power/desalinization
facility and additional faculties of
Aden University.
Aden
encloses the eastern side of a vast,
natural harbor that comprises the modern
port. The volcanic peninsula of Little
Aden forms a near-mirror image,
enclosing the harbor and port on the
western side. Little Aden became the
site of the oil refinery and tanker
port. Both were established and operated
by British Petroleum until they were
turned over to Yemeni government
ownerships and control in 1977.
Aden was the capital of the People's
Democratic Republic of Yemen until that
country's unification with the Yemen
Arab Republic when it was declared a
free trade zone. It gives its name to
the Gulf of Aden.
The port's convenient position on the
sea route between India and Europe has
made Aden desirable to rulers who sought
to possess it at various times
throughout history. Known as Arabian
Eudaemon in the 1st century BC, it was a
transshipping point for the Red Sea
trade, but fell on hard times when new
shipping practices by-passed it and made
the daring direct crossing to India in
the 1st century AD, according to the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The same
work describes Aden as 'a village by the
shore', which would well describe the
town of Crater while it was still
little-developed. There is no mention of
fortification but at this stage, Aden
was more an island than a peninsula as
the isthmus (a tombolo) was not then so
developed as it is today.
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