Al Hudaydah

Al Hudaydah الحديدة
Ceety
Al Hudaydah Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 14°48′08″N 42°57′04″E
Kintra	Yemen
Govrenorate	Al Hudaydah Govrenorate
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Time zone	UTC+3 (Yemen Staundart Time)

Al Hudaydah (an aw cried Hudaida or Hodeidah) (Arabic: الحديدة‎) is the fowert lairgest ceety in Yemen wi a population o 400,000 fowk, an the centre o Al Hudaydah Govrenorate.

Owerview

Situatit on the Reid Sea, it is an important port, exportin coffee, cotton, dates, an hides. It wis developit as a seaport in the mid-19t century bi the Ottoman Turks.

In 1914 durin the Warld War I German troops led bi Major Freiherr Othmar von Stotzingen established a wireless station at Al Hudaydah which wis uised durin the Arab Revolt tae relay communications frae Constantinople tae German East Africae as well as broadcast propaganda tae the Sudan, Somaliland an Abyssinie.

The ceety wis briefly occupeed bi Saudi forces durin the Saudi-Yemeni War o 1934.

Efter a disastrous fire in Januar 1961 destroyed hintle o the ceety, it wis rebuilt, pairticularly the port facilities, wi Soviet aid. A heich-gate tae Sana'a, the caipital, wis completit in 1961. Hudaydah wis the steid o a Soviet naval base in the 1970s an 1980s.

The ceety haes a lairge number o historical places, pairticularly in Zabid, which is regarded as ane o the maist important Islamic touns in the warld. The ceety is no lairge but it haes mair nor 100 auld mosques. Furthermair, the ceety uised tae hae an auld university which is as auld as al-Azhar.

The Malay writer Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir visitit Al Hudaydah on his pilgrimage tae Mecca in 1854, an describes the ceety in his accoont o the journey, mentionin that the custom o chewin khat wis prevalent in the ceety at this time.