Aden Crater and Tawila Tanks

The Old Port Of Aden In The Crater Of An Extinct Volcano, Once One Of The Busiest Ports In The World And A British Colony Until 1967, With The Tawila Tanks (Stone Cisterns That Stored Rainwater), Sira Fortress, The Aden Museum And The Marshag. The Temporary Capital Of The Internationally Recognised Government. Still Affected By Fighting · Aden, Aden

Crater is the old heart of Aden, a port town built inside the bowl of an extinct volcano on the Gulf of Aden. Its rim of black volcanic rock shut out the sea wind and gave the British, who took Aden in 1839 and ruled it until 1967, a natural fortress and a coaling station on the route to India, and the town grew into one of the busiest ports in the world. Above the district stand the Tawila Tanks, a chain of stone cisterns cut into a gorge to catch rare rain, with Sira Fortress on its rock out in the harbour. Crater also holds the Aden Museum, colonial streets, and the Gold Mohur beaches lie along the coast. Marshag is the old port quarter on the waterfront. Aden is the temporary capital of the internationally recognised government and was fought over in 2015 and since. Most governments advise against all travel to Yemen, and flights to Aden airport have been intermittent. Access, roads and flights are unknown and changing, so read your own government's advice first. It suits only someone already in the region, in a safer future.

Crater (Aden's old district in an extinct volcano) and the Tawila Tanks, the historic cisterns above the Sira rock, on the Gulf of Aden coast, Aden, Aden, Yemen

The tanks, the crater streets and the shore are open-air places with no fixed hours. Walking the lanes and looking at the cisterns from the path is commonly FREE, though a caretaker may ask for a small tip, and daylight hours are the only sensible ones. The Aden Museum and any fort are usually open mornings and CLOSED on Fridays, and may be CLOSED for long periods because of damage or staff shortages; opening times are not known and must be confirmed locally. Sira Fortress is on a rock and may be CLOSED to visitors. Markets and shops are quiet on Friday and in the heat of early afternoon. Check with a trusted local contact on the day, and with your government, before planning any visit.

Aden Crater and Tawila Tanks on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos