Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Today, despite being the heart and soul of Hadramawt, dusty Sayun is a town with a slow
beat set against a background of hills and palm trees.
Sights
Sayun is home to a number of interesting mosques and tombs, such as the Al-Habshi
Tomb, opposite the cemetery, and the 16th-century Al-Haddad Mosque, south of the
cemetery. Non-Muslims cannot enter any of them, however.
Sultan's Palace
MUSEUM
( 402285; Central Sq)
Originally built as a 19th-century defensive fort, the Sultan's Palace
was converted into a residential palace by the Sultan Al-Katheri in the 1920s. The sultan
wasn't a subtle man and his house, containing a mere 90 rooms, towers over Sayun like an
exaggerated wedding cake. So proud was the sultan of his new home that it's said he be-
headed the main architect in order to prevent him building a copy anywhere else. It now
houses one of the best museums in the country.
Sleeping
In the past the most popular hotels with western tourists were the budget
Rayboon Hotel
(
406921)
, the midrange
Hotel BMC
(
)
and the quite plush
428040; fax 428042; Al-Ghorfah St;
)
.
Samah Seyun Hotel
(
403623;
Getting There & Away
The national carrier
Yemenia
(
565656;
www.felixairways.com
)
has flights to Sanaʻa (US$119) and Aden (US$102).
ways
(
TOP OF CHAPTER
Tarim
05
Situated 35km northeast of Sayun, the ramshackle town of Tarim has served as the seat of
kings since ancient times, and was Wadi Hadramawt's capital before Sayun. It used to be
famous as a centre of Islamic learning, as testified to by its library, and at one time had a
mosque for every day of the year. During the past century many of the people of Tarim
