Yemen is on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula located along one of the most geopolitically important sea-trade routes in the world. It has a very long history of civilization going back some 3000 years, and most recently in 1990 it unified into one entity. Being on a peninsula in the near East, one might assume that Yemen would be very flat and close to sea level, but the truth is that almost the entirety of Yemen is on a massive plateau 1000 - 2000 meters above sea level. Long river canyons, called wadis, carve out paths and accumulate water during the rainy season. For the rest of the year there is practically zero precipitation making Yemen one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. When climate change is factored in, Yemen is extremely vulnerable since the arable land they have, less than 3% of the country, relies on brief season rainfall. Its no wonder the people have terraced the hillsides and built irrigation paths to facilitate agriculture wherever and whenever possible. It was also remarkable how many houses were built up on the steep sides of the canyons, houses were seemingly clinging on like sculpted boulders. It made for some spectacular images, which I compiled into one scene here that captures key elements such as the colour-fade into the distance, the terraced canyon walls, the thin river with golden beige water (yellow ochre PY42), and the neat houses. Talk about a room with a view!
World Inspired Landscapes: Yemen, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, May 2025
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