Aden

Aden is a governorate of Yemen, including the city of Aden. At the 2004 census it had a population of 589,419.[2] The ancient capital, the port city of Crater, was located here.Aden was under British rule in the period from 1839 to 1967. In 1967, after years of struggle, Aden and other southern governorates gained their independence. The city of Aden subsequently became the capital of South Yemen between 1967 and 1990. In 1990, both South Yemen and North Yemen combined to form the present Republic of Yemen. Aden is now the commercial capital of the Republic of Yemen.

Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centres: Crater, the original port city; Ma’alla, the modern port; Tawahi, known as “Steamer Point” in the colonial period; and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Khormaksar, 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 British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen’s second biggest airport. On the mainland are the sub-centres of Sheikh Othman, a former oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha’b (formerly Madinat al-Itihad), 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.