Mukalla

The current name "Mukalla" (المكلا) is derived from the Arabic verb "kala" (كلا), meaning "to preserve" or "to nurture." This reflects the city's historical role as a safe harbor and bustling port, providing shelter and nurturing trade in the region.^[4][5][6]

However, several other names and epithets have been associated with Mukalla throughout its history, each offering insights into its development and cultural significance:

• Al-Kheesa: This early name, meaning "bay" or "cove" in Arabic, highlights Mukalla's sheltered location and its early function as a fishing village.^[6]
• Bandar Yaqoub: This name comes from the saint Yaqoub bin Yusuf, a man who settled in the city around the 12th century AD. His shrine remains a significant local landmark.^[6]
• Bandar Omar: Named after a local figure, Omar bin Ali bin Sheikh Abu Bakr, who founded the Al-Rawd Mosque near Yaqoub's shrine.^[6]
• Bandar Al-Naqeeb: Attributed to Captain Salah bin Hamad Al-Kassadi, a prominent ruler from the Al-Kassad dynasty that governed Mukalla in the 18th century.^[6]
• Bandar Ghalib: This name emerged during the reign of Sultan Ghaleb bin Awad Al-Quaiti, who ruled the Hadhramaut region in the early 20th century.^[6]

Mukalla is not far from Qana, the ancient principal Hadrami trading post between India and Africa, with incense producing areas in its hinterland.^[7]

 

Mukalla was founded in 1035 as a fishing settlement. After witnessing a struggle for control by the Kathiri and Qu'aiti Sultanates in the 19th and 20th centuries, it became the capital of the Qu'aiti State of Hadhramaut. The Qu'aiti Sultanate was part of the Eastern Aden Protectorate until that merger, and a British Resident Advisor was stationed at Mukalla. The other major cities of the Sultanates were Ash-Shihr and Shibam.^[2]

 

Captain Haines, a British officer who surveyed Yemen in the 1830s, described Mukalla as a town of 4,500 inhabitants with a significant trade in slaves.^[8] British explorers Theodore Bent and Mabel Bent used Mukalla several times in the 1890s to enter and exit the Wadi Hadhramaut:

“Our starting-point for the interior was Makalla, which is 230 miles from Aden, and is the only spot between Aden and Maskat which has any pretensions to the name of port. The name itself means 'harbour'… Here we were deposited in December 1893 by a chance steamer, one which had been chartered and on which for a consideration we were allowed to take passage. I took turns with the captain to sleep in his cabin, but there was nothing but the deck for the others.”^[9]

In 1967, Mukalla lost its status of capital city of the Qu'aiti Sultanate as it became a part of the communist People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and following the Yemeni unification in 1990, it became part of what is modern-day Yemen.

 

During the Yemeni Civil War, on 2 April 2015, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) stormed the central prison, freeing hundreds of prisoners including two senior AQAP commanders. They attacked the central bank and seized 17 billion Yemeni riyals and 1 million U.S. dollars before taking control of the presidential palace in the city.

It was reported the entire city was under their control and they planned to establish an Islamic emirate in the wider Hadramaut region.^[10] Mukalla became AQAP's headquarters, and the capital of their Emirate in Yemen after their takeover.

In April 2015 Yemeni Al-Qaida leader Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi was killed in a US drone strike in the city, the SITE Intelligence Group said, citing media reports.^[11]

On 23 March 2015, a US airstrike hit an AQAP training camp, killing at least 50 people. Some days later, AQAP held a major rally in the city, against the US and their airstrikes.^[12] In April 2016, it was reported that AQAP bounds at last 1,000 of its fighters inside the Mukalla only, with their tax collection in the city ranging from 2 to higher than 5 million U.S. dollars per day.^[13]

On 3 November 2015, Cyclone Chapala struck Mukalla and destroyed the city's waterfront.^[14]

In mid April 2016, AQAP was consolidating its control in Mukalla and took over control of Mukalla's airport from forces affiliated with the pro-Ansar al Sharia Hadhrami Domestic Council, while also evacuating and planting explosives around nearby al Dhaba oil port. AQAP also arrested seven Yemeni fighters from a camp north of Mukalla in Wadi Hadramaut, where the UAE is reportedly training forces for operations against AQAP.^{[citation needed]} AQAP is also redistributing property from northern landowners to local tribal leaders in an effort to shore up support, according to reports. The UAE, a core member of the Saudi-led coalition, recently^[when?] led an operation to recapture AQAP-held al Hawta in Lahij governorate, amid reports the country is seeking U.S. assistance for an expanded counter-terrorism campaign in Yemen.^[15]

Mukalla was recaptured from Al Qaeda (AQAP) on 25 April 2016, after 2,000 Yemeni and Emirati troops of the Saudi-led coalition advanced into the city, taking control of its port and airport and setting up checkpoints throughout the city.^[16][17]

The UAE has established a primary base of operations against AQAP in the liberated city.^[18] The special operations base has enabled the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to target AQAP's strongest cells in Yemen and allowed for an enhanced UAE-US cooperation against AQAP.^[18]

On 15 May 2016, a suicide attack was carried out in the city by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.^[19] The attack targeted a police base, killing at least 25 police recruits and wounding at least 54 others.^[20][21]

After the liberation of Mukalla, Major-General Faraj Al-Bahsani, the then-governor of the Hadhramaut governorate, said that they were now working on rebuilding health and education services, new homes and a local police force.

During a press visit by The Independent in August 2018, the city appeared to be secured. Multiple checkpoints were present outside the city and weapons were not allowed to be brought into the city.^[22]

 

The old port of Mukalla, now moved to a different location

 

Trading bread next to the Omar grand mosque

The main market souq is one of the main commercial hubs of the city. Mukalla port is located to the east of the town. The port is available for vessels with length not more than 150 metres (490 feet), as per Pilot Book Pilot Directions (as of 2010^[update]). At the same time two vessels with the length 150 metres (490 feet) each and about 20 small fishing vessels can stay alongside in Mukalla port (fishing vessel moored alongside one to another). The port is fitted with oil pipe line for tankers. Oil tanks located close to the port. A cement factory of the "RAYSUT" Omani-Yemeni company (Oman-Yemen company) located in the port and is able to receive cement in bulk from cement carriers.^{[citation needed]}

The old town is open for tourists. Sights include the royal palace of the sultan. Guard towers that were outposts surmount the vicinity of the old town.^{[citation needed]} Nearby are Hadhramaut Mountains,^[23] such as that of Husn Ghuraf.^[2]

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  Al-Ghwayzi Fort at the base of the Hadhramaut Mountains
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  Al-Mukalla estuary at night
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  Qu'aiti sultan's palace, now a museum

The HUCOM (College of Medicine) of the Hadhramout University is located in Mukalla.^[24]

 

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mukalla.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mukalla.

• Official Website of the Al-Quaiti Royal Family of Hadhramaut