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The ancient port city of Aden, Yemen was midway on the trade route between Europe and the Far East via the Suez Canal.
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Aden, on the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, has been a trading center -- by land and sea -- for more than 3,000 years. One of the largest natural harbors in the world, Aden is the midway point on the trading route between Europe and the Far East via the Suez Canal. The port lies roughly of equal distance from the Suez Canal, Bombay (Mumbai), and Zanzibar, all of which were former British possessions.
Aden was visited by Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta in the 11th and 12th centuries; it fueled and accommodated steamer ships in the 1800's (the Suez Canal opened in 1869). By the 1950s, it became one of the busiest ship bunkering, tax-free shopping and trading ports in the world. In the mid-1970s, the Suez Canal closed under intense competition from new ports in the region. By the end of the 1980s, new quays were finally built at the "Ma'alla Terminal" to service modern cargo demands; and by the end of the 1990s, facilities to handle the world's largest container vessels were added. Growing oil production, large gas reserves, and privatization have made Aden recognized as resource with potential.  |
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© imagesofasia 2007-08 |
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