“It is the capital of the soul,
Its gates are seven,
And Paradise’s gates are seven.”
The late great Yemeni poet Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh was among Yemen’s most enchanted admirers of Sana’a—and perhaps its most eloquent voice. Indeed, the city of Sam, one of the oldest urban settlements on Earth, continues to captivate hearts and mesmerize eyes. Known by many names—Sam, Sana’a, Azal—this ancient city possesses a unique character that sets it apart from other storied cities of antiquity.
Every street and alleyway in Old Sana’a leads to the Salt Market (Souq Al-Milh), which stands at its very heart—a silent witness to its enduring past. The city’s historic quarters unfold in a circular pattern of varying distances around the marketplace, each neighbourhood preserving a distinct architectural identity within a breathtaking urban fabric. The careful distribution of pathways, mosques, public fountains, gardens, caravanserais, and courtyards—opening onto vast plazas—grants the city’s evenings an unparalleled charm and fills its mornings with vibrant motion, life, and diversity.
Roads stretch in from all directions, converging at the centre of the circle: the market.
The Debate of the Name or the Debate of Goods
The Salt Market was one of the most famous Arab markets, rivalling even Souq Okaz in its renown. To this day, the place and its name remain a landmark teeming with life at the heart of Sam bin Noah’s city. Every kind of merchandise can be found here: raisins, almonds, coffee, grains, textiles, spices, and more. Yet, the one commodity no longer traded in this ancient market is salt. Still, its name has endured through the ages.
However, the renowned Yemeni historian Abu Al-Hasan Al-Hamdani (10th century AD) asserts that the original name was "Souq Al-Mulah"—with a dammah (u) on the meem and a fatha (a) on the lam—rather than "Souq Al-Milh", with a kasrah (i) on the meem.
According to Yemeni archaeologist Ameeda Sha’lan, archaeologists place 86% confidence in Al-Hamdani’s historical accounts. His correction of the market’s name appears to be more precise, given his meticulous documentation of historical facts. However, this does not negate the fact that salt has long been one of the finest and most essential commodities. Many Yemenis—especially the tribes of the eastern regions—were engaged in its trade, transporting cups of salt on camel caravans from Mount Milh, deep in the Marib Desert, 180 km east of Sana’a. Sana’a was a major stop for these caravans, which typically arrived in winter, as salt prices soared in the summer.
Summer is Yemen’s rainy season, and since transporting salt requires dry conditions, salt traders carefully timed their journeys to avoid rain-soaked roads and prevent devastating losses. They avoided traveling during summer and autumn, choosing instead to move during dry, sunny seasons.
The Yemenis are among the most knowledgeable peoples when it comes to rainfall patterns. Their civilization and way of life have depended on rain-fed agriculture for centuries. Trade, too, required extensive travel across vast distances—particularly the salt trade.
Until about 70 years ago, hundreds of men from eastern Yemen (Marib, Bayhan, Shabwa, and Al-Bayda) were engaged in the salt trade. As their homelands—situated at the edge of the desert—received little rainfall, these Bedouins transported salt by camel to the rain-rich central regions of Yemen and the agricultural plains. There, they would barter salt for corn, returning with camel loads of grain of every variety.
Whether the market’s name was "Souq Al-Milh" (Salt Market), as commonly known, or "Souq Al-Mulah", as Al-Hamdani suggests, the word "Mulaḥ" itself is deeply fitting for this enchanting city. In Arabic, "Mulaḥ" (المُلَح) is the plural of "Maliḥ" (handsome) or "Maliḥa" (beautiful)—words used to describe charm and splendour. It is often used in poetry to praise a beloved, as expressed by Ibn Sharaf Al-Din, one of the most famous Yemeni Humayni poets of the 16th century, who wrote:
“She captured my heart with her enchanting (Milah) eyes,
And with cheeks gleaming, radiant and bright.”
In Yemen, whether you say "Milaḥ" or "Mulaḥ," both forms indicate beauty, wonder, and allure.
Indeed, Sana’a is a city of great beauty, charm, and grace. The late legendary Yemeni poet Abdullah Al-Baradouni once described it with profound irony in 1971, at a poetry festival in Mosul, Iraq, commemorating Abu Tammam’s millennium:
"What can I say of Sana’a, O father?
A beauty (Maliha)—whose lovers are tuberculosis and scabies."
At the time, Sana’a and Yemen were plagued by wars and turmoil, and this description seems to have remained eerily accurate throughout history. Today, Sana’a still bears deep wounds, echoing Al-Baradouni’s sorrowful depiction:
"A beauty (Maliha)—whose lovers are tuberculosis and scabies."
Over the centuries, Sana’a has been ravaged by war and destruction dozens of times. It is the fate of this city to be the capital of an ancient land, yet one forever torn by conflict.
Raisins and Almonds Instead of Salt
During the festive seasons of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the trade of raisins and almonds flourishes, as these two delicacies are among the most essential elements of holiday traditions. While Yemeni families welcome their guests with an assortment of sweets, raisins and almonds take precedence above all.
Just as honey and ghee form a delightful duo that symbolizes harmony and richness—whether in marriage, business partnerships, or deep friendships—the pairing of raisins and almonds in Yemen is associated exclusively with joyous occasions, particularly Eid celebrations and weddings.
This inseparable pair always appears together side by side in markets, in demand during festive times. Yet, despite their companionship in tradition, they do not come from the same fields, nor do they share the same price. Almonds are significantly more expensive than raisins; the cost of one kilogram of premium Yemeni almonds is equal to that of four kilograms of high-quality Razqi raisins or three kilograms of the finest white raisins, which are favored by newlyweds during their honeymoon.
Grapes flourish in warmer regions, whereas almonds require harsher, colder climates to thrive. Almond trees are cultivated in the high-altitude regions of Bani Matar and Khawlan Al-Tiyal, where the intense cold provides the ideal conditions for their growth. However, this same cold is unsuitable for grapevines, which require a climate that balances warmth and coolness, along with abundant water, such as in Bani Hushaish, Saada, and Amran.
Today, raisins and almonds are widely available throughout the streets and markets of Sana’a, including its ever-expanding districts beyond the historic city walls. Any visitor making their way to the Salt Market via Qasr Al-Silah Road (Al-Qalaa), moving east to west, will find themselves gradually immersed in a bustling scene—rows of shops and stalls overflowing with raisins and almonds of every variety, leading them deeper into this historic marketplace.
In the past, the Raisins and Almonds Market was a dedicated section within the old city, but today, this delectable duo has dominated nearly every marketplace, especially during festive seasons. Modern streets like Khawlan Street and Marib Street have transformed into massive wholesale centres for these two prized commodities in the ancient city of Sam.
Yet, the raisins, almonds, and Qishr (coffee husks) of Old Sana’a remain unmatched, both symbolically and practically. Their presentation in the marketplace is a sight to behold—displayed in heaping cups, evoking tradition, celebration, and the enduring charm of Sana’a.
Coffee and Ginger
When the famous Lebanese traveller Ameen Rihani visited Yemen in the early 1920s, he travelled to Sana’a, making his way from Aden. Along the route, from Aden to Sana’a, and then westward toward the Red Sea Coast of Tihama, he was welcomed with coffee.
This was a common custom in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula, but what surprised Rihani and his companion Constantine was when a young rural woman, one morning just before dawn, while blowing on the embers of a fire and yawning from laziness, asked them, “Would you like it with hawaij or without?”
Rihani was astonished by this question, as it was the first time he had ever heard of coffee being served with hawaij! He didn’t realize that in Yemen, hawaij referred to ginger. He decided to try the coffee with hawaij (ginger) and found it to his liking—it had a unique flavor like no other.
Unlike the global norm, where coffee is made from pure ground coffee beans, the typical coffee of Yemeni farmers, both in the city and countryside, is made from qishr (the husk of the coffee bean, pronounced with a soft “q” and a “sh” sound). If properly roasted on wood embers, this husk coffee has a distinctive taste that cannot be matched.
Yemen is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of coffee, according to historians, and Yemeni coffee continues to reign supreme, standing as the leader in the world of coffee. When the husk comes from Sana’a, it carries with it a sense of authenticity, as the city is home to the oldest and most esteemed coffee traders and their historic shops.
In the ancient city of Sana’a, some families still carry on the coffee trade, passing it down through generations. Saleh Al-Shawkani, whose family has maintained a historic shop in the heart of the city for generations, mentioned that on the wall of his shop is a painting of an elderly judge wearing a traditional Qawiq (judge’s turban), filling a cup with qishr. When I asked him, “Do you have any relation to Judge Muhammad Ali Al-Shawkani, the Chief Judge of Yemen in the first half of the 19th century?” he replied, “Yes, he is our tenth grandfather.”
This connection highlights the political class of that era, who, in addition to their official duties, engaged in the global coffee trade and were key agents of the coffee commerce. It is not unlikely that one of Yemen’s most renowned judges, Muhammad Ali Al-Shawkani—who negotiated the famous agreement between the Imam of Sana’a, Al-Mahdi Abdullah, and Ibrahim Pasha—was also involved in the coffee trade. The agreement stipulated the withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Al-Mocha (a port that exported coffee) in exchange for sending tons of coffee beans to Sultan Muhammad Ali Pasha of Cairo as an annual gift, which later became known as the “Sultan’s Coffee.”
In Old Sana’a, coffee is sold in various forms: pure coffee, qishr, ground coffee, and whole beans—always accompanied by ginger. This practice has become a cherished tradition across generations, and it is considered one of the most beautiful gifts one can offer to parents or elders—a gift of qishr and ginger.
