Five questions about Yemen – Quick Quiz

By British Expat, 27 February 2019

It was only created in 1990 with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen – formerly the British-controlled Aden Protectorate). It’s been ravaged by civil war for much of its short history. Small wonder that it’s the Middle East’s poorest country. But what else do you know about Yemen?

1. What was the ancient Roman name for what we now call Yemen?
2. By the year 1063 Ali ibn Muhammed Al-Sulayhi ruled Yemen along with his wife Asma bint Shihab. What religious honour was bestowed on her that no other woman had had since the advent of Islam?
3. From the early 1600s Yemen was the sole producer of a certain commodity until the Europeans broke their monopoly in the first half of the 18th century. What was the commodity?
4. For what purpose was the British East India Company particularly interested in Aden?
5. Yemen is currently ravaged by the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history. As of November 2018, how many suspected cases (to the nearest 100,000) had been recorded?

Check your answers here!