Aden's modern history begins with the occupation of the harbour by the British Captain, Stafford Bettesworth Haines of the Indian Navy in 1839. Under Turkish Occupation and later under the rule of the Sultan of Lahej, Aden had declined to a small fishing village with only 600 inhabitants. However, within a few years, guided by Haines, the population increased again to 20,000.

Aden remained under British rule until 1967 followed by twenty-three years as a police state under the control of the Soviet KGB. Even after Aden and the rest of the south merged with North Yemen in the 1990's there was yet another civil war. Poor Aden, battered and bruised: a forgotten place anchored to a forgotten time. Yet, despite the hardships and setbacks the resilient Adenis remain friendly, welcoming, generous and ever hopeful.

Turning back the clock…..when the Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama discovered the route around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497 AD he had opened a new chapter in the history of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Only sixteen years later, another Portuguese captain Alfonso d'Albuquerque had comprehended the strategic significance of Aden and tried to conquer it. But in vain. Aden was a well fortified city under the rule of the Bani Taher.

At the beginning of the 16th century Italian Ludovico di Varthema wrote: "Aden is such mighty and powerful that I have hardly seen another city of its might during my life . . . . all big ships anchor at the port coming from India, Ethiopia or Persia".

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