Page 212 - Arabian Studies (II)

NOTES AND COMMUNICATIONS

HAJJAH MARKET
by ROBERT WILSON

Introduction
The author spent the nine months September 1972—May 1973 as an
English teacher in the town of Hajjah in Yemen Arab Republic. The
town has a long history, but for several reasons, including the
difficulty of reaching the town which involves an uncomfortable nine
hour journey from the coast, it has received little recent attention
other than brief references in works and articles on Yemen.1 It is
hoped that the following notes on the market, which are not the
product of a specific research project but a compilation of
observations made over the nine months, may be of interest to
scholars concerned with Yemen.

The Town

Hajjah is the capital of the Yemenite province (liwa’) of that name,
and is situated on the coastal face of the ridge of mountains which
runs parallel to the Red Sea separating the Tihamah, the coastal
plain, from the inland plateau. It is some 40 miles north-west of
San‘a’, but as yet there is no motor road direct to the capital, and
most passengers and goods travel up the rough road from
al-Hudaydah. The exact altitude of the town is not known, but a
figure of 5500 ft. above sea level would seem to be a reasonable
estimate.2 The population of Hajjah is similarly uncertain, but has
been reckoned at 7000.3

The Market
The suq of Hajjah is a large permanent market with about 170 shops,
and new building taking place on the periphery. It is busy on most
days, including Fridays, but the shops are generally closed in the

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