Subscribe
type here...
Subscribe
Travel
1 min.Read

Eco Tourism in the Middle East: Yemen

Karen Chernick
By Karen Chernick
6

Buckle your (cyber) seatbelts and prep your imaginary passports, because this week we’re continuing our green journey. After eco touring other Middle Eastern countries – such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Israel – we’re off to pay a green visit to Yemen.

Yemen, like other countries in the region, has a variety of natural attractions ranging from Red Sea marine life to mountains (Yemen’s Jabal Al-Nabi Shouyab mountain at 3660 meters above sea level is one of the highest peaks in the Arabian Peninsula), to plains and valleys. Yemen’s Environmental Protection Agency is currently working on establishing conservation areas in Yemen that will be especially protected.

Socotra, an ecologically unique island near Yemen’s southern coast, already enjoys this protection. Socotra has unique biodiversity and is home to many rare endemic plants. Botanists even claim that the island is one of the top ten endangered islands in the world. Referred to sometimes as the “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean,” there are 900 plant species (300 of which are endemic), 27 reptile species (24 of which are endemic) and 190 bird species (6 of which are endemic) on the island. To enjoy a sustainable visit to this unique natural habitat, look no further than the Socotra Eco-Tourism Society (SES), a non-governmental organization managed entirely by Socotri people.

Looking for something a little more low key in an urban setting? According to Batir Wardam at Arab Environment Watch, an organic restaurant in Yemen’s city of Sana’a is probably the first of its kind in the Arab world. Jamil Hindi, the owner of the Al Mankal restaurant on Amman Street in Sana’a, recently turned his restaurant completely organic and does not serve any preserved foods either. According to Hindi, “Being organic is giving food with love and care… I am 100 percent convinced that if you want to lead a peaceful life, you must go organic.”

Read more about the green Middle East:: Green Prophet Visit Amirim, A Vegetarian Paradise in the Galilee and Voices From the Green Egyptian Blogosphere

Karen Chernick
Karen Chernickhttps://www.greenprophet.com/
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
6 COMMENTS

  5. […] Eco Tourism in the Middle East: YemenBuckle your (cyber) seatbelts and prep your imaginary passports, because this week we’re continuing our green journey. After eco touring other Middle Eastern countries – such as Jordan,… …to read the rest of this prophecy, … […]

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Earth building with Dead Sea salt bricks

0
Researchers develop a brick made largely from recycled Dead Sea salt—offering a potential alternative to carbon-intensive cement.
Read more

Farm To Table Israel Connects People To The Land

0
Farm To Table Israel is transforming the traditional dining experience into a hands-on journey.
Read more

Lebanon reporting fellowship for truth-tellers

0
Lebanon’s environmental crisis is not abstract. It is shaped by war, neglect, corruption, and silence. Rivers carry untreated sewage and industrial waste into the Mediterranean. Dynamite fishing shatters fragile marine ecosystems along the coast. In many areas, Hezbollah’s military presence and decades of instability have made environmental accountability nearly impossible. What flows into the sea is not only pollution — it is politics, poverty, and unresolved war. And yet, these stories are rarely told with depth, care, or courage. Silat Wassel’s Environmental Justice Journalism Fellowship is opening space for exactly that. They are looking for a few brave souls. 
Read more

Zoroastrianism from Iran is the world’s first eco-religion

0
When Zarathustra started preaching around 1200 BCE in ancient Persia, which is known today as Iran, he wasn't just founding a religion—he was creating the world's first environmental protection movement. Good thoughts, good words, good deeds. But there was a mantra and words to live by: don't pollute the earth, water, or fire. Ever.
Read more

Ethiopians are Looking to Somaliland for Red Sea Access as Global Powers Move In

0
Somaliland, for its part, has operated as a de facto independent state since 1991. It has its own government, elections, currency, and security forces. It’s often described as one of the more stable and democratic political systems in the region, despite never being formally recognized internationally. 
Read more

Impact Investing

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

0
Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.
Read more

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

0
A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.
Read more

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

0
Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.
Read more

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

0
While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 
Read more

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

3
The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.
Read more

Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López Turned Ocean Plastic Into Profitable Sunglasses

0
Few fashion accessories carry the environmental burden of sunglasses. Most frames are constructed from petroleum-based plastics and acrylic polymers that linger in landfills for centuries, shedding microplastics into soil and waterways long after they've been discarded. Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, president of the Spanish eyewear brand Hawkers, saw this problem differently than most industry executives.
Read more

Why Dr. Tony Jacob Sees Texas Business Egos as Warning Signs

0
Everything's bigger in Texas. Except business egos.  Dr. Tony Jacob figured...
Read more

Israel and America Sign Renewable Energy Cooperation Deal

2
Other announcements made at the conference include the Timna Renewable Energy Park, which will be a center for R&D, and the AORA Solar Thermal Module at Kibbutz Samar, the world's first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant that is already nearing completion. Solel Solar Systems announced it was beginning construction of a 50 MW solar field in Lebrija, Spain, and Brightsource Energy made a pre-conference announcement that it had inked the world's largest solar deal to date with Southern California Edison (SCE).
Read more

Related Articles

Popular Categories

CitiesHealthLifestyleBusinessGreen Tech and GadgetsTravelDesign
Previous article
Faith & the Environment: Multi-faith Perspectives
Next article
Natural Gas Alternative For the Middle East

Have news to share? Renewable energy news, architectural, artificial intelligence, biotech, sustainable design ideas, eco-architecture, green travel?
Email us: [email protected]

Company

Headlines

Astro uses AI to help procure land for renewable energy

0
For oil-rich, environmentally vigilant Gulf states, Astro isn’t just another startup story. It is a blueprint for accelerating an energy transition that is now existential, not optional.

The Science Behind How Elite Marathon Runners Train

0
Discover the science behind elite marathon training. Explore techniques, nutrition, and mental strategies that propel top runners to success.

Earth building with Dead Sea salt bricks

0
Researchers develop a brick made largely from recycled Dead Sea salt—offering a potential alternative to carbon-intensive cement.

The Christ’s thorn (sidr tree) is also a well-known folk medicine

1
Christ’s thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) also known as the sidr tree is a real, identifiable tree native to the Middle East, and it appears—directly or indirectly—in Islam, Judaism, and later Christian tradition. The connections between the three faiths are not theological agreements but overlapping uses, names, and symbolic associations rooted in the same landscape.

Newsletter

Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!

© 2007 to 2026 Green Prophet, All Rights Reserved