JEDDAH, 8 May 2006 — Yemen has become a favorite source of brides for Saudis, particularly those from the south, according to the Kingdom’s Embassy in Sanaa.

Embassy statistics show that the number of Saudis visiting Yemen with the aim of marriage has been increasing for the past five years. The annual average has been 400 Saudi-Yemeni marriages with 455 being recorded in 2005. Up until last month, embassy officials had received 150 applications for marriage permission and 80 of that number has been processed, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.

The figures do not include marriages taking place without the knowledge of the embassy, an embassy official pointed out.

What sends Saudis to Yemen in search of brides? The rising costs of marriage in the Kingdom makes Yemen especially attractive for the large number of Saudi men who have limited financial resources. Saudi women or their parents often demand unaffordable dowries, gifts and other things which often make it impossible for young Saudi men to marry locally.

Hamad, a Saudi currently looking for a suitable partner in Sanaa, said, “I am here because, with my monthly income of SR2,000, I could not find a bride in the Kingdom and I dream of having a family with several children running around. Here for between SR5,000 and SR10,000, I am sure to find a wife. In addition, she will not feel like a stranger with my relatives since our customs and traditions in the south of the Kingdom are very similar to those in Yemen.”

The Yemeni Interior Ministry has set several conditions for foreigners marrying Yemeni women. The conditions became necessary after complaints about Gulf Arabs marrying Yemeni women and then abandoning them. The regulations stipulate that a foreigner can marry a Yemeni woman only if he has official permission from his home country.

According to recent statistics from the Yemeni interior ministry, 38 percent of Gulf tourists, including Saudis, who marry in Yemen prefer women between 20 and 25 while 35 percent want girls in their teens.

The ministry pointed out that 70 percent of the “tourist marriages” ended with the return of the Gulf bridegrooms to their countries leaving their wives in Yemen, either divorced or without a divorce but unprotected.

The study said 80 percent of the men who marry Yemeni women are from Gulf countries with Saudis topping the list.