SOUK Al-Yumana, the Yemeni Market, is one of Jeddah’s most authentic bazaars. Visitors can get a feeling of what it is like to be in a street market in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. Located on the southern side of the city’s historical area, the bazaar is dominated by Yemenis and East Africans who sell various traditional food, herbs, spices, dried fish, tobacco and a range of other products. The variety of authentic smells is usually the first thing to catch the visitor’s attention in addition to the mixture of colors and sounds that are topped off by voices with Yemeni accents that adds to the impression of being in a market somewhere in Yemen.
The bazaar covers a wide area parallel to the Sitteen Bridge. Traders exhibit their goods along the road and sometimes small stalls pop up along the side of the bazaar and even underneath the bridge. The stalls sell food, vegetables and sometimes freshly made lemonade.
The authenticity of the bazaar lies in the products it sells which can only be found there. The traders who are mostly from Yemen give an extra authentic touch to the prevailing atmosphere.
Walking through the bazaar, a visitor notices, hanging at the entrance to many shops, round decorated shapes that look like Mexican hats. The hat-like object is known as a sofrah and is traditionally used as something to put on the floor (or the ground) and eat off of. The sofrah is hand woven from a certain type of leaves and is popular in Yemen and the southern parts of the Kingdom.
Some shops that sell sofrahs also offer hand-made clay figures of traditional Yemeni houses in addition to Yemeni incense burners also made from clay and decorated with bright colors. Such shops are also famous for clay water jars that are known for keeping water cool; in addition, there are other clay products that are used for cooking.
Fresh Yemeni honey and ghee are among the top sellers in the bazaar. Both honey and ghee are usually sold on the sidewalk by people who recently came from Yemen with a couple of bottles. The ghee and honey are sold inside juice bottles.
Hamdan Mihyawi, a Yemeni honey dealer in his mid-30s, said that he had brought 20 bottles of honey and ghee from the valley of Do’an in Yemen which is famous for both. Mihyawi sells one liter of honey for SR500 and a similar quantity for ghee for SR100.
“I have sold four bottles of honey and five of ghee since I came last week,” he said with a smile, adding that he had not troubled selling his products because people know
the quality of Yemeni honey and ghee. Mihyawi, who also sells bananas on the side, said that people usually buy bananas with the honey and ghee. Dipping bananas into a mixture of honey and ghee is a famous power snack in Yemen. “It gives you power and stamina especially if you are married,” he said with a knowing grin.
Reehan, traditional sweet-smelling herbs, are also much sought-after products in the bazaar. They arrive fresh every day from Yemen and some parts of the Kingdom’s southern regions. Reehan is used for certain types of cooking and also as a traditional perfume, said Ahmad Saeed, a Yemeni dealer in his early 20s. Saeed was standing in front of his stall of Reehan that killed the smell of fish coming from a nearby shop with dried fish, another famous product in the bazaar.
Tobacco shops also add to combination of smells in the bazaar. The shops are famous for selling dried tobacco leaves that are smoked in a sheesha (hubble bubble). Salman Ahmad, a Yemeni tobacco dealer, said that some people grind the tobacco and mix it with ash and then use it as a dip. He said that the ash acts as cement to hold the ground pieces of tobacco under the lip.
Lohouh, a special type of bread spread with yoghurt and garlic, is a famous food found in the bazaar. It is sold by old Yemeni women who sit on the sides of the streets with layers of fresh Lohouh. Each one is sold for SR2 and is an important appetizer for almost every meal.
Khamis Marzouq, an old Yemeni vegetable shop owner in his 60s, said that he had been working in the market for many years. He said that the bazaar has gained its fame and customers from its unique products and also its atmosphere. It opens in the early morning and continues until late in the evening. He added that most of customers were Yemenis and East Africans who share similar cultural and food habits. “Many Saudis come frequently for fresh reehan or good honey because they know they won’t find it anywhere else in Jeddah,” Marzouq said.
The bazaar has survived for many years and is still thriving with life. Many people consider it as a destination for those seeking something unique or simply as a place to sit and sip traditional Yemeni tea and watch life going and coming in a most engaging way.
Walking through the bazaar, a visitor notices, hanging at the entrance to many shops, round decorated shapes that look like Mexican hats. The hat-like object is known as a sofrah and is traditionally used as placemats for food. The sofrah is hand-woven from straw and is popular in Yemen and the southern parts of the Kingdom.
Some shops that sell sofrahs also offer hand-made clay figures of traditional Yemeni houses in addition to Yemeni clay incense burners decorated with bright colors. Such shops are also famous for clay water jars that are known for keeping water cool; in addition to other clay products used for cooking.
Fresh Yemeni honey and ghee are among the top sellers in the bazaar. Both honey and ghee are usually sold on the sidewalk by people who recently arrived from Yemen with a couple of bottles. The ghee and honey are sold inside juice bottles.
Hamdan Mihyawi, a Yemeni honey dealer in his mid-30s, said that he had brought 20 bottles of honey and ghee from the Valley of Do’an in Yemen which is famous for both. Mihyawi sells one liter of honey for SR500 and a similar quantity for ghee is for SR100.
“I have sold four bottles of honey and five of ghee since I came last week,” he said with a smile, adding that he had not troubled selling his products because people know the quality of Yemeni honey and ghee. Mihyawi, who also sells bananas on the side, said that people usually buy bananas with the honey and ghee. Dipping bananas into a mixture of honey and ghee is a famous power snack in Yemen. “It gives you power and stamina especially if you are married,” he said with a knowing grin.
Reehan, traditional sweet-smelling herbs, are also much sought-after products in the bazaar. They arrive fresh everyday from Yemen and the Kingdom’s southern region. Reehan is used for certain types of cooking and also as a traditional perfume, explained Ahmad Saeed, a Yemeni dealer in his early 20s. Saeed was standing in front of his stall of Reehan that killed the smell of fish coming from a nearby shop with dried fish, another famous product in the bazaar.
Tobacco shops add a distinctive scent to the combination of smells in the bazaar. The shops are famous for selling dried tobacco leaves that are smoked in a sheesha (hubble-bubble). Salman Ahmad, a Yemeni tobacco dealer, said that some people grind the tobacco and mix it with ash and then use it as a dip. He said that the ash acts as glue to hold the ground pieces of tobacco under the lip.
Lohouh, a special type of bread spread with yoghurt and garlic, is a famous food found in the bazaar. It is sold by old Yemeni women who sit on the sides of the streets with layers of fresh Lohouh. Each one is sold for SR2 and is an important appetizer for almost every meal.
Khamis Marzouq, an old Yemeni vegetable shop owner in his 60s, said that he had been working in the market for many years. He said that the bazaar has gained its fame and customers from its unique products and also its atmosphere. It opens in the early morning and continues until late in the evening. He added that most of customers were Yemenis and East Africans who share similar cultural and food habits. “Many Saudis come frequently for fresh reehan or good honey because they know they won’t find it anywhere else in Jeddah,” Marzouq said.
The bazaar has survived for many years and is still thriving with life. Many people consider it as a destination for those seeking something unique or simply as a place to sit and sip traditional Yemeni tea and watch life going and coming in the most engaging way.
