| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Yemen (ˈjɛmən) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| North Yemen See also South Yemen Official name: Yemen Republic a republic in SW Arabia, on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden: formed in 1990 from the union of North Yemen and South Yemen: consists of arid coastal lowlands, rising to fertile upland valleys and mountains in the west and to the Hadhramaut plateau in the SE: the north and east contains part of the Great Sandy Desert. Official language: Arabic. Official religion: Muslim. Currency: riyal. Capital: San`a. Pop: 20 732 000 (2004 est). Area (including territory claimed by Yemen along the undemarcated eastern border with Saudi Arabia): 472 099 sq km (182 278 sq miles) | |
Now the Republic of Yemen. Yemen is at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east; formerly divided into North Yemen (the Yemen Arab Republic) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.
Note: Northern Yemen became an independent country after World War I.
Note: Southern Yemen won independence from Britain in 1967 and became the world's only communist Arab state.
Note: The two Yemens were reunified as a result of the democratic reforms of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries in 1990.