Alcohol was sold openly in southern Yemen during the British occupation and, later, under Marxist rule. The famous Seera beer was produced by the National Brewing Company in Aden - the only legal brewery in the whole of the Arabian peninsula.
The Tihamah is a nearly 419-kilometre (260 mi) long, semidesert coastal plain that runs along the Red Sea and is part of the Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert ecoregion.
With Jebel Nugum towering over it, Sana'a sits on the narrowest point of a major mountain plateau, (2.286 metres) above sea level. The region's volcanic origin and regular rainfall make it fertile and it enjoys a temperate climate throughout the year with the occasional sharp frost in the small hours of winter nights. One legend tells of its founding by Shem the son of Noah.