Al_Mahwit
Al Mahwit
Place in Yemen
Al Mahwit (Arabic: المحويت Al-Maḥwīt) is the capital city of Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen. It is located at an elevation of about 2000 metres.
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Al-Mahwit's development is fairly recent compared to some other Yemeni settlements. Its first known historical mention is in 1599 (1007 AH), in the Ghayat al-amani of Yahya ibn al-Husayn.[1]
The old town of Al-Mahwit is situated around a mountain fortress. Until the 1970s, Al Mahwit was extremely isolated. The town had a population of about 10,000 in the early 1980s, after which infrastructure was developed and water, sanitation and electricity added.[2]
The area is mountainous, set in the Haraz Mountains and attracts trekkers.[3] Al-Mahwit is surrounded by several wadis such as Wadi Sama'a, Wadi Eyan, Wadi Juma't Saria, Wadi Hawar, Wadi Bour, Wadi Al- Hawdh, Wadi Thabab, Wadi Laa'a, Wadi Al-Ahjer and Wadi Naa'wan. Numerous villages are spread in the area that were built on and around rocks.
Climate
Al Mawhit has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWk) with warm days and cool nights, typical of Yemen's highlands. Rain is concentrated in spring and summer, with a dry gap between the two rainy seasons. April, July and August are the only months with significant precipitation.
| Climate data for Al Mahwit | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
26.7 (80.1) |
29.0 (84.2) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.4 (79.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
25.1 (77.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
19.3 (66.7) |
20.7 (69.3) |
21.1 (70.0) |
20.9 (69.6) |
19.3 (66.7) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.5 (58.1) |
13.6 (56.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.8 (58.6) |
14.8 (58.6) |
12.2 (54.0) |
9.9 (49.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
6.1 (43.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 8 (0.3) |
11 (0.4) |
27 (1.1) |
51 (2.0) |
29 (1.1) |
7 (0.3) |
46 (1.8) |
71 (2.8) |
16 (0.6) |
5 (0.2) |
10 (0.4) |
8 (0.3) |
289 (11.3) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[4] | |||||||||||||
The area and surrounding governorate depends on agriculture, mainly the production of coffee, tobacco, corn, sorghum and qat.[2]
- Wilson, Robert T.O. (1989). Gazetteer of Historical North-West Yemen. Germany: Georg Olms AG. p. 296. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- Burrowes, Robert D. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-8108-5528-1.
- Hämäläinen, Pertti (1999). Yemen. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-86442-603-1.
- "Climate: Al Mahwit". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved November 5, 2017.